Photo Arno Minkkinena Bashny.Net

Self-portraits Arno Minkkinena who take pictures of themselves in various ways: sometimes curled up on the sandy beach, sometimes hanging from the cliff edge, but always naked, as it was at birth. His landscapes are constantly changing, but Minkkinen always becomes part of them, connecting the body and the extravagant nature.





Self-Portrait, 1970
Arno Rafael Minkkinen (Arno Rafael Minkkinen) was born in Finland, the child moved to the US, now lives and works in Andover, Massachusetts. Constantly participates in exhibitions and received many awards. Since 1988, the photographer works as a professor of art at the University of Massachusetts.



Rhode Island, 1973



Over the last forty years he has been teaching Minkkinen, curatorial work and literatorstvom, continuing to devote his photographic self-portraits force the creation of exclusively: raw images of the human figure in a natural and urban environment. Finland, Norway and Sweden, France, Italy, China and the American West - his favorite place of "hunting" for the staff.



Finland, 1973



New Jersey, USA, 1977



Self-portrait with Daniel, Massachusetts, USA, 1987
For Arno Rafael Minkkinena nudity akin to spirituality. "I do not want to be perceived as a nudist," - he says. "But there is something in the approach to the process of creation, when you walk alone in the forest in Finland, without clothes, in search of a good shot, climbing on the rocks and moving like a monkey. Completely naked, pressing your toes into the soft ground, you feel like you were created ».



Reserve Fosters Pond, 1989.



Vaisalansaari, Finland, 1998



White Sands, New Mexico, 2000
From an interview with the photographer:
 - When you are seriously engaged in self-portraits?
 - I sent photos to the Rhode Island School of Design, and the answer came to me that I wanted to talk with Harry Callahan. He asked me: "Why do you want to come here?" And I said, "I want to continue my work." "Excellent reasons", - he said, and two weeks later I was at the Rhode Island School of Design. My life has changed. Now, 30 years later, I continue to do the same.



Self-portrait with Christina, Val d'Orcia, Tuscany, Italy, in 2008



- Why do you always naked?
 - Arno Minkkinen: If I was on a single piece of clothing - it would be a fashion photography. It would be the story of the shirt, tie, jacket or shoes. ... And nudity immediately connects me with nature. It communicates with drawn water, wood, stone. And the sky. It's just normal and natural. Also, it's always me, because I do not want to ask anyone to undress in the cold, or to hang from a cliff ... You have to be drawn in any weather in any conditions.



Norway 2008
 - Why do not you change direction? Why do you attach yourself to this project?
 - I've always thought of it as a puzzle, a mosaic. I have gathered a part, but many pieces still on the table. The work that I could do for a living, is not unlimited. Ten years ago, I wanted to do something completely different, I thought it would be a problem that will be difficult and challenging to fight. But soon I realized that the biggest problem - to solve their problem all his life, trying to lay down a mosaic, to see how big it is. How many pieces still left?



Oulunyarvi noon Paltaniemi, Finland, in 2009



Eighteen stones, Dali, China, in 2010



Baznikas, Puutarha, Latvia, 2011

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