Gallery: ‘Presenting Karen A’
Karen A ‘Presenting‘ by Goncharov
Consisting of 83 images in total, this set from Goncharov is limited in size, and it is also somewhat limited in scope. The setting – a niche set into a wall just large enough for a model to sit in, and a mirror placed on the floor in front of it – is tightly framed, as well. There are no sweeping panoramas here.
This treatment puts first-time Met Art model, Karen A., front and center. Youthful and modestly proportioned, Karen has an understated, natural, and approachable style. Her charm is very much in the girl-next-door category. When – given the limiting constraints of the set on which she’s posing – she steps out of her sweet persona and reaches for something a bit more artistic the result is my single favorite image in the series, #0036. Reclining on the mirror, knees up, elbows out, her gaze averted from the lens, photographer and model arrive at a composition that is erotic and artistic in equal measure.
In an attempt to inject some pizzazz into his series Goncharov gifts his subject with a saxophone. As props go, this one fails to move me. I don’t see this petite femme making music, and certainly not with that tarnished apparatus. This may be a personal problem, however, and perhaps the sax will appeal to jazz aficionados. Having said all that, let me add that in #0078, posing with the horn, Karen A., minus her usual smile, delivers one of the stronger images in the collection.
Preview Gallery: Presenting Karen A by Goncharov.
Art Nude Models: Met Art information.
