Photoshoot - Kitchen Table

In September of 2021, we had a live performance photoshoot at the Monarch in Ogden during First Friday art stroll. The photoshoot was almost a fashion shoot, not as much focused on the table I built.

For this shoot, I wanted to play with the themes of aristocratic nonsense: ennui, malaise, pettiness, excess and un-responsibility. I was thinking mainly of the movie Trading Places with Eddie Murphy and Dan Aykroyd. I wanted to re-create and exaggerate the excessive dining room that Dan’s (and later Eddie’s) character dined in. Silver platters, a stiff butler wearing a tux, two people fully dressed up with excellent posture just to eat dinner.

I thought it would be fun to play with this theme for three reasons:

One, I simply wanted to juxtapose my simple, but careful table design with the ridiculous excess of the platters, fruit, wallpaper, cheesy art, and two very formally dressed actors.

The second reason is more complicated. I traipse.. how do I make a statement on norms when I am the norm? Who should be the actors in this ironic photoshoot? Obviously, those two people couldn’t resemble me. My first thought was to have two drag queens, but the photographer, Heidi Gress, (and producer) found two actors / models that worked really well: Sana Foliaki and Hunter Allan (who is very comfortably being themselves). Both were absolutely amazing to work with. Hopefully, future norms will look much different (and diverse and eclectic).

The third reason… I’m tired of standard marketing and branding. I love branding that has guts to take on the world. I assume some people won’t like it. As Victor Hugo said (commonly mis-attributed to Churchill): “You have enemies? Why, it is the story of every man (anyone) who has done a great deed or created a new idea.” (Italic words added by me).

Below are more photos. Hope you enjoy. We’d love to see you at the next photoshoot!