Vintage Pulp Shoot Causes Friction
By Kendra Holliday | May 21, 2012 at 4:00 pm
I’m a member of the STL Alternative Models and Photography Group (AMP) on Meetup. It’s led by Teya King, one of the most fearless and brazen women in town. She’s a tireless performer, model, and activist. She runs a workout boot camp that leaves Marines in the dust.
The group is always holding theme shoots, and one in particular caused quite an uproar in the local art community. Intrigued and amused, I asked Teya about it, and here is what she had to say:
“As I always do, I wanted to have a genre-specific photography event and I thought Vintage Pulp would be a fun and exciting genre for our group. Vintage Pulp is a classic genre, used on the covers of many, many crime novels and also, of course, the main genre of the movie Pulp Fiction (from where I got the idea).
The models and photographers were instructed to stay with the theme by dressing in Vintage Pulp costumes, and to do their best to recreate Vintage Pulp scenes from books and artwork. I was VERY specific that I wanted my female models to look “beautifully fucked-up” and for my male models to look like drug-addicts, thugs, gangsters, losers or a combination of all, ha. A lot of people brought their own vintage weapons, including classic sub-machine guns, realistic-looking plastic knives and guns and swords and syringes – you name it. The models were FANTASTIC. There was a lot of simulated violence, sexually suggestive scenes, blood and gore. It was GREAT! Here are some examples from the shoot:
Photo by Mike Estes, from Vintage Pulp photoshoot
Photo by Mike Estes
Photo by Tim Rulo
Photo by Mike Albers (hearts added by me for the comfort of the models)
Teya continues: “I really pushed to get the type of look and feel that Neil Krug (one of my all-time favorite photographer/artists) created in his classic Pulp series. The shoot was a fantastic success, with twenty+ models and more than thirty photographers. I’ve never seen a group of people work so hard, and so well together. They sweated their collective asses off, and had a great time. If you look at the really bloody fight scenes (which were all choreographed, picture by picture), in many of them the FEMALE models (’cause it was only the females involved the fight-scenes. yes, that’s right. The ‘bitches’ brought it!) are laughing hysterically between-takes.
I usually have a couple of people a YEAR leave the group, due to moving, not being able to make events, etc. After the Pulp shoot, I had about ten people leave the group. One of them left because he ‘didn’t like seeing the shots of violence.’ Another woman left after saying the group was obviously ‘leaning towards violence.’ Really? ONE photo shoot in SEVEN years that deals with simulated scenes of violence and that’s where the group is going?
Teya wrote a letter to those who protested, and gave me permission to share it:
Although we as a group have always been a little edgy when it came to our photographic events (and for that I am extremely grateful, as portrait work would bore the bejezus outta me), I have taken a lot of flak for hosting our Vintage Pulp Shoot. I wanted to take the time to apologize sincerely to all that were offended by our ‘violent’ images and to say, without hesitation:
Get Over It.
Vintage Pulp, like any other genre, runs with a specific theme and every one of our models and photographers knew that. No one was injured in the shoot, the blood was FAKE, the violence was FAKE, and most of our models VOLUNTEERED to take part. The Pulp Shoot was ONE shoot, done very well, and we had a LOT of fun. So much fun, in fact, that we decided to create a very tongue-in-cheek musical out of the theme, which many of you know is in production, now.
In our musical, the gals play the ‘bad guys’ and get to torment our boys, so Karma, indeed, proves to be a sexy bitch.
As for the people that have left the group because of the ‘violence,’ I say, Oh Well. I refuse to censor our photography albums when we are within our legal rights and within the group’s rules to post them. Vintage Pulp is hard-hitting stuff, but it IS art. And a lot of art, for whatever reasons, can be controversial.
Yeah, there was implied violence in our shots. So what? A lot of our themes have dealt with controversial subject matters. Again: our violence was fake, and the photo shoot was a group effort that everyone involved seemed to enjoy – a lot. We’re all grown-ups, and if anyone in this group really thinks that violence is what we’re about, then they really are morons.
I’ll go put on my flak-jacket now. In the meantime, have a lovely day. Our next shoot is around the corner and will concentrate on butterflies and baby chipmunks.”
Yeah, those baby chipmunks better watch out…
Photo by Tim Rulo
What do you think? Do these photos portraying violence against women and men cross a line? Like BDSM, is it okay for adults to roleplay dark fantasies in this manner? Is it dangerous to combine sex and violence? Personally, I think a woman leading an edgy group like this is feminist and badass.
In the meantime, you can go check out the group in action at their musical “Pulp Friction” on May 31 at The Crack Fox and see for yourself what all the fuss is about.
Comments
Stephen 2012-05-22 02:56:28
I think there were three problems with the shoot:
1. More than 10 people haven’t a clue what Vintage Pulp is/was, or think it has passed it’s prime. Bettie Page as Satan, ok, Bettie Page in a Detective graphic? Notsomuch.
http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_LxB5bkk8QeU/TJTtHhOXi3I/AAAAAAAAHzA/8KsoZx82zs8/s1600/satanb.jpg
2. You folks still think you live in a progressive city. Sorry to say, you’re still in St Louis, a bible-belt trying desperately to remove itself from the East St Louis folk.
3. Finally, and likely most importantly, you forgot to charge 15 cents for the photos. http://bishsbeat.blogspot.com/2011/05/vintage-pulp-spicy-detective-private.html
Kendra Holliday 2012-05-22 06:33:06
It’s nice having an expert on the Midwest reading my website. Where do you live, Stephen? How many times have you been to St. Louis? Personally, I’m not sorry to live here!
