Apt. 301

By Anderson, Will

Subjects: Interviews, Fashion, Male models, How to Model, Portraits, Photography of men, Modeling Agencies, Youth Culture, Fashion Business

Description: Will Anderson came to America at the age of twenty-five to follow a career in graphic design with no idea that he would be working as a male fashion model a year later. After living in several different agency accommodations he eventually found himself senior resident and de facto handyman of a hostel-style apartment provided by one of the world s most prestigious modeling agencies. Over a period of six years he lived with more than two hundred and fifty young emerging male models, each aspiring to become one of the few highly paid icons that adorn the world s fashion magazines, billboards and couture catwalks. During this time Will Anderson produced a body of photographs of life in the various apartments. He has used some of these photographs in his book Apt.301, to represent typical aspects of the transient environment in which young male models start their careers. Some of their stories from interviews are included in this book. From the Rosier Gallery ...“Apt. 301 ” captures the dislocation between the aspirations of these young men hoping to personify the stylized perfection of a magazine advertisement and the actuality of existing in a chaotic, banal world devoid of glamour. We see their raw physical beauty amid unmade beds, overflowing trash cans, bare bulbs, video games and empty beer bottles. Mr. Anderson visually reinforces the contradiction between image and existence with his raw, spontaneous style that contrasts with the traditionally framed, well-lit glamour photograph. By capturing these young aspiring models and their living environment, Will Anderson illuminates an unseen world both familiar and unique from that of other young men entering adulthood away from home. Will Anderson’s first monograph, “Apt. 301”, was published by Yewtree Press in November 2006. The book contains 74 images and 9 interviews with the models. His work has been shown in galleries both in England and the United States. Will Anderson was born in Newcastle-Upon-Tyne, England in 1972, received his BA with Honours from Bath College, and currently lives and works in New York.