Atlanta-based photographer Philip Bonneau is having a moment. His provocative superhero-themed photo series Heroes + Villains has earned him worldwide acclaim and attention, including a recent profile in The Advocate. Combining sexiness and silliness in equal measure, Bonneau's playful, powerful images cast unconventional models as iconic comic book characters, tweaking notions of identity, gender, sexuality, and power. After two successful exhibitions at Atlanta’s MISTER Community Center, the self-taught photographer has launched a Kickstarter campaign to raise funds for a third series inspired by high fashion and modern art. Bonneau describes Heroes + Villains:
The Heroes + Villains collection is based around adults reconnecting with their childhood and remembering what it was like to pretend. As people age their imagination gets lost somewhere in the shuffle of adult life. Stress takes over. The dreams shift from the fantastical to, for some, just getting by and making ends meet. We are basically trained to let go of our dreams and adventures after a certain point.
This collection strives to bring that sense of wonder back to adults, taking into consideration that not every boy or girl wanted to be the conventional choice of characters. No one is denied the opportunity in this series to be whomever he or she so desires. Some believe that they can never grow up to become the heroes of their childhood. This series will prove to unseat that mentality.
The photographs themselves are fabulous, freaky fun. In each shot, the model looks to be having the time of his or her life, playing out a long-buried fantasy of embodying an classic superhero or villain. Simplified costumes, found-object props, and a purpose-built low-fi aesthetic further underline the homemade-Halloween childhood associations and for all the skin that’s showing the photos are by and large less suggestive than actual comics art.
For a third exhibition, Bonneau wants to take the role-playing in Heroes + Villains farther, incorporating more locations, props, and technical equipment. Heroes + Villains #1 and #2 were funded entirely by Bonneau. As his style and skills evolve, he’s realized that in order to achieve what he wants from a third series, he needed the support of his community in a new way. Where the first two had focused on Marvel and DC superhero characters, respectfully, symbolizing our childhood dreams and heroes, a more ambitious and sophisticated third show will expand the subjects into the realms of animation and fairy tales and heighten the aesthetic.
As with any good hero and villain story, there must be a TWIST. The twist for Issue #3 is reversing the genders, portraying the characters through inventive use of cross-dressing costuming. Male models will be portraying female characters and the women will be male counterparts. This will provide a more otherworldly experience disconnecting the model and viewer from the everyday norm. This will range from true drag, camp and humor to having other gender clothing factor in but not take away from the model's gender. This visual theme seems ideal for high-fashion style imagery. The costumes are allowed to be more intricate than before and we go from innocent portrayal of characters into realms that embrace at its core; individuality and a true testing of these characters iconic identity.
We were really excited to speak with Bonneau to learn more about his inspiration, his fascination with cosplay and superhero identities, and what he’s hoping to accomplish with Heroes + Villains.
Geeks OUT: Hi Philip! You're promoting a planned 3rd installment of your provocative Heroes + Villains series. Whereas the first two featured models as Marvel and DC characters, respectfully, Heroes + Villains #3 will include characters from cartoons and fairy tales, as well as more high-fashion and modern art motifs. Can you describe this evolution and what inspired you to take Heroes + Villains to the next level?
Philip Bonneau: For me, Heroes + Villains has always been a personal journey and a search to find who I am. In doing so I regressed back to my childhood and started this series with what I love and knew the most about which was Marvel comic characters. Turns out more people grew up wanting to be comic book heroes than I thought. Heroes + Villains Issue #1 opened in December 2011. Issue #1 garnered enough positive responses and a crowd for me to know that the interest was there in the theme, but there was something else needed. Issue #2 went straight into the DC universe and really threw environment into the pictures. Whereas the first show was mainly based in studio shoots with no background, I really turned up the notch of creating a whole plausible world for these makeshift characters to live in.
From a photographer's perspective, I was terrified of the main DC characters. Most have been shot before to the point of cliché, more so than the Marvel Universe. I really had to research into what had been done in order to do something new. When Issue #2 opened up in April, things blew up. The clear story that was missing in the first show was found in this one.
Over 500 people attended my opening and the most awesome experience was seeing every single person in there revert to their childhood. People were talking about their childhood stories about the characters. The escapism worked. Press, including Geeks OUT, covered the story. I had started conversation across the globe about how I depicted my characters. Some got the deeper meaning, some did not. I think all of that really blew me away as I never expected the attention, not on that level. Issue #2 gave me the confidence to try harder and constantly raise the bar. Issue #3 was always going to be that special show to me and everyone else. Based on the success of the past, the third draft to my story has the chance to be something unlike what has been seen before—both from me and with these characters.
Models as superheroes is a popular theme for artists and photographers but you've found a fresh approach to it. What's your take on why people love to pretend to be these characters?
