Without a shadow of embarrassment: stunning plasticity of naked acrobats against the backdrop of natural landscapes

2024 Author: Richard Flannagan | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-15 23:55

The series "Private acts: The Acrobat Sublime" is the result of the great work of the talented Acey Harper and the inhuman tenacity and professionalism of the circus performers who took part in this unique and incredibly beautiful project.

Acey Harper is the son of a cowboy. As a boy, he lived in the Bahamas with his grandfather, a deep-sea fisherman and treasure hunter. For many years he traveled the world as a photojournalist, worked as a chief operator in New York, San Francisco and Washington … Now he most often walks serenely along the beach of the town of Sausalito in California and … photographs acrobats.

It's hard to believe, but his path to big photography began with a small newspaper. “I was then, as they say, an errand boy - delivering coffee, picking up copies in the typesetting shop, sending requests to the photo department to pick up photos for tomorrow's release … It was there that photography began for me. Sometimes excellent photographers brought their work to our newspaper, and, oddly enough, they were always happy to show me how to work with a camera, how to develop film. They were often so nice that they would let me take a few pictures myself and then comment on my work. It was then that I realized that I would only do photography,”- says Harper. Later he got a job as a staff photographer in a small publication in South Florida. “I could not believe then that I was doing what I loved, and I was also paid for it! It was a real dream job! I had to learn very quickly: I worked in a studio, but often I had to replace the guys in the news,”says the photographer.

It was later revealed that the parent company was opening a project - a new nationwide daily newspaper, and Harper was one of the first to be invited to the staff. It was the famous USA Today. “I began to actively travel around the States, covering interesting events, took a lot of photographs,” says the photographer. Soon he leaves his job in newspapers and begins to actively cooperate with such giants of the printing industry as TIME, PEOPLE and FORTUNE. “The most interesting and exciting period in my life has come. I traveled all over the world, met people, got to know Francis Ford Coppola and Bill Clinton himself … I talked about politics, riots in Miami, wars in Central America, behind the scenes of a TV show …”- says Harper.

“I once worked in a studio with circus performers. Everything was perfectly arranged, the pictures came out great. But suddenly I realized that all this is boring: gray background, flashes, studio … There is no inspiration, no soul in this. I realized that I wanted to get away from formalities and, like these artists, find an alternative way of expressing myself,”says the photographer.

One weekend, he invited one of the artists to do an outdoor shoot. “I wondered what the same tricks would look like, only, say, in a forest setting.” The result surpassed all the artist's expectations: the photographs came out perfectly: in them Harper felt real indomitability, energy, emotions - something that was so lacking in studio shots. forest, park or cityscape - we will discuss in advance. Now I deliberately choose locations for filming, sometimes they themselves find me. The main thing is to “feel” the place, to understand that it visually “speaks” to you”.

Harper is very scrupulous about everything that concerns the artists involved in the project: “They should always feel comfortable, understand that no one is forcing them to work. I have always emphasized that safety comes first."

Harper calls this project a return to the basics: minimal use of a photo editor, no additional lighting, natural landscapes … The entire series is monochrome - the master did not dare to use color - it is important not to distract the viewer from the main thing.

While Acey Harper is photographing acrobats, talented sculptor David Bennett embodies their difficult craft in glass and metal.