Reimagining Tom of Finland by Jose Arroyo
Jose Arroyo defines his work as more than just photography -- rather, it's an illusion of reality that's meant to evoke genuine feelings of self-empowerment in the viewer, an experience he still strives for in his life.
"My work is an expression of who I am, primarily of those feelings that I normally wouldn't express openly," says Arroyo. "I grew up with an extremely poor self-image, so my first motivation was to focus on people that didn't think of themselves as attractive or photogenic and capture the beauty in them. As I developed my identity as a gay man, I continue to use my images as a safe canvas in which to explore those feelings I'm still too afraid to express publicly."
Arroyo's latest photo series, seen here, is the result of two concepts: gender bending and experimenting with the capturing of water through LED lights, which creates the sensual atmosphere of a nightclub. The two models, Ruaraidh (Rory) Hunter (@Ruars1) and Joel Dixon (@JoelDixon), were the perfect duo for the project.
"I was inspired to do an homage to the work of Tom of Finland, a master at showcasing hypermasculinity in his drawings, but with a gender-bender twist," says Arroyo, referring to the masc-for-masc work of Finnish artist Touko Valio Laaksonen (a.k.a. Tom of Finland). The iconic artist, who framed the cultural gay male gaze of the late 20th Century, drew his imagery. But Arroyo took photos and worked backwards into these art prints.
"For the final touch, the images were edited in gritty black-and-white to emulate the feel/look of a drawing," the photographer explains.
"I started taking pictures at age 15, when my father, a photographer specializing in landscapes, gave me his old camera and told me, 'See what you can do with it,'" says Arroyo, who credits Annie Leibovitz, Herb Ritts, and Victor Skrebneski as some of his artistic inspirations.
Arroyo, who's admittedly become "very comfortable" with studio photography and hopes to create a series shot at California's Joshua Tree and the Mojave Desert, is now working on a project focusing entirely on men and their relationship with their penises.
"It will be a combination of photography and essays where the subjects will describe their relationship to their cocks," he says of the project in development. "It will be a major departure to what my line of work has focused in the past, which basically has been capturing the beauty of the male form without necessarily focusing on the male organ."
Meet Photographer Jose Arroyo
"I have always seen myself as an artist orillusionist rather than just a photographer,since an image is an illusion of reality," says the Los Angeles-based photographer. This particular shoot, featured in the latest print issue of Out, saw him experimenting with water, LED lights, and of course, corsets.
Arroyo tells Out that this year he's aspiring to experiment outside of the studio. "I'm constantly challenging myself," he says. "I want to get out and create a series shot at Joshua Tree and the MojaveDesert."
Check out more of Arroyo's work at JoseArroyo.photo. Follow him on Instagram at @JoseArroyoPhotos.
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