Behind The Mask:Jesse Griffith by Marlen Boro:
'The desire to be a part of something creative or interesting always out ways the fear of being exposed.'Jesse Griffith
In last week's
Gentlemen of Marlen Boro readers were introduced to
goatboy, model Jesse Griffith and his powerful and erotic goat mask. The mask, along with all those pictured in this feature, were created and hand made by Jesse.
Masks have traditionally served many purposes. From tribal ceremonies through performance art, Masks have had magical transforming powers. In North America masks are most commonly used for disguise. For children and adults, Halloween masks are an opportunity to become someone else, for criminals, they can be a way to keep their identities hidden from their victims. Masks are also used as protection, in sports and in battle the mask is used to protect the face from harm.
I know that you cannot judge a book by it's cover..yet...I still sometimes need a reminder. I have spent a lot of time over the past few months engrossed in the work of Marlen Boro. Marlen has been phenomenally kind to share with me. Some of his most creative shoots, some of his most fantastic, bizarre, erotic and explicit shots have included Jesse. With Jesse's facial structure both strong and expressive, his incredibly fit (not to mention hot) body, I wrongly made the assumption Jesse must be comfortable in front of the camera, in being naked, with being exposed. When I asked Jesse about the mask and it's purpose I was surprised by his response.
'I'm super shy but I fake it pretty well... It was a little easier posing with the mask. Props of any kind make it feel more like performance or acting to me and that makes me less self conscious. I can think of several runway shows I've been in where I was out there in front of everybody for an eternity wearing something outlandish, or very little at all, and really could have used a mask to hide behind!
Mom and dad took us to a lot of dinner parties functions when I was little; I was definitely the one hiding behind their legs when the children were introduced. I got into acting partly because i wanted to tell stories but mostly because I was afraid of public speaking.'
'I grew up in Hudson Valley New York. My accent is a mix I'm very glad you can't hear it! Dad is a philosopher. Mom is a librarian, and a badass. They're wonderful, brilliant people; I've been trying to live up to them my whole life. In 1995 I moved to St. Paul to study Art and Geology. I spent a semester abroad in Scotland, interned at Columbia University, and graduated with an Art BA from Macalester College in 1999. I served as apprentice in the Macalester Art Department the following year, then moved back to New York and started freelancing.'
Besides acting and modeling, as you can tell from the masks, Jesse is an artist. Besides the masks, Jesse works and expresses himself with a variety of other artist mediums, my favorite being his paintings. On his website
Clever Monkey City, Jesse shares a large sampling of his work.
'Clever Monkey is me, and a reference to human origin (intelligence according to many is the trait that separates us from the monkeys). The website, which has undergone several incarnations and is due for a new one that will include film clips and modeling links, was envisioned as a hub linking different aspects of my art - personal, professional, various styles and media, around the homepage. It has a kind of architecture. Like a city. Hence: Clever Monkey City' 
'I think my art is more about the things I'm reacting to (many) than it is about me. It is not all about me, I think that's a kind of vanity. There are things I would like people to see though. I would like them to say I'm good at what I do, that I've tested myself and pushed my own boundaries. That I've looked into some tough questions and come out with meaningful work.'
Jesse said that modeling was something else he was afraid of but...after the third of forth time of being asked by people on sets or on shows to shoot he knew the fear had to be faced.
'Marlen is someone I trust, both as a friend and an artist. Shooting with him does get me into situations I would definitely walk away from with anybody else behind the camera. At the shoot itself, the desire to be a part of something creative or interesting always out ways the fear of being exposed. It's only when the work is done and up on screen or in front of your viewers that I start getting nervous.
It is the creativity that leads me to do more than standard type shoots. The second you do something that has been done it's just stock photography and not art. I think we both hate photographic cliches; he knows them all and we either try to avoid them entirely or spin things in some way to make them his. We both like odd props, silly or provocative ideas, and are happier 'out there.' I know at the end of the day he's going to make me look better than I do and more often than not the shots I was nervous about look amazing.
In my shots with Marlen, I really hope people see something funny, or sexy, or beautiful, or all of those at once (Marlen can do that!) and that I have enough of those elements in me to be a worthy subject for his lens.'
Although the goat mask was off for the second part of Marlen's most recent work with Jesse, it did not go unnoticed by me that another form of disguise and deflection was present. The tattoo becomes the focus, possibly again as a prop for comfortability. For Marlen though, the tattoo's purpose was not to cover but to remind.
'Back in the late 90s when we used to go clubbing and have fun with ecstasy and such -I used to use color-stay eyeliner to draw Asian-inspired tattoos on myself. So I've always meant to play around with that again. Those were such amazing days - seeing Fatboy Slim in intimate venues - Paul Oakenfold - Fantastic Plastic Machine. Fantastic Plastic performed at First Avenue here in Minneapolis and played this amazing techno remix of Michael Jackson - I still remember how amazingly gleeful we all were when it came on - and I've never heard that song again. Sometimes that how it should be.'Marlen BoroMarlen put together an all new slide show featuring more of his work with Jesse! Do yourself a favor and check it out
HERE: Be sure to crank your speakers!
Be sure to check out:
Marlen Boro Official site:Gentlemen of Marlen Boro on Facebook:Jesse Griffith on ModelMayhem:
