Today we’d like to introduce you to Zoe Wiseman.
Hi Zoe, so excited to have you on the platform. So before we get into questions about your work-life, maybe you can bring our readers up to speed on your story and how you got to where you are today?
My views about photography began to take shape when I was working as a model at a very young age. I was signed with a modeling agency as a child and enjoyed doing runway, commercial, and movie extra work in the Chicago tri-state area during my early years. Because I looked like an adult while still in my teens, the pressure to walk and pose like an adult made me ultra-conscious of my body. I noticed the male gaze (as we call it these days) perhaps a little too early in life. In general, this was a really fun and happy time for me, but these experiences shaped how I look at other people and how I want to present them in my own work.
When I was sixteen, my Grandmother Wiseman took me on a European adventure through France and Italy that included every major museum and art exhibit we could find, and I began to see nudity in art very differently from how nudity and female bodies are depicted in American culture.
In our media-obsessed culture, we are constantly bombarded with images of women looking sexy, whether in an advertisement for cosmetics or in a men’s magazine. I am determined to try to present art that is contrary to this trend. The strength that all women have inside them is quite unlike how they are often depicted in visual media. While taking full agency of their sexuality is a strength in itself; I want to highlight a different vision.
When I approach concepts I always strive to make nudity secondary to the composition of the image and to show the strong side of my subjects in honor of the people, landscapes, and spaces I photograph. I’d like the finished work to feel as if the nudity is an afterthought to what is happening within the frame.
I focus more on design elements, geometric shapes, and visions of boldness and strength. If I feel that a model’s pose seems submissive, before clicking the shutter, I rethink the image and coach the model in another direction. I want all the models I work with to look strong. I hope I have achieved this goal.
Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
That depends on your perspective of “smooth.”
Being taken seriously has been a challenge after transitioning from model to photographer. In the eyes of some, I am still a cute (53-year-old) model taking pictures. Then again, being a model introduced me to some people who would end up being extraordinarily supportive.
I suppose it’s a mixed bag. There are highs and lows.
Working on my book, Sunkissed 85, was a huge challenge. In the middle of the design process, I went for a normal eye check-up with my brilliant optometrist, Dr. Jenny Park. I always get a retinal scan with my yearly check-up. After seeing my scans, she noticed swollen nerves and sent me to the emergency room for an MRI. There, they found a meningioma brain tumor. A week later I was admitted to Cedars Sinai for emergency brain surgery before I ended up in a coma. Everything worked out amazingly well. I’m totally cured, and all is good. Please get a retinal scan yearly with every eye check-up. This is my PSA!
That was a huge struggle to get my book out in the world. Especially because I was working with a designer that wasn’t all that empathetic to what I was going through… That’s when you have to put your foot down and get what you want, even if the fogginess of brain surgery healing is in the way. That’s when even though you can barely keep your head up to look at a computer screen you do it anyway and send it back over and over again until they get it right. Here I am, powering through. Prevailing. Determined. It feels good to have pressed through to get the vision for my work the way I wanted it and to reflect on the 20 years of my creativity.
But most of all, it feels good to be alive.
As you know, we’re big fans of you and your work. For our readers who might not be as familiar what can you tell them about what you do?
I make fine art nudes. I occasionally make photographs of rock stars. I sometimes make photographs for movie soundtracks, documentary music films, and television soundtracks.
I am most proud of releasing my book, Sunkissed 85. 20 years of solarizing Polaroid Type 85 film. A monograph dedicated to my fine art nude photography.
I don’t compare myself to others. This isn’t a competition.
Do you have recommendations for books, apps, blogs, etc?
No. If I read anything I usually bury my head into Terry Pratchett, Neil Gaiman or rewatch Lord of the Rings to reset my spark.
Contact Info:
- Website: http://www.zoewiseman.com
- Instagram: http://www.instagram.com/zoewiseman
- Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/zoe.wiseman
- Other: http://www.sunkissed85.com
Image Credits
All images © Zoe Wiseman
