The other night I was looking through Pinterest when an unusual image caught my attention. I did a double take and then laughed out loud. There on my screen was an image of an average, middle-aged guy (big hairy chest and all) standing in the middle of a field of cows – wearing nothing but a pale pink tutu.
[“Cows” a self portrait © Bob Carey – Available for purchase to raise money for breast cancer research.]
I love this photograph – it is a brilliant and truly funny image and yet it’s not silly – here too is vulnerability and self expression. In my opinion, this highly unusual self portrait is varsity-level work. The color is rich, the composition is great, the way Bob Carey is holding both his body and his hands is at once graceful and clunky, and the interaction between Bob and the brown cow on the left adds a level of narrative interest that really appeals to me. When I launched over to the Tutu Project website, I was impressed with the diverse portfolio of travel self portraits; there are tutu portraits in Italy, snowy urban streets, parking lots at night, beaches, and red desert roads. Here are two more of my favorites:
[“San Fransisco” a self portrait © Bob Carey – Available for purchase to raise money for breast cancer research.]
[“Subway” a self portrait © Bob Carey – Available for purchase to raise money for breast cancer research.]
And then there is the best part. Bob made his first tutu image for a commercial job he took on for Ballet Arizona, but when events in his personal life became a challenge – namely the stresses of moving across the country and then his wife being diagnosed with breast cancer – the self portraits became a lot more. This time he took the portraits simply to make his wife laugh. Wow. That is so sweet and so poignant that it breaks my romantic heart and makes me tear up. Here’s a quote about the power of love, laughter, and art from Bob’s website:
“Six months after the move, Linda, was diagnosed with breast cancer. She beat it, only to have it recur in 2006. During these past nine years, I’ve been in awe of her power, her beauty, and her spirit. Oddly enough, her cancer has taught us that life is good, dealing with it can be hard, and sometimes the very best thing—no, the only thing—we can do to face another day is to laugh at ourselves, and share a laugh with others.”
This fall, Bob will self-publish a book called Ballerina, and 100% of the net proceeds will go directly to breast cancer organizations – including CancerCare.org and the Beth Israel Department Integrative Medicine Fund. In addition to the book, Bob sells limited editions of the tutu portraits, and t-shirts. Check it out:
- The Tutu Project Website: http://www.thetutuproject.com/
- The Tutu Project on Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/pages/The-Tutu-Project/106996669085
In Joy,
Melinda Eliza