BY: SAMANTHA TAPP
All photos via © Tyler Udall / The Little Black Gallery
Last year, CoverGirl named James Charles the brand’s first-ever male model. This was quickly followed by an announcement this year by Maybelline that they had chosen their first-ever male brand ambassador, Manny Gutierrez. These are just two of the examples of how a more fluid definition of masculinity is slowly evolving to embrace more flexible variations of sexuality and gender. Tyler Udall, an established photographer, has just released a photo series that reveals the raw, vulnerable side of masculinity. Entitled Etudes, Udall highlights what modern masculinity means to him, and what it looks like in its many variations.
“If we are ever going to bridge this absurd gender gap, men are going to need to have access to a lot of the emotions we have been conditioned to suppress,” he said.
Experimenting in 2010 with photography, Udall primarily worked with fine art photography while he was a fashion editor. As his experience progressed, so did his style. He began to take photos of abstractions, which led him to look for abnormalities in his everyday life.
He was working with Generation Z girls at the School of Doodle, a virtual classroom that inspires young, creative women, when he took notice of the cultural shift happening. He said his most challenging and inquisitive conversations were with teenagers, mainly because of their ‘unapologetic curiosity and kindheartedness.’
He was genuinely inspired by these people. “I became fascinated with finding more people like them and experiencing the world through their eyes,” he said. “I thought it would be an interesting challenge to get to know these beautiful people through the camera.”
From men posing wearing dresses and heels to intimate portraits on beds, Udall captures the complexity of masculinity, and its ever-changing definition. All he wishes for audiences to understand from these photos is simply that vulnerability can be beautiful.
“I am exploring people with a shared sensibility, all of whom, in their own way, are rejecting a traditional formula for masculinity,” Udall said. “After getting to know these people, I am confident in my belief that the social boxes many of us grew up in, are not long for this world.”
ETUDES by Tyler Udall premieres at Photofairs San Francisco (27-29 January), followed by an exhibition at The Little Black Gallery London (30 May – 10 June).