Self-Portrait Terry J Cyr - 2011
It always excites me to begin a new year. I spent a good portion of yesterday doing my annual year-end summary, which I have done since I was a kid. New Year's morning I spend a couple of hours writing a couple of pages about everything I had accomplished through out the course of the previous year. [read more]
Published: January 2, 2011
Travis #107
My goal and objective in creating The Naked Man Project is to explore my own precepts of art and the creation of male erotic art. When I first began photography in 1997 my teachers always said “shoot what you know.” My background was theater and I was a gay man living in the wilds of Montana. [read more]
Published: January 3, 2011
Torso 2001
When I was first getting into photography and still shooting on film, I had a young gay man come into my studio whom I wanted to shoot nude. He was very excited by the prospect of seeing what we could create together. His only stipulation was he did not want any pictures where he would be naked and show his face in the same image. [read more]
Published: January 4, 2011
Ugolino and His Sons (detail)
Wrath of the techno gods!!!! For some reason I have been in technology limbo the past couple of days. Sunday as I was beginning this blog and uploading the first entry onto the internet my laptop that I do all my writing, research, and finances on suddenly crashed. [read more]
Published: January 5, 2011
Ugolino and His Sons
Wrath of the techno gods!!!! For some reason I have been in technology limbo the past couple of days. Sunday as I was beginning this blog and uploading the first entry onto the internet my laptop that I do all my writing, research, and finances on suddenly crashed. [read more]
Published: January 5, 2011
Narcissus
I am finally getting a chance to focus on my imagery. It feels like focus has always been an issue with me. Those that know me will say I am prone to distraction. I have so much diversity in my life that it seems I have become the master of multi-tasking. [read more]
Published: January 6, 2011
End of the Relationship #641
We are a week into the new year and I have accomplished the first phase goal I had set for my new project. I have a created a Facebook page showing a large assortment of my imagery and varying styles. In case you have not seen it Terry J Cyr Photography on Facebook. [read more]
Published: January 7, 2011
Jeremy #603
Glenn worked a miracle and some how replaced the hard drive from my laptop and I spent the morning rebuilding everything back to where it was before the crash earlier this week. I still lost all the personal files of journals from last year. In fact, the computer seems some how better, faster for sure. I am back in business. [read more]
Published: January 8, 2011
Self Portrait 2008
Somehow, today, I feel like I have completely lost touch with who I am and where I am going with this project. I have spent the past couple of days researching and trying to figure out how a blog actually works. What it needs to have, how to expand it, and how to make it grow. [read more]
Published: January 9, 2011
End of the Relationship #931
So "The Postcard from the Edge" fundraiser in New York seems to have been a huge hit. Another photographer named Steven Rosen selected my postcard and sent me a message. "It's such a lovely image, but I have to say I was saddened when I found out the title. I was drawn to the shot because the two men seemed so in love. [read more]
Published: January 10, 2011
Chase #140
OK here we go: a leap of faith. I am finding that I am wanting to retreat into my sorted world of insecurities, which I must admit can consume me. But now is the time to really begin my focus on beauty and art and that’s what this project is really about. [read more]
Published: January 11, 2011
Ken Lying
The art and importance of networking and collaboration has been my focus this week. The Internet is incredibly awesome for networking. I have vaguely been familiar with a lot of people out there, but feel I have been too busy, or insecure to actually make the connection. I am beginning to meet so many people that are going though a lot of the same issues and struggles I am. [read more]
Published: January 12, 2011
Lucus #369
What’s happened to the art of pornography? Is it because I am getting older or have we as a gay culture just been homogenizing the images of our selves naked? I remember a time when these types of pictures of naked men were exciting and titillating. There seemed to be a raw sensual quality to the images. [read more]
Lucus #364
What’s happened to the art of pornography? Is it because I am getting older or have we as a gay culture just been homogenizing the images of our selves naked? I remember a time when these types of pictures of naked men were exciting and titillating. There seemed to be a raw sensual quality to the images. [read more]
Rus Drag Butte #7
Rus was my creative soul mate. He is a writer, teacher, and creative make-up artist who was also a model and test subject for me. We spent a great deal of time working on some of my favorite projects. One of our best shoots was exploring issues I had with a grandmother I didn’t know well. She killed herself when I was a very young. [read more]
Published: January 14, 2011
Rus Drag Butte #1