Stephen 2012-05-23 10:58:28
You aren’t sorry to live in St. Louis cuz you’re progressive, part of the solution!
I live in Fresno, like a certain hot librarian we both know. But I grew up in Rockford, Illinois and spent much much time in beautiful St. Louis!
davidwraith 2012-05-22 10:14:54
Just to put this in a bit of perspective, I’m going to invite you to imagine the newspaper headline:
1O PEOPLE LEAVE LOCAL PHOTOGRAPHY GROUP!
Not so huge a controversy when you look at it that way. With all due respect to Teya, who is a friend, I don’t get what the big deal is. Some people didn’t like the direction the group was going, so they left. If three times as many photographers participated in the shoot than left as a result, I suspect the group will survive just fine. No one is obligated to support something they disagree with. They are just as free to leave the group as Teya is free to cover naked women with blood and post pictures of it. Welcome to America.
Kendra Holliday 2012-05-22 11:25:39
The reason why I featured this on my site is because I got Teya’s email to the group and was so amused and intrigued by the details. I asked her if I could share it with my readers. We live in such a violent society with so much violence on TV, and a lot of the group members are all about Naughti-Gras and other racy events. It’s interesting how some things trigger people. I can certainly relate to the mixed reactions generated from atypical behavior and expression.
kukuwa 2012-05-23 18:23:25
As one of the models, I had a ball! That’s me in the 3rd photo. Not the dead one, the other one. Everyone was great to work with. The women were beautiful and the men were bad. No body got hurt. All the violence was carefully staged and plotted. And there are some photos of the girls coming out on top. Some of us guys got “beat up” pretty bad. I even got to “die” with a beautiful woman’s foot in my back.
Teya is wonderful to work with. I can’t believe how her mind works. She planned all this out and it worked like a well oiled machine.
I’ll model for her anytime she wants.
Lionman 2012-05-27 19:19:57
I have been a photographer member of Teya’s group for several years, although did not go to this one, or the last few, simply because I have been super busy lately.
When I heard others had left the group, I was VERY surprised. Consenting adults, models, photographers, artists who draw, paint, sketch, performers that sing, dance, play act – and some of them quit because the scenes had play blood and play guns ?????
I am the most anti-violent person most people know. I am a pacifist who works for Peace each and every day. But this is FICTION, with no requirement that anyone participates. It is no different, given the time set, than a piece of Mickey Spillane murder mystery literature, or a contemporary suspense movie.
Whoever left – it is their loss because the type of events Teya pulls together are unique and quite special.
Christie Grace 2012-06-04 16:29:21
Yay! Thanks for the appreciation! I’m the bloody nurse!
Christie Grace 2012-06-04 16:31:58
I also was the makeup artist for many of the models and all the “tough guys”. Every picture was a blast to shoot, and felt campy the whole time. I loved the set up and the direction of the group!
Brian 2012-06-15 11:27:50
I feel that having been a member of that group, that I appreciate the fun pulp of the shoots in general, but find after viewing the series in question, the violence in some sense supersedes any kind of narrative. Truth be told, the photos shown here are really on the tamer end of the series anyhow, so don’t provide an accurate picture. Anyway it is not any one photo that is a problem at all, more the unending stream of monotonous sameness.
Yes “Vintage Pulp” is going to contain violence, sexuality and all that, but in the interest of some narrative aside from the fetishized violence. I can deal with it in the greater scheme, but not when it is orphaned to be the only focus of attention. Then my intellectual boredom turns to repulsion. It is not the violence itself; I am an adult and have seen many violent and sexual films in my day that I liked for one reason or another, but I suppose it is the situational context.
Let me make this comparison and I will no doubt offend some or seem elitist to others, but the topic is brought up…
I know a different artist group that has models pose and every time sticks a gun or sword in the hand of the model and viola; it is “pulp” or “campy”. The model doesn’t need to be able to act or pose, there needs to be no connection between the motivation behind the action, all they have to do is take [ model + skimpy or tight outfit + gun ] and that is sadly enough of a recipe to satisfy most of the crowd. Granted I like very much many of the people there and I go once in a while, but on the other hand I take responsibility for my interests and make my own events that in general seek to run a notch above in addition to paying the models a bit more. If you have experienced them feel free to make your own constructive criticism. I open myself to it.
I get no kicks from, or am more fatigued by the spiritless demonstrations of and constriction of sexuality to such a limited box. I would expect people who see themselves as part of a sexual enlightenment would want more.
I have absolutely no fear of sexuality or eroticism. I in fact love it quite dearly. It is a delicious fruit that I couldn’t deal well without. Perhaps one of my shortcomings here is that I fail to personally make the connection between an bacchanalia of blood-letting and orgasmic pleasure. Perhaps I am out of my league in that realm… I suppose what is “tongue-in-cheek” and fun for some, is otherwise to other people.
I do apologize of my reason for leaving wasn’t made clear as a matter of *artistic choice* regarding the subject matter. In the box where it asked why I was leaving I should well have left it to: “I’m bored, yawn! Moving along”.
I thought about using a anonymous name in posting, but what the devil! I am man enough to give and also take critique from others, and I am also man enough to be willing enough to take reformations of my beliefs when needed.
Positivity to all!
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