Clement-04.jpg

Squatting

Sometimes shooting models makes me want to shoot models.

God dammit my pants are way too tight…around the thighs.

As Clement gracefully stretches himself over the warm, metallic edifice of the Disney Music Hall, his burgundy coat radiating with a fierce energy of its own, all I can think is “Fuck, my thighs!” I was impressed at how quickly he becomes comfortable in his own skin on such a warm day. Like a child covered in mud, unfazed by the dirt and the water slowly drying into clay, he still manages a genuine smile against what I assume would be obvious discomfort.

The more he becomes the model I hoped he would be the more my pants feel like a tiny cage, desperately trying to hold two very angry jaguar cubs (The pants are small so the animal must be small. House-cats would also fit in my pants but I’ve seen house cats in a cage; adorable, often content. Jaguars in a cage; angry, sad. My thighs; angry, sad. Science.)

The walls of the Music Hall stand like splashing mercury frozen in time. I follow Clement’s reflection as it moves along the mercury walls to a gorgeous walkway on the south-end of the incredible structure. Two towering tidal waves of metal stretch high above our heads reflecting the gentle blue of the sky. Between these two colossal mirrors I am transported hundreds of years into the future where everyone is so fucking handsome they make their buildings out of reflective materials so people can look at themselves. I take a quick glance at my own reflection and realize that sadly, we are still in 2015, still a part of the very, very flawed world.

As my model and his reflection continue to move effortlessly against brushed steel I continue to be displaced in time as I bear witness to his ability to shape a moment with his sharp features and willing attitude. Without a word of warning he turns a corner and I am left to follow this tear in time toward the west-end of the future.