Reminiscent of a more innocent sexually charged age, Martha’s Girls is a retro themed project designed to turn modern women into period piece goddesses. For anyone who likes vintage erotica and the sweet shyness of an era when pornography was more about fun then titillation, Martha’s Girls may be your cup of tea.
I sat down with founding father Alex "the man behind Martha" to get the scoop on this wild photographic project:
Why a retro-themed project?
Being an antiques dealer, it's no surprise that I have developed a fascination for vintage photography, particularly erotic depictions of women. You will find that I'm not alone in this passion of mine, as quite a lot of people nowadays, women and fashion designers in particular, tend to hark back with affection to the feminine flair of the bygone days. In a way, Martha's Girls presents a real-life alternative to the wistful dreams of time travel that have long haunted the human imagination as it runs the gamut of the most prominent style distinctions of probably the most volatile time period in all history.
Why women?
It's certainly women who have been responsible, since time immemorial, for shaping new styles and epitomizing artistic peculiarities of historic eras. Even in the nude, a Art Nouveau maiden is distinctly different from, say, a flapper, while their male counterparts would most likely fail to deliver a striking contrast, unless they were juxtaposed fully-clothed, naturally. It's much easier for women to rise to the challenge of transforming their appearance on short notice- they actually seem genetically predisposed to superficial volatility. Men still have a lot of catching-up to do in that regard.
‘... Martha's Girls presents a real-life alternative to the wistful dreams of time travel that have long haunted the human imagination ... ’
Is it possible to "transport" any woman to the past?
Practically so, although each particular woman would most likely fit just one period mold. It's not often that you come across someone who could pull off several different retro looks with equal ease. Take, for example, Liza Minnelli in Bob Fosse's fabulous Cabaret, who does a stellar job playing a whimsical, devil-may-care flapper, a character that fits her appearance and personality like a glove. However, it would be hard to imagine her as an Art Nouveau character or a 50s pinup doll. The same goes for our models-it's essential to typecast each model accurately in order to make her deliver a convincing representation. Each time a new model comes along I can tell right away which era she would be at home in, and, every once in a while, you may even chance on a particularly flexible model who can swing several ways.
Apart from the models, how many people are there in your team?
10 people in all.
Is Martha real?
Not Martha the webmistress as she appears on the site. That's a composite character pieced together from three different people's input, myself included. Her superficial shell, though, belongs to one of our models, who also doubles as our makeup artist.
‘When I first got the idea for this project, I decided right away that there had to be someone other than myself to present it to the viewing audience, preferably a lovely dame. ’
When I first got the idea for this project, I decided right away that there had to be someone other than myself to present it to the viewing audience, preferably a lovely dame. Thus Martha was born, and I must say she's been a great success. After all, it's more common of women to pine for a revival of old school glamour. Retro modeling/photography is clearly a female-dominated realm.
What is the full scope of your responsibilities, given that the photography and the digital stuff are somebody else's job?
I'm the founding father/main idea generator of Martha's Girls. I select models and find each of them an appropriate historic slot. I'm in charge of dreaming up themes and concepts for the photo shoots and styling them accordingly. I provide the makeup/hair artist with detailed instructions for creating the desired look, and also supervise the photography and photoshop work.
Alex is the founder and artistic director of Martha’s Girls. An antique dealer by trade, he believes within every woman is a retro beauty just waiting to be born. The leader of a team of over ten creative individuals, Alex is the man who keeps Martha’s Girls on track.
www.marthasgirls.com
Andrew Kaiser has been a fine art photographer for over nine years. Currently residing in the California Bay Area, Andrew recently graduated with a fine art degree in the History of Art and Visual Culture through the University of California in Santa Cruz.
