GAMELAN BOYS is what happens when you live with Lucy Riccardo. At some point while I'm working myself into one of my creative frenzies, planning and staging my photo shoots, my partner inevitably will exclaim "Riiiicky! I wanna be in the show!" As self-absorbed as I can be when I'm in self-imaging mode, it is hard to resist when a handsome person with secret movie-star fantasies asks for a little lens time.
Sarongs were very briefly a big gay fashion statement. In June of 1998 the New York Times ran one of its "people on the street" fashion spreads showing men at the Gay Pride celebration in sarongs of all descriptions. So I thought it would be fun to dress the Chameleon and his Consort in sarongs for the camera. For some face-transformation in keeping with the sarong theme, I did a little quick web research on Indonesian masks and puppets, and designed the make-up as a free interpretation of those beautiful designs. The Chameleon has the yellow face, the Consort has the blue. Oh, and his beard is a real one.
It was fun painting the faces and I was really pleased with the results. It made me fantasize about throwing a party where I'd paint everyone's face and get them to pose for me.
A Gamelan Orchestra is the percussion ensemble that accompanies Indonesian and Javanese puppet shows. The sound is quite beautiful. To go with the mishmash of ideas stolen from southeast Asia, "Gamelan Boys" had a fun ring to it, so that's who we became.
You can see more of "Lucy," including further variations on the sarong and blue make-up at the Chameleon's Consort link.
Images created September 5, 1998
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