CARRIE LEIGH

PART TWO

JL: How did you get into photography. Was it through your work with Playboy or was this after that time? Is your photography mostly nudes?

Carrie Leigh: Actually this I have to blame on my husband-he always told me I had to do something with my artistic side and one day he gave up telling me bought me a camera and I started photographing the Dakotas the Black Hills and some of my Native American friends.

Then one day I started shooting models and away it went -the subject matter now is nudes because that is what I shoot best at this time. I always shoot in Black and White with shadows shades and natural light. I never use a studio or indoor lights.

Also now that the magazine is out and doing great I have received a lot of email from other black and white artistic nude photographers, models and the general public thanking me for bringing this art form back, so I guess I will be shooting Black and White nudes for a long time to come

 

JL: What was your experience like working with some of these great fashion photographers like Helmut Newton, Francesco Scavullo, Hureel and Stan Malinowski?

Carrie Leigh:  When I was a young model in Toronto I always tried to shoot with artistic photographers.  When I shot for clothing lines etc... I tried to include art into my poise.  Shooting for Newton Hurrel and Francesco Scavullo became a labor of artistic love for me.  It was a thrill to shoot with them also since they were secure in who they were they let me be artistic as I could be.  Unfortunately, some of the more artistic work was never published because Hef and Playboy thought it did not fit their image.  I shot a great cover for the First Lady of the Playboy Mansion Issue and they selected one that fit the Playboy image.  Shooting with Stan Malinowski has now become one of the most treasured moments in my modeling career.  Here again Playboy did not use the shoot except for an image after I left but Stan has become a dear friend, mentor and supporter of NUDE Magazine.  Actually he has now become NUDE's Art Director.  My husband and I feel as if he were part of our family.

JL: How has being a model yourself, helped you with being a photographer?

Carrie Leigh: I have used my early modeling experience in all my photography.  As a young girl I loved art and now I have the opportunity to explore art through the other side of the lens-I Love It.  I treat my models as I would have wanted to be treated as a model - with respect.  I am open to their suggestions during a shoot because when I was a model I liked to work with photographers who appreciated my input therefore I try to shoot models who have a creative energy.

JL: How did this idea to do a nude photography magazine come about?  What inspired this exactly?

Carrie Leigh: I started shooting nudes and my models asked me to put up a small internet site-I did. Soon traffic came to the site other photographers came to the site (Stan was the first well known photographer to compliment my work) As the site grew I was offered a book deal (for my photography) then one day a friend suggested that I produce a magazine, my husband and I said sure why not. A month after that a call came in from a major distributor and he asked if it is true are we shopping a magazine contract situation. The gentleman talked to my husband and said that he would be in town the following week and would we be available for a meeting. Again, we were open to anything. We came up with the concept and had the meeting and came back with a contract.

The inspiration was a combination of the photographers, the models, and the idea that there should be a Fine Art Magazine printed in the highest quality available that features the best photographers from around the world.  In addition to that we wanted NUDE to make a statement and through the celebrity interview it does just that.  To be honest the way mainstream America views the female form is not right.  Everyone is beautiful and this magazine allows that to be portrayed in an Artistic way.

When photographers like Kim Weston exhibited their work in our first Issue I felt honored.  Now some of the greatest photographers in the world are in touch and we will be displaying their work in future issues-to display this type of Art truly inspires me and everyone at NUDE.

JL: Who is the girl on the cover of NUDE magazine by the way?

Carrie Leigh: The girl on the Cover is Sydney Brown. One of the nicest people on earth.  A kind person with a heart of gold - I have shot Sydney for about six months and she, like all my models, has a very creative side.  In the magazine I exhibit and in future Issues the artistic work I did with Sydney will be displayed.

JL:  When you said the way America portrays the female form is not right, do you mean in terms of what is considered to be beautiful these days in terms of body shapes?  I mean when Rembrandt or Ruben's were painting models the concept of  beauty was much different back then. Women tended to be much heavier? 

Carrie Leigh: No, what I meant was that there was a period of time when models modeled for art then it was turned into erotic art. NUDE only exhibits artistic nudity.  There is no open legs or shaved area shown. Actually someone yesterday said it best after they looked at the magazine he said  "I did not even realize that I was looking at a magazine of nude women because the art was so beautiful"

(click on the photographers gallery on my website www.carrieleigh.com then compare that to a Hustler, Playboy (today's Playboy not one from the 80's pr Penthouse)

Also I love the work of all the photographers in my magazine - they all portray the female form in a standard of art that I consider respectful to women.  So I guess when you asked whose work I like you can add everyone in the magazine and everyone who will ever be in Carrie Leigh's NUDE because they would not be in it if I did not love their art.  For me as a Publisher and a Photographer, the Art is the most important element, not who has the best camera or who shoots in film vs. digital or who knows more about the camera - it is simply whose art appeals to what NUDE is creating.

JL: So is the distinction mainly when the genitalia is shown?  What do you think of Gustav Courbet The Origin of the World 1866 www.artnet.com/Magazine/features/kuspit/kuspit6-10-15.asp

These artists painted woman's genitalia, etc.

