Ruven Afanador

Deeply personal and at times pointedly homoerotic, the photographs—all in laconic black and white detail—have their roots in Afanador's recollections of a growing up in a small town just north of Bogot, Colombia. It was here that his simultaneous obsessions with Irving Penn and beauty pageants flourished, a hybrid of influences that still informs his work. It's an idol worship that Afanador says was completely indulged when he photographed Gabriel Garcia Marquez, the famed naive realist author, who is regarded as a national treasure in Colombia. In an auspicious photo session arranged by Joan Juliet Buck, former Editor-in-Chief of Paris Vogue, the conversation between the two visionaries veered to bullfighting and inspired in Afanador a fascination for the secret society of men with tradition-soaked, embroidered suits and the adoration of everyone. Here, Afanador explains to Lee Carter how he has slain the beasts in his chosen arena.























































Hint Fashion Magazine http://www.hintmag.com/
ruven afanador : http://www.art-dept.com/