Wednesday, April 24, 2013

Bodyscapes by Allan Teger


A recent trip to First Friday in the Downtown Arts District turned up a gem of a find.  At the Sin City Gallery inside The Arts Factory, a showing titled “Bodyscapes” demanded to be included in our catalog of Sexy Vegas discoveries.

 
Using the naked human body as landscape, backdrop or setting is what makes Allan Teger’s work unique, titillating and just a joy to look at.  Some are simply fun, such as the mountain climbers hoisting themselves up a perky breast.  Others are more subtle and thought-provoking, such as the side-by-side models’ torsos simulating the undulating rises and valleys of the countryside.

 
Teger says he wanted to show two realities at the same time.  “I did not initially have any interest in shooting nudes,” he says.  “The use of the human body was a way of making the point that we could see things in different ways.  It’s really all about the ‘flip’ in our heads when we realize that the landscape is really a body.”

And the body a landscape, for that matter.

Teger’s themes include farming, cowboys, travel, the beach, fishing, and even golf.  One of Teger’s more memorable golf scenes portrays a golf ball precariously perched on a pert nipple, driver at the ready.  Teger says he’s not a golfer at all, but his erotic portrayal of a woman’s curves as the rolling hills of a golf course makes that hard to believe.  Even a cart-rider will want to grab a bag of sticks and walk this course.

The models in Teger’s scenes have undeniably beautiful bodies, with perky butts, flat stomachs and naturally lovely breasts.  They are not, however, professionals.  He has a few that he uses regularly, as well as some who have asked to model simply because they love his work.  Some are just his friends.  (It’s good to have friends like this, no?)

Teger simply uses tiny toys or miniatures on the models’ bodies to get his shots; he does not combine images or use computers or Photoshop.  The Bodyscape photographs are shot on film and printed in a darkroom using fiber-based silver gelatin paper, a technique rarely used these days.  Teger says this is “the old, original paper, similar to what Ansel Adams used.”  This quality of workmanship shows when one is able to appreciate the lighting and texture of one of his prints up close. 


 
Originally from Easton, PA, Teger now lives in Vero Beach, FL.  As a psychology professor he taught for 12 years at the University of Pennsylvania and Boston University, then left to pursue art full time.  He has been featured on the Playboy Network and his work has shown in galleries all over the country.  His second book of Bodyscapes images has recently been published by Schiffer Publishing.


 
The Sin City Gallery is a great fit for him, as its “gallerist,” Dr. Laura Henkel, is also a psychologist, and both are fascinated with the psychology of erotic art.  The gallery is located inside The Arts Factory at 107 E. Charleston Blvd., suite 100.  They are open for viewings Tuesday through Saturday from 1 to 7 p.m., as well as for First Friday on May 3rd, which runs until 11 p.m. 

Stop by to see more of this fun, flirty art, and tell them T.A. from Sexy Vegas sent you.
Stay Sexy!
—T.A.

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