Rus was my creative soul mate. He is a writer, teacher, and creative make-up artist who was also a model and test subject for me. We spent a great deal of time working on some of my favorite projects. One of our best shoots was exploring issues I had with a grandmother I didn’t know well. She killed herself when I was a very young. [read more]
Rus Drag Butte #13
Rus was my creative soul mate. He is a writer, teacher, and creative make-up artist who was also a model and test subject for me. We spent a great deal of time working on some of my favorite projects. One of our best shoots was exploring issues I had with a grandmother I didn’t know well. She killed herself when I was a very young. [read more]
JR #184
We are two weeks down with fifty to go. So far it feels like a success. I am totally enjoying this process and boy has it kept me on task and focused on photography and my imagery which is what I have needed for a very long time. I am frustrated still by the fact that can’t quite figure out how to make links from my blog to other artists or works of art I want to reference. [read more]
Published: January 15, 2011
Jeremy #607
It is one thirty a.m. I can’t seem to get to sleep to night. The studio is dark and the coldness is beginning to settle in around me. I am attired in my under amour and settled into the sofa in my shooting room. We have had such coldness for so long that it’s been hard to get out lately, but tonight it has warmed up and I can hear rain on the skylights above my head. [read more]
Published: January 16, 2011
Chains
Today is Martian Luther King day? A holiday I think the country should behold with more reverence. It is not just about a man with a vision, it is about a struggle in our country to name prejudice, face fear, and become one of the greatest movements of growth for our nation toward finally recognizing us united as a whole for all people. [read more]
Published: January 17, 2011
Travis #338
Feeling a bit down and frustrated today. I had two people lined up to work with this week and suddenly they have cancelled. I don’t know if they are feeling intimidated by what I am doing or if everyone is just so busy all the time. Sometimes finding subjects is near impossible and sometimes I can hardly keep up with it all. Right now I desperately need to create something in the studio, if only a portrait. [read more]
Published: January 18, 2011
Jeremy #404
I have began a series of dialogues with various artists from around the world, whose work I respect and admire, to get their perspectives on some of the issues I question myself. Sunday I posed the question: Are we truly born with a gift or is it actually cultivated?
[read more]
Published: January 19, 2011
Brian #192
A life’s worth of work, disorganized and in chaos! I always think I am doing a great job of keeping all these files and images sorted but for some reason the approach and means to organize is always changing. A new system is introduced and suddenly we have to begin anew. [read more]
Published: January 20, 2011
Shadows of Desire
Where does one begin a journey into ones self? Do I begin with my work and the sources that have inspired it or do I begin exploring my life, searching for the pivotal moments looking for clues and sources of inspiration? Am I fearful and strong enough to face what may result? There is no certain point from which to leap.
[read more]
Published: January 21, 2011
Ricky's Hands
I once dated a guy who could only see the world in Black or White. Everything was either this or that, there was no in between. At first we clashed because I resisted and resented that the world could or should be seen in one way. I would argue for hours that though there was a black and a white there were many shades of gray that created a brilliant array of tones between the two. There was more subtlety to life than viewing it on a one-dimensional plain.
[read more]
Published: January 22, 2011
Jonathan #112
I was born in the paperback section of the Mineral County Library in a small remote town of Superior in the mountains of western Montana. I have always looked upon my conception and birth as a mistake and though I didn’t understand it, as a kid felt like I didn’t quite belong. My mother was 17 and didn’t finish high school and my father, an all-star athlete, I suspect with dreams of a different future.
[read more]
Published: January 23, 2011
JR #170
I am three weeks in on the blog process with forty-nine to go. It is time to step back for a moment and assess where I am and re-establish new goals. Yesterday one hundred and eighty four people accessed the blog. Overall one thousand thirty nine people have visited the first twenty-two postings. I am continuing to make the connection on Facebook and Red Bubble and feel like my network of artists and supporters is ever growing.
[read more]
Published: January 24, 2011
Jeremy #907
How does one define one’s own style? How do you put words to something that may only be visually descriptive? Now that I have learned the tools to create a website I am looking toward the elements of design. Last night I began reading a book called The Zen of CCS Design by Dave Shea and Molly Holzschlag in which they talk about how to capture the essence of mood, tone and communication thru design and style.
