hen I started making these photographs in 1971, I was interested in exploring how the body could be reduced to surfaces with curves similar to sine waves and other mathematical topographies. Initially, the images were very close up and at times difficult to decipher. Was a form a shoulder, breast, or elbow? Very soon my interest expanded to seek out subcutaneous structures of muscle, bone and tendon. In discussing these objectives with my models I found them to be eager collaborators. Sharon, one of my first models, made a film consisting of my photographs and film sequences she shot herself. There was no narcissism in this self-portrait; it was more a matter of self-exploration.

With Sharon, as with all of the others, we would shoot alone, sometimes using a single lamp for highlighting. Vanessa, another model I photographed for two years, was rather detached, saying that her body was her “instrument” either for pictures of her employment as a professional dancer. She had never been photographed before to her satisfaction, a common feeling I often encountered. For most models I became a kind of mirror, and we had repeat sessions. Part of their payment was a set of prints, which were more important than the hourly fee I insisted on paying.

These images are not primarily about sexuality, but are about, I believe, an interior terrain invisible on a daily basis. They are time-consuming to make, successful to the extent that we work together, and are an endless subject. Edward Weston and Frantisek Dritcol are touchstones for this work.