John Coplans at Andrea Rosen - New York - Brief Article

John Coplans continues to pursue his reinvention of the photographic nude with fragmentary, over-life-sized self-portraits of his aging body. This exhibition centered around two sets of work. One presented a series of figure studies titled "Self Portraits (Sideways)" in which the artist strides forward with his torso bent nearly horizontal. The images are shot from the side. The body has been cropped so that head and lower legs are cut off, placing the emphasis on the abstracted forms that result from the pull of thighs and torso. Each work is pieced together from a pair of photographs that don't quite join to form a seamless whole. There are subtle variations from work to work. In some images, the figure's hands are visible and clasped behind his straining back. In others, they are thrust downward and disappear out of the frame. Meanwhile, the sagging belly muscles create different forms as they resettle with each slight change of pose.

Coplans's dispassionate presentation of these successive positions brings to mind Muybridge's motion studies. But even more, these figures recall Greek and Roman architectural reliefs. The cropping, the strenuous poses and the three-quarter positioning are especially reminiscent of the fragmented figures of struggling warriors on the Parthenon metopes. At the same time, one is reminded that the temple's figures, even when bereft of heads and extremities, embody an ideal of masculine physical perfection. By contrast, Coplans lets us feel the pull of gravity on weakened flesh. He too is a warrior, but his adversary is time.

The second series on display--"Self Portraits (Interlocking Fingers)"--also suggests ancient prototypes. Here, however, the echo is of icons related to various prehistoric fertility cults. Bringing the camera close to his deeply furrowed hands, Coplans locks his fingers in configurations that create surprisingly sexual images. In one work, the tips of his fingers line up, creating a double row of protuberances that evoke the multibreasted chest of Diana of Ephesus. In another, fingers recede behind framing thumbs, creating a cavelike formation suggestive of female genitalia.

Gender slippage recurs in Self Portrait (Elbow), a single bifurcated close-up in which the lined and wrinkled flesh around Coplans's elbow appears almost abstract. The image might be a bit of rugged desert terrain or a not-quite-recognizable portion of a female nude. Without the clue provided by the title, its real source might be impossible to discern.

With these works, Coplans uses his own 81-year-old body as a kind of sculptural material. In the process, he affirms both the beauty and the frailty of the flesh.

COPYRIGHT 2001 Brant Publications, Inc.
COPYRIGHT 2001 Gale Group