FASHION & CULTURE
Words
Royal Young
PhotoS
Mark Cant
Being a muse can be a dangerous job. Muses inspire timeless art but can also evoke feelings of love, desire, fear and even anger. It is their job to channel human emotions and often become living art themselves. Super model and actor Tony Ward is a master at this Ward began modeling in 1983 for Calvin Klein underwear and has posed for pho- tographers like Karl Lagerfeld, Steven Meisel and Terry Richardson. He’s acted as a hustler and homeless junkie for Bruce La Bruce and appeared in music videos for Madonna. Perhaps Ward’s tremendous talent at embodying artistic visions comes from his own creative passions. Off lens, Ward paints and takes photographs. He collaborated with artist Daniel Louis Rivas on vibrant, naïve, neon, colorful canvases. Their series “Busted Up Bunnies” shows strangely compelling demon-like rabbits. Their wild faces painted with bright detail that looks like modern African masks. Ward, like his work, is complex and has a dark, brooding look that hints at hidden depths. A thing he shares with muses throughout history is a tantalizing sense of mystery. The viewer wants to know more about this man.I spoke with Ward about ancient Greek muses, one night stands, how obsession can inspire great art and his biggest inspiration of all, his wife Angela Bruce Ward.
Jacket Tom Ford
I’d like to start with talking about the dark parts of being someone’s muse or looking for a muse yourself. When can this pro- cess get dirty?
Can you elaborate a bit about what you mean exactly by “dirty”?
Sure, dirty as in messy or complicated, Difficult, complex.
Well, I guess we should really look at where it all began...Back when Zeus was dominating the heavens! His daughters, the Muses, presided over all things cultural which I guess has translated to modern times as those people who fuel our creative imaginations in music, art, poetry, film... Whatever...I don’t think that you “choose” to become someone’s muse. It’s a relationship that is in fact exactly the opposite... Someone chooses you to be their muse...Sometimes it’s unrequited, sometimes the love/ obsession/passion is returned. The person who has the fascination with the other, especially in the case of unrequited love, is unfulfilled so has to bind a way of expression so that muse is a great catalyst for them to explore their inner most ideas and express them on canvas, whatever their particular medium is...Sometimes the muse doesn’t even know that they were such a source of inspiration. It’s like looking across a crowded room and being inexplicably attracted to someone - you don’t know why - it’s kismet. Someone turns the light on in you - this can end in many ways...A relationship, a one-night stand, rebuffal... Or you can just carry it around in your head and that can be something that stimulates you and provokes you to express yourself in a creative way. The person that has the obsession, that person is the one that can do something with that, it has nothing to do with the muse.. The muse is not directly involved in that process. When a person has represented themselves as a sexual being/ object for such a long time people have peculiar preconceived ideas of who they are. People come up and say very inappropriate things. They think they know you because they have seen you naked so many times...
But they don’t...That’s strange. I think you would find out a lot more by asking the person/artist/ writer who has the obsession not the muse - I think their story would be a lot more interesting!
I believe the Greeks viewed the muses as a little mischievous and rather letting. A muse was inspiration you had to chase. Do you think art is a chase?
Did they really? I’m not quite aware of that. Can we check that?!! I think that the Muses were more so the personification of knowledge of the arts. As I said before the relationship with a muse can come in many guises so chasing a muse doesn’t really make much sense to me though it may do for others. Art is a chase for sure. So many factors... Luck, fate, the stars colliding... Call it what you will...
“I think that loneliness, removing yourself either physically or mentally can fuel the creative process. It allows you the solitude, the space to create in your head and transfer to canvas, paper, whatever media is your chosen outlet for self-expression muse - I think their story would be a lot more interesting!”
How much of art do you think is driven by obsession?
Black jacket Unconditional, all rings Stephen Webster
I guess a part of it is for sure. How much or how little depends on the artist. Obsession is the domination of one’s thoughts or feelings by a per- sistent idea, image, desire and that’s something that can galvanize us to create amazing works.
I love this idea of an artist having some unrequited feelings that they seek to ex- press either through muses or their art. How much of creativity is fueled by loneli- ness?
I think that loneliness, removing yourself either physically or mentally can fuel the creative process. It allows you the solitude, the space to create in your head and transfer to canvas, paper, whatever media is your chosen outlet for self-expression muse - I think their story would be a lot more interesting!
Muses also seem to have a chameleon quality. People and even ideas that in- spire are able to reflect different things for different people. I’d love to know your thoughts in general on shape shifting, try- ing on different characters or inhabiting different artistic roles for different people.
I’ve done it my whole life. Look at my pictures. I morph and change into different characters as required or as I want. Sometimes I have free reign to express myself in font of the camera and sometimes the situation is way more controlled. I try to encourage the collaborative process whereby both sides bring their ideas to the table. Often it produces great things.
As a writer who often appears naked on the page, I’ve had that same bizarre experience of strangers feeling they know me. I’d just like to talk more about how that has played out for you. Because to some degree, a good artist, writer, model, actor needs to convey a vulnerability and be able to touch people. But when can people relate too much or take it too far in real life?
They do it often. It’s my job to draw the line, set my own boundaries and say no.
What inspires you? Can you describe some moments of kismet where you felt an inexplicable magnetic pull towards a subject or work of art?
My wife Angela Bruce Ward - she is an inspiration to do better every day. I was inexplicably drawn to her even before we met. We had a romantic courtship through the airwaves before we met in person. It was like in Plato’s Symposium - the search for your other half, your soul mate.
