Metart Natasha Schon’s Photography

While many of Metart’s contributing artists have mastered what might be called the Metart style of photography, each photographer has his or her own unique stylistic signatures that identify and distinguish their work. Natasha Schon has one of the most distinctive styles out of the entire pool of Metart contributors. I haven’t critiqued one of Ms. Schon’s galleries for over a year, but only a blindfold could prevent me from instantly recognising this artist’s trademark style.

Presenting Fresh/em> is a studio production, highly styled, skillfully lighted, and artfully executed. It is also notable for the complete absence of explicit images, a significant omission. Schon does tend to operate at the tamer end of the spectrum, so this won’t surprise those who are familiar with her work, but those expecting a complete and detailed look at this model as she makes her Metart debut may be disappointed.

Fresh delivers a winning performance here. She’s wearing a dress made of silver metallic fabric, high heels, and a chunky silver metal necklace that serves as the set’s central prop. She’s shot against (and standing on) a textured black backdrop and subtle adjustments in lighting can make her slender frame stand out in bold relief, or let her long dark hair blend in with the inky background.

In the very first image Fresh raises a single finger to her lips in the universally understood ‘quiet please’ gesture, and when the set is silent she delivers a range of poses. There are shots here that look like an actor’s headshots, and the glam outfit and dramatic make-up contribute to the theatrical feel. Schon’s style and Fresh’s poses result in some creative figure studies #051 and #053, for example, as well as #077 and #079. And amid all the high style and moody attitude there are moments of spontaneity as in #031 where Fresh tugs at the hem of her dress or #032 where she shakes a fist at the camera. Presenting Fresh is an artistic and intriguing effort that makes up with style what it lacks in explicit heat.

Art Nude Models: Met Art information