Description

On Thursday, April 14th, a solo exhibition of the work of BEN CHASE will open at HAUS, a unique contemporary art gallery in Pasadena. The artist’s reception will be held Sunday, April 10th from 4 to 7 p.m. As both the model and digital photographer of this series, Ben Chase assumes the persona of a somewhat aging performer/stage “hoofer”, posing theatrically for his “8 x 10 glossies”. Choosing to photographically become one of the flamboyant actors his conservative parents had always warned him about - the parental expectations of "manliness" were a burden from the get-go, with feelings of failure in living up to such stereotypes - the photos finally serve as homage to the performers his parents condemned. Picking up his clues from the internet and reality TV – where people no longer wait passively for their 15 minutes of fame - this "showguy" desperately attempts to hold the viewer’s attention (is it “audition” or is it “seduction”?) through his pathetic self-promotion. In this way Chase prods our thoughts on sexuality, masculinity, fame, self-confidence, reality and many other aspects of contemporary culture.