-Over the weeked for my Histories of Photography class we visited the MoMA PS1 gallery in NY. Laurel Nakadate was one of the photographers there showing her exhibit titled "Only the Lonely." According to the website, the "exhibition brings together bodies of work that touch on voyeurism, loneliness, the manipulative power of the camera, and the urge to connect with others, through, within, and apart from technology and the media."
-For her series titled "Lucky Tiger" she took photos of herself in provacative sexual positions, often in panties and bikinis. She then printed them as 4x5 images. She then went on Craigslist and posted an ad needing men for a project. The men, she gathers in a group and then passes around the images of her. The men have fingerprinting ink on their fingers and she asks the men to pass the photos around and describe them out loud as she records them.
-The images are somewhat appealing but I did not like the series or any of her work at first because she exploits these men, often meeting them at truck stops. The men are "balding, overweight, badly dressed, and pathetic" (NyTimes) They often have missing teeth and look like perverts or drug addicts. After reading the ideas behind her work, that is when she grew on me.
-She defends her work by saying that "I am drawn to moments of ambiguity, when things could go right or they could go wrong. I’m interested in discomfort. For me, it was about these strange and awkward moments human beings have. It was about men wanting to give me something they emotionally don’t have to give.” (TheRumpus)
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