Model Society

about Randy Lagana

Male

I was six years old when I made my first serious piece of art and since then I have pursued art to communicate, explain, and reveal what I see in the world and how I see the world. I wanted to make my living with my art but life happened and took me in a different direction. I worked as a police officer, drug counselor, and parole officer. However, I continued to make art every chance I could while working and earning a degree in Criminal Justice and Psychology. Now that I am retired from state service I get to pursue and make art on a full-time basis.

I have been painting since I was 13, which gives me a little over 60 years experience. I have always used photography in conjunction with painting and viewed my camera as one more “brush” with which to create my visions. A friend asked me if I had considered making the photos the finished art. So I began to create art with the camera. Art is a way to see like poetry is a way to speak.

My background in painting drives my approach to photography. When creating a painting, I have an idea, brushes, a set of paints, and a canvas. When making a photo, I have an idea, my camera is my brush, my model is my set of paints, and the location is the canvas. I continue to push around all these elements until I get the result I want.

I have always known that art has incredibly therapeutic power. I have worked through my own personal issues while painting. I discovered that asking people to pose nude is very empowering. It is also a little scary, but pushing through the fear generates a sense of confidence and capability. I did not realize that anyone participating in the creative process could also benefit therapeutically until Elora and I collaborated.

This was her first experience posing nude. She is a talented yoga instructor and I thought she would be a fascinating model. We worked for a couple of hours and I was thrilled with the results. We had made some beautiful and powerful images and I thought there was nothing else to get from this experience. I was mistaken. Some time later, Elora revealed to me that I asked the right question at the perfect time, when I asked her to pose for me. She had been wrestling with past sexual abuse. She said I presented an open door to complete her journey and she chose to walk through it. It was the final part to make herself whole again and at peace with her history.

You never know what impact your art will have on someone. I never anticipated this and I am so honored to have played even a small part in the healing process. What a gift for both of us.