Live Nude Dancing
Photos Daniel Trese
Live Nude Dancing is a collaboration between photographer Daniel Trese, choreographer Ryan Heffington and animator Johnny Woods. Commissioned by MOCAtv. The film is based on a piece from Heffington’s critically acclaimed show KTCHN that premiered on May 3rd at Mack Sennet Studios in Los Angeles.
Inspired by the characters of Nolan Hendrickson’s paintings, KTCHN bridged the gap between a dance-performance, a contemporary art installation, a fashion show and a killer dance party that explored celebrity culture, human loneliness, public versus private image and new elements of drag and queer culture. Live Nude Dancing airs on MOCAtv as part of the channel’s artist video projects strand which features special commissions and innovative artist video collaborations.
In Live Nude Dancing, the leading character becomes consumed by newfound fame. He starts off arrogant, cocky and confident, seemingly knowing that he has the seductive qualities to become a star. He works his moves, stellar presence and dresses to impress – serenading his audience. As he takes on his public persona, we enter on-and-off dual realities narrated through extraordinary use of animation. One follows his intrinsic experiences and submission to fame, and the other his determination to maintain his status.
Success quickly turns into greed, taking over his famished personality and clouded ego. The camera and the public eye become his worst enemy. Their ownership of his life turns absolute as he performs in tandem with the stream of cash, desperately holding on to his stardom trough degrading cheap tricks and thrills. At the point of saturation, money slows down, and his exhausted need for attention and validation leads to a state of desperation that have his fans and the celebrity machine pull away from their desired super star. Left alone, naked and defeated, he is brought down to his knees scrambling for leftover cash, and ultimately becomes a victim of his own doing.
Trese’s film functions as an extension of a specific scene from KTCHN based on Hendrickson’s painting ‘Live resort wear’, a flattened representation of human desperation and the attempts to conceal and defeat it when placed in the public eye.
Written and performed by Alex Black
Features Greedy Boy
Filmed on location at Mack Sennet Studio
Live Nude Dancing by Daniel Trese, Ryan Heffington and Johnny Woods is viewed on:
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