I think it boils down to nostalgia and escapism. I remember going to Disney World as a child and freaking out over seeing Roger Rabbit and Mickey. These are our childhood heroes come to life. You see them personified and you instantly escape back to some similar moment of your childhood. I think it is popular as adults to dress as them because they know they are giving some kid that same memory or it really just gives them a chance to take on a whole different persona than who they are. Desk job by day, Cosplay hero or villain by weekend. Some people spend crazy amounts of money on costumes because they believe in this illusion of a world of heroes. I live in Atlanta and experience Dragon*Con every year. It is surreal some of the things people create. I think where I come in is that I prove that you can be the same character someone spent $2,000 to put together with simply $10 worth of props. It's what you make it. In the eyes of child they do not see a price tag, they see their idols.
The diversity of the models both in the existing two series and your planned #3 casting is great—both sexes, a wide range of colors, shapes, types, and ages. Why is this important to you? To the idea of heroes and fantasy?
Look in any magazine and televisions show and you see what society has dubbed "the beautiful people." There is without a doubt a certain type of person that is used for the image of a company, movie or advertisement without much variance from that. For the most part I tend to not use professional models. On some level, those people know they are a pretty face and can work the camera. Not to say I will not use conventional models, but Heroes + Villains is focused on the every day person being able to live in the spotlight a bit. It is about being anything you want to be and going against years of "No." I find all of the people I photograph beautiful and perfect in their own ways. For some I really have to convince them that what I see in them is there. I actually take pride in proving people wrong when they say they have never taken a good picture before in their life. That level of excitement and confidence they get when they see the final result changes them on a personal level, just as much as they are changing and bettering me. The definition of fantasy is, "The faculty or activity of imagining things that are impossible or improbable." There is a hero or villain in everyone I see. I just prove to them that the impossible can be possible. I've been called the Tony Robbins of photographers with what I do with my models and I am 100% okay with that. If I make a difference internally or externally, then I consider my art successful.
Do you cast for subjects or do your models choose whom they'd like to portray? You make it sound as personal for the models themselves as for you, in terms of what they're showing.
It definitely works both ways. In the beginning I would look at my friends and people and just instantly know that I see them a particular way and as a certain character. I think where the shift changed was I was actually approached during Issue #1 by a model who wanted to portray a different hero. I just did not see him as the character at all, but then we started talking and he told me why this was his favorite character growing up. He really sold me on the idea that he was supposed to be a part of this show and we made it work. After the shoot, I could imagine no one else playing that character. I think that moment kind of defined the rest of the series: If someone really wants to be a character, who am I to deny them the opportunity? It's their fantasy realized and it very much becomes a more successful collaboration between artist and model when the model is emotionally invested into the project. For Issue #3, due to the controversy and emotional impact of the subject matter and really stretching the limits of icons, I am actually requiring my models to write me why they want to be a particular character. I've added characters to this show that I probably would not of shot, but to me their story is as compelling to me as mine is to anyone else. This whole series is about self-discovery, for myself, the models, and the viewers.
You describe Heroes + Villains as a celebration of individuality, but the models are dressed up as other people—familiar characters and classic archetypes. Yet you can tell they're really feeling themselves, both as heroes and as villains. Since you've conjured and captured it, what's happening here?
This is where the trickster in me comes in. I will never shoot a 100% literal interpretation of a character and not just for legal reasons. As much as these people represent these larger-than-life characters, they are simply normal people grabbing whatever is around them to put this together. I trick them and the viewer into thinking these are portraits of the their heroes, when ultimately they are portraits of the models themselves. These people chose these characters or agreed to shoot them because they saw something in themselves with them. They related to them. Heroes + Villains is not just character photography. Looking back on the whole series in my head I see these portraits as being a baby step for myself and these people in realizing that there is so much for them to offer the world. It's a movement of discovering something new within ourselves.
Personally, I love the found-object and DIY costuming of the first two shows—especially Wolverine's butter-knife claws and Hawkman's spray-painted soccer ball mace. You're going for something more sophisticated and professional for #3?
What I am looking for in Issue #3 is to expand the creativity of the found objects and homemade feel. My concepts can be very far out there at times and the only thing that has limited me is budget and technical skills. With high fashion photography most of the outfits utilized in them are larger than life and not practical in the real world. I like looking for the creative solution to that problem without making it feel reductive. Basically as far as props go, the painter artist in me will always have my hands-on experience with these shoots but basically upping the budget from $10-15 for props to around $100–150. Since my shows and exposure, I have makeup artists and fashion designers who have offered to jump on board to help expand that wonder a bit more. They want to be a part of this because it is something different. Looking around the house, shower curtains can be turned into dresses. Blinds can be made into hats. If Issue #2 is the everyday middle class, I look for Issue #3 to be high society with the boundaries of the rules I've established with the first to. The main expansion for me is on the technical side with better equipment to really polish the images.
