Photographer DennyK likes to take pictures of ordinary people.
â┚¬Å”You will never find me taking pictures of pretty boys or model types,â┚¬Â he said. â┚¬Å”I like average joesâ┚¬â€Âthe kind of people you meet in your everyday life.â┚¬ÂÂ
There is nothing ordinary about the exhibit he just opened which focuses on the art of body art/tatoos. The exhibit, titled â┚¬Å”The Art of Body Art,â┚¬Â is ondisplay inside the L-Train at 900 Central Avenue, Suite 2B, in St. Petersburg through March 27. The exhibit includes 19 color and black and white photos of nude men and women sporting tattoos of all sizes.
Nearly 200 people attended the opening, which featured food, music, live demonstrations of people getting tattoos and an opportunity for those attending to get a tattoo of their own.
Denny found inspiration for the exhibit when he accompanied a friend to get a tattoo at Foolish Pride Tattoos in St. Petersburg. He started talking to the owner and comparing notes on their different art expressions.
That conversation evolved into the concept of a photo exhibit featuring people who had interesting, unique or extensive tattoos on their bodies. About half of the models for the photos came from patrons of Foolish Pride Tattoos. In all, 15 subjects modeled for the exhibit and about 2/3 are male. The age of the models varies from the late teens to the late 40s, according to Denny. More men were willing to get naked for the photos than women, Denny K says.
â┚¬Å”These aren't just pictures of people with tattoos,â┚¬Â said Denny. â┚¬Å”They are truly art photos of people who just happen to have tattoos.â┚¬ÂÂ
This is the first show that the photographer has opened which featured a particular theme. He mostly likes to take photos of every day people doing every day things.
The photographer has six tattoos of his own.
â┚¬Å”Ones on my arm, neck, ankle, back and shoulder,â┚¬Â he says. â┚¬Å”That's five visible tattoos. I'll leave it to your imagination where the sixth one is located.â┚¬ÂÂ
He added that all of his tattoos mark some specific, important occasion or event in his life.
â┚¬Å”Everyone has their own reasons for getting a tattoo,â┚¬Â said Denny. â┚¬Å”It's a very personal thing.â┚¬ÂÂ
Why tattoos? Denny says he grew up as a â┚¬Å”white trash country boyâ┚¬Â outside of Pittsburgh, Penn., and that tattoos were very common.
â┚¬Å”I guess you could say that tattoos were part of my upbringing,â┚¬Â he says. â┚¬Å”I remember them on people I knew and liked. I think they made an impact on me.â┚¬ÂÂ
Denny said his motivation for the show was his appreciation for the art form of tattoos. â┚¬Å”This gave me a way to use my art form to celebrate and explore this other art form that I love,â┚¬Â he said.
Denny K was born about 45 minutes southwest of Pittsburgh in the small farming community of Washington, Penn. His interest in the arts was sparked t an early age when he performed in school and community theater. He also took part in his school's marching and concert bands.
In his high school years, his work expanded to include some TV commercials, summer stock theater and modeling, which extended into his early adult life.
Around the age of 19, Denny K began a six year career as a professional female impersonator working the club and pageant circuit from Pennsylvania to Indiana down to Florida, where he settled in 1993.
After retiring from drag in 1996 he returned briefly to musical theater and modeling and soon found himself working as a nude model for the blossoming internet phenomenon. Finding little satisfaction in this, Denny K quit and focused his art skills on personal projects.
After redecorating his home and finding little to suit his taste in the line of male art he decided to take his own photos of men whom he found attractive to decorate his home. Receiving much positive encouragement from his home works Denny K continued to develop his style and began showing locally in 2008.
Since then he has continued to build a reputation as an artist with a fresh look at the style of classic nude studies, which he plans to continue to develop and advance.
Denny says that he hopes to expand outward from the Tampa Bay area and build a reputation first in other Florida cities like Orlando and Miami, with an eye eventually to becoming a nationally and perhaps even internationally acclaimed artist.
For more information on Denny K's art work or to contact Denny K, e-mail DennyKPhotography@yahoo.com.
