Photographers - Part 72

 Terry Hastings

Terry Hastings, born in 1965, is a photographer and digital artist living in Palm Springs, California.  Earlier, we saw some of his artwork derived from photos that he had taken.

Here's another example.  The photo above is called Minotaur ...

which he made into this minimalist painting, also called Minotaur.

But he took many photos that never became paintings.  He grouped them into 4 categories corresponding to the 4 elements of ancient philosophy: earth, water, air, and fire.  Above, one of the "earth" photos, called Endeavor.

An "earth" photo called High Up.

A "water" photo called Hockney's Swimmer.

A "water" photo called Everlasting Love.

Hastings referred to the "air" element as "wind".  Above, a "wind" photo called Magnetism.

A "wind" photo called Innuendo does not show the model naked, but it's rather suggestive.

A "fire" photo called Warm Touch shows two men touching in the firelight ...

as does the "fire" photo called Embrace.

A final category of Hastings' photos is the photocollage, which he makes by digitally joining pieces of dozens of images.  The photocollage above is called Goodbye.

This photocollage is called Nude Descending the Stairs ...

which was clearly inspired by the famous 1912 painting Nude Descending a Staircase by Marcel Duchamp, above.  In this case the painting came first and the photo afterwards.

But normally Hastings starts with a photo and turns it into a painting.  We end with another example.  Although many of Hastings' photos and paintings depict naked men, they very rarely show actual sex acts.  Plumeria, above, is one of the rare exceptions.

Hastings turned it into the minimalist painting Plumeria, above.