Care to give us a hint as to some classic characters or scenes you're hoping to shoot for #3? How a higher-fashion take and higher budget would translate into what people will see in the photos?
Hmmm, well I am tapping into the He-Man universe, Disney princesses and also really tackling the Iconic females of the comic world. The example I give of where I want to go is for the Queen of Hearts from Alice in Wonderland. I envisioned this dress handmade from playing cards. The entire dress. Will that actually work in real life? Only one way to find out. Needless to say I will come up with humorous solutions to some of these and all of these characters concepts are really stretching who they are. Some play on the name such as Sleeping Beauty really just being a whore, while others will very disconnected from the norm with color and little hints through objects in the pictures.
You're a pretty young photographer in that you only really started focusing seriously on photography itself a few years ago and soon after, Heroes + Villains was born. I first read about your 2nd show on Comic Book Resources and your #3 fundraising is already getting a lot of buzz. How's that feel? And buzz is one thing—is it working?
I feel very lucky and blessed that the support has been there since the beginning. I'm a self-taught photographer for 4 years now. I've learned a long time ago people will be there for you if you’re willing to put the effort into something yourself. With the fundraising for Heroes + Villains #3 it is hard and humbling for me. I've worked for everything I've owned and gotten by with what I have. I've never asked for anything monetary before. However, it was very important when launching the Kickstarter that I was able to backup my request for help by proving my skills in photography and having a clear concept. The support is there and I’ve been amazed at the people that have gotten behind me to see this dreams come true. As of writing this I'm at 50% with 11 days left to raise money. It's scary because there is that chance that this whole month of fundraising will not be successful.
Kickstarter is an all or nothing project where if I do not reach the goal I set for myself no money is paid out. With the attention I've gotten from it so far I feel that the financial aspect is no longer required to me to push forward. If it is successful then that giant evolutionary step will come and I can execute on the level I am striving for. But, if it is not then I am ok teaching people the lesson that all your dreams do not always come true when you want them, but that should never stop you from continuing to try. I run on faith that things happen as they should, but I am definitely putting up that fight to see that my Kickstarter is a success. It's been kind of like a second job to me—as it should be. I wrote The Advocate in my daily “Who the Hell can I reach out to today for help?” They responded back within 20 minutes. We agreed to an artist spotlight. With DC and Marvel hitting the news later on that same day [DC's announcement that Earth-2 Green Lantern Alan Scott is now gay, and Marvel's July wedding of out X-Man Northstar—ed.], they threw me to the main page headline. Honestly, that was like winning the lottery. When the article hit I literally had to leave the office.
Two solo exhibitions a year apart and an ambitious third planned, with more sophisticated equipment and techniques. You're really embracing learning as you go!
Constantly learning is very important to me. I believe the moment you think this is it—that “this” is all you have to offer—then you are giving up the chance to see what you are really made of. Like a child, each shoot I do is a new experience for me. I've gone from crawling, to walking, to a big wheel to a bike with training wheels. There is always going to be room for growth for me and I always find out things about myself after the fact when I look back at a show. Sometimes I pull a George Lucas and will revisit pieces already done and just expand on them ever so slightly to perfect them as I well as I can with the newly discovered knowledge. On some level I've had this idea that if Issue #1 is me as a child, #2 is my teen years, #3 is my twenties, and #4 is when I finally find who I am as an adult.
Heroes + Villains finishes with a planned 4th show that would feature black-and-white photography of models 65 or older. Can you describe what you're going for with this much tighter focus? Your grandfather got you into comic books. In part, is this a tribute to him?
Issue #4 is a work in progress. Just as Issue #3 was not fully conceptualized until after my show I am sure the same will be with my finale. Issue #4 is that true retrospective of anyone being a hero. It will be black and white to reference the 1930s and the 40s and has a great deal to do with mortality. Heroes die. In comics they can be resurrected, but not in real life. Issue #4 will be about passing the torch to the next generation to save the world and teaching lessons. It is very important to me that I get all my grandparents in that show which will involve me traveling to both California and Pennsylvania to make that happen.
Wow, thanks, Philip! Geeks OUT is all about supporting creative members of our community. We’re impressed by Philip Bonneau’s audacity, his creativity, his passion and drive and by the open-hearted way he makes his art. Unfortunately his Kickstarter campaign to fund Heroes + Villains #3 as he hopes to execute it ends on June 16, 2012—that’s not a lot of time! Donate here and be a hero! More Heroes + Villains photos can be seen on Bonneau's Flickr and beautiful prints of select images can be ordered from his Etsy store.
