Michael Seif's photographs at the Stoneham Theatre

The Fluid Figure

Photographs by Michael Seif

The Griffin Museum's Atelier Gallery

at the Stoneham Theatre

395 Main St., Stoneham, MA

Through January 15

Reception December 15, 6-7:30 PM

The inspiration for Michael Seif's photographs of the human body began with his studies in vertebrate zoology at Cornell University. During a human anatomy lab with a cadaver, Seif says the instructor "explained that the body before us had been home to the person who lived there. Although the person was no longer there, we must respect that person and the body, and be thankful for that gift of knowledge that person was bestowing on us." He says those words have stayed with him for 40 years, and "today, as I photograph the human body, very much alive, I wonder at and am enthralled at the life within in." Seif photographs figures in nature and says his images are collaborations with his models. "I have been fortunate to work with a number of people who are comfortable in their own skins, who project that feeling of comfort, and who have made me feel privileged to photograph them in beautiful natural settings."