The photographs of Ryan McGinley almost make me want to dislike him, but are too intimate and atmospheric for me to do so. They are borderline faddish, due to the emaciated but beautiful nudes depicted, and their semi-snapshot quality. When he does not stray too far from a more traditional shooting method, where he clearly has a vision of what he wants his models to do and utilizes elements not present in a natural environment, he captures an energy that is not evident in his attempts at serendipity. To call them traditional by most means is still misleading, as McGinley uses otherworldly colors and contrast that would be considered “improper” to create often surreal and alien environments. His series Moonmilk is perhaps his strongest; depictions of nudes in caves bathed in washes of color, themselves often surrounded by glowing halos, such as the bright cyan of “Blue Breakdown” (2008). The way he communicates with his subjects is palpable in both how he combines their bodies with the surroundings and their own positioning. His union of person and environment imbue his photographs with surreal energy. Like the other artists I've mentioned, I'm drawn to McGinley's use of color and the organic feel of it all.
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