THE SATYR is a character I had in mind for quite some time before I actually brought all the elements together in front of the camera. On two occasions I sketched out various elements of the costume and makeup; then a number of elements I had on hand (like the orange and yellow raffia that I used for his hair and tail) fell into place at the last minute. Visually, I was influenced most by pictures of dancer/choreographer Vaclav Nijinski playing the central figure in his ballet Afternoon of a Faun. This is reflected in the body makeup and in some of the poses. It is not reflected in the face where I chose to once again exercise my beard fetish.
THE SATYR is one of several characters I've done who represents a supernatural figure of some kind. I had originally conceived him as a being of voracious sexual appetite, who bestows a kind of blessing when he has sex, an empowerment or capacity to find fulfillment -- like the vampires in Jewelle Gomez's The Gilda Stories. But none of this was on my mind as I enacted the character, and I experienced him as rather childlike and self-absorbed. But very sensual. Assuming the animal attributes -- horns, spots, tail -- surely brought this aspect out.
Images created August 28, 1998
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