In this month's Dazed & Confused Magazine, hedonistic photographer Ryan McGinley picks his favourite from a new generation of American photographers documenting their own lives frankly and intimately - Sandy Kim. McGinley chose each of the images for this gallery of Sandy's work on Dazed Digital.
Ryan McGinley: "I met Sandy Kim recently at the Pitchfork festival in chicago. She's a cute little Asian girl with an angel face and a naughty side. We were hanging out with the bands GIRLS and the Smith Westerns (the drummer is Sandy's boyfriend) and Sandy was snapping away throughout the night.
I kept hearing about how great her work was from all of my interns and assistants. She's the real deal. Sandy is a confessional photographer with a thing for body fluids, especially those of her boyfriend Colby's—a photo of cum on her chest just after having sex, a grisly scene of post-period sex and a blood-covered penis. Sometimes it's hardcore like that and sometimes it's pure beauty. She often photographs cute long-haired nude or near-nude boys lying on dirty couches in classical repose. I love her photos of her boyfriend and her sexy self-portraits. She's also toured with the band GIRLS many times and some of my favorite photos of them are by her. Photos of the band sleeping in vans of piled into a motel room or backstage.
She really knows how to use natural light, like early morning light, or sunset light in an apartment. She pays attention to it and that's always the sign of a good photographer, knowing when and how to use that light. She's small, a fly on the wall, with balls to pick up her arm and take the photo without asking permission. Sandy brings her camera everywhere and she's always ready and waiting for the moment. She documents her life in San Francisco and you get a sense of the scene there--but not in a blogger way, Sandy is actually talented - an artist. I like how she still shoots film. it's old school. She reminds me of when I was young - out partying every night, snapping away so that the pictures can provide evidence of the night."