Carrie Leigh: Great question and I have had this conversation numerous times with some legendary photographers and it always comes down to - what do you believe the artist is attempting to say so here is how I look at it:

I have to separate Carrie Leigh the photographer and Carrie Leigh the publisher.  As a photographer I work with my models to find the elements that create what we would consider art using natural light

 

How does the model want the world to see herself and how do I as a photographer make the image into a art that the person looking at it will be drawn in and say look at the use of all the elements of the environment or in some of my more (what I believe) edgy work say oh my god this is out there - she is really making a statement (I get emails - regarding my image of the model with the guns and the one where the model looks like she is in Palm Springs sitting on a lounge saying Fuck Off all the time saying "Great Thought Provoking Work keep it up you are making women look strong"

Now as a publisher I look at work and say what is the photographer or artist thinking, are they trying to make a statement of art, statement of erotic art or statement of pornographic art.  As a publisher I look for the statement of art.  What is this image saying to me.  If it goes to the land of erotic or porn it is not for NUDE Magazine.  The artist and the models must make a statement for Art.

JL:  It also seems that many of these magazines like Playboy have become much more explicit, like Hustler and Penthouse like you said.  What do you think that is about? Do you feel this is exploitive of woman?

 

Carrie Leigh: Because I made the mistake of living in a one on one relationship with Hugh Hefner when I was very young, I have a lot of information regarding Playboy and why they are doing what they have done and what they are doing-the move to explicit images started as I was leaving Hef.

Larry Flint and  Bob Guccioine were honest about what and why they published what they published.  Hugh Hefner, at the start of Playboy and for a while was, but then he deceived the public.  Around 1986 while living with him many young clothing designers approached me and made outfits for me.  I then started shopping  for materials and created clothing with them.  I told Hef how cheap it was to create the clothing and that Playboy should create another division with clothing high fashion models (they were almost going under financially and were desperate at that time) and market it with their Brand.  Hef told me it would never work (good thing for the then to come Victoria Secret, who did it right) and he told me that this would not be good for Playboy.  The image of the Playmate was too important and anything to detract from that would be bad.

Also at that time Hef had another choice as they were losing Market Share - either make the Magazine more artistic or compete with Hustler and Penthouse - He selected the second.

Also here I want to add the following, The media and marketing arm of Playboy is one of the best in the World - it has made the public believe that having a Harem is the way to go and for young girls to aspire to become a member of a Harem is a good thing - let's take women's rights back 1000 years.  Years ago Hef use to say Playboy was the partner of the Women's Rights Movement-do you think that the Girls Next Door represents Women's Rights?  Again lets take a thousand steps backwards and next thing we will see is Women looking for their Civil Rights and this is a field I now have expertise in as I have worked with the Best Civil Rights Attorneys and Activists in the World.

I ask you to name 10% of the Playmates in the past 50 plus years - no one can.  That is how important they are - what was important to Hef was the fact that Playboy was more important than the models.

JL: Do you feel some of these magazines like Playboy or Hustler can be exploitive of women even if the model knows very well what she is getting into?

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Carrie Leigh: Unfortunately, some of the media has bought into this concept and has made it alright so the young models actually believe that this is what they should do.  When girls aspire to be porn stars (which is now almost mainstream), I believe that the World has gone sideways. Yes, they consent but years down the road in their life most will regret what they are consenting to. They are consenting because those around them say it is alright. This happened to me.  Hef told me I had to be a Playmate, I SAID NO. He then told me I will be Playmate of the Year - I SAID NO. I thought a title of PLAYMATE was putting down women. Women are not Playmates they are people. He then said it was not good for his image or PLAYBOY if I did not shoot for the Magazine. I had no problem with nudity if presented in the right style and form. I had no problem shooting nudes with great photographers who knew how to shoot art.  Hef agreed so I brought in outside photographers, as well as a few in house photographers  for The First Lady of the Playboy Mansion shoot  

In my magazine except for the Cover Model, the models do not have names and the Cover Model is shot so artistically the nudity (which is minimal) is not even noticed - extremely different because it is art not erotica or porn I am not looking to sexually arouse the viewer I am looking to get the viewer to think about the art form.

JL: Who are some of your favorite photographers?

Carrie Leigh: Photographers whose art I love; Edward Weston, Kim Weston, Helmut Newton, George Hurell, Lucien Clergue, Leonard Nimoy, Imogen Cunningham of course Stan Malinowski, Francesco Scavullo and a virtually unknown artist that was in our first Issue Nick Ash.  There are many others but then as a publisher if I listed them then it would look like I am playing favorites so I won't.

JL: Will you be interviewing mainly photographers or other types of artists, musicians, actors, etc?

Carrie Leigh: The magazine features interviews with famed photographers, and celebrities that have something to say regarding culture art or politics-so that could include anyone from an actor to a musician to a king of Wall Street.

JL: What about figurative sculpture. Will you also include sculpture as well as the painting section?

Carrie Leigh: Actually, in the first issue of NUDE we featured the work of  Antoine de Villiers, who works with canvas and is exhibited in numerous galleries.

We will exhibit figurative sculpture as it is definitely part of the Art World and we will work with emerging photographers because they will become as time moves on, the heart and soul and energy of the Art World.