F Magazine

Aura Rosenberg Selected Head Shots archive materials (1991 – 2017)

Selected Head Shots archive materials (1991 – 2017) by Aura Rosenberg
Published and distributed by F & Martos Gallery, New York
Publication Date: May 2017.
11 x 8.5 inches, saddle stitched
64 pages, black and white, Risograph
Edition of 300
SOLD OUT

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Edited by Aura Rosenberg and Adam Marnie
on the occasion of Aura Rosenberg, Head Shots: Mike Kelley
Martos Gallery, Frieze New York, May 5 – 7 2017.

“Recently I rediscovered negatives for these 22 photographs of Mike Kelley, which I’m showing here for the first time. They are part of Head Shots (1991 – 1996), a series of photo portraits showing men seemingly caught in a moment of ecstasy. In other words, I wanted to portray orgasm, without specifying whether it is real or fake. While this uncertainty coincides with the question of photographic truth, I also wanted to counter the stereotypical representation of masculinity that represses displays of emotion. This, in some ways, offered men an alternative and liberating point of view. After my shoot with Mike, he joked that because they were headshots and not cum shots “only the photographer knew for sure.”

Aura Rosenberg, 2017