[read more]
Published: January 25, 2011
Jared Sitting
Last night I photographed the archival images for the Montana Rep’s production of William Inge’s play Bus Stop, which is currently doing a short run here in Missoula before it hits the road on a national tour. Bus Stop is not one of Inge’s best works, but it is very interesting in the way he creates eight characters from completely different perspectives and weaves a complex web on the theme of loneliness.
[read more]
Published: January 26, 2011
Bus Stop #101
Last night I photographed the archival images for the Montana Rep’s production of William Inge’s play Bus Stop, which is currently doing a short run here in Missoula before it hits the road on a national tour. Bus Stop is not one of Inge’s best works, but it is very interesting in the way he creates eight characters from completely different perspectives and weaves a complex web on the theme of loneliness.
[read more]
Published: January 26, 2011
Ricky #102
Why are we so afraid to face who we are and recognize the talents we are given? This morning I was chatting with a kid on Facebook who I sensed has the potential to become something extraordinary. I could see it in his Facebook images as I scrolled through them and chatted and hear could hear it in the tone of his dialogue. It really got me thinking about how so much of our talents are lost by such a lack of self-esteem.
[read more]
Published: January 27, 2011
Chris #157
Light is the most essential quality of our sustainable existence as human beings. There is such power and mystery in light. One of the reasons I was drawn to theater was because I loved light. It begins in a dark place and transforms the space into a beautiful illusion, drawing focus to what is important. It takes us on a journey though story, character, and time. So many people take for granted the properties of light and how it impacts us socially, emotionally, and psychologically.
[read more]
Published: January 28, 2011
Chris #109
Light is the most essential quality of our sustainable existence as human beings. There is such power and mystery in light. One of the reasons I was drawn to theater was because I loved light. It begins in a dark place and transforms the space into a beautiful illusion, drawing focus to what is important. It takes us on a journey though story, character, and time. So many people take for granted the properties of light and how it impacts us socially, emotionally, and psychologically.
[read more]
Published: January 28, 2011
Chris #115
Light is the most essential quality of our sustainable existence as human beings. There is such power and mystery in light. One of the reasons I was drawn to theater was because I loved light. It begins in a dark place and transforms the space into a beautiful illusion, drawing focus to what is important. It takes us on a journey though story, character, and time. So many people take for granted the properties of light and how it impacts us socially, emotionally, and psychologically.
[read more]
Published: January 28, 2011
Ugolino And His Sons #103
Last night when I arrived home after working at UPS, I was confronted with an email from "
MAN ART", the subject:
"we may be taken down" The mail read: "To all MAN ART members - today I have received a message form the Ning admin that states in part "it has been brought to our attention that your Ning Network contains content that doesn't comply with Section 14 of our Terms of Service which specifically prohibits posting content Ning determines constitutes pornography..."
[read more]
Published: January 29, 2011
Mark Cyr #101
Growing up, for some reason, was extremely painful for me. I had great difficulty socializing with other kids my age and constantly felt isolated and lonely. I was gangly, awkward, prone to accident, highly sentimental, withdrawn, and was an ugly duckling. I have a brother Mark who is a year and a day younger then I. Mark is the exact opposite of me, he is the model of perfection: curly blond hair, piercing blue eyes and incredibly outgoing, funny, fearless, and incredibly handsome.
[read more]
Published: January 30, 2011
Mark Cyr #100
Growing up, for some reason, was extremely painful for me. I had great difficulty socializing with other kids my age and constantly felt isolated and lonely. I was gangly, awkward, prone to accident, highly sentimental, withdrawn, and was an ugly duckling. I have a brother Mark who is a year and a day younger then I. Mark is the exact opposite of me, he is the model of perfection: curly blond hair, piercing blue eyes and incredibly outgoing, funny, fearless, and incredibly handsome.
[read more]
Published: January 30, 2011
Travis #609
Today is the last day of January and I am one month into this project with eleven to go. Wow has it been a journey! I have to thank everyone for your incredible support along this process. I have heard from so many people who are very touched by this process and my experiences and perceptions. Today I just need to reflect. It feels like my world is spinning around so quickly and I am caught in it’s centrifugal force. It has grown far beyond my expectations.
[read more]
Published: January 31, 2011
