The Makeout Project: Photographer Kisses His Subjects Right Before Snapping Their Portrait

The Makeout Project: Photographer Kisses His Subjects Right Before Snapping Their Portrait.
Jedediah Johnson says he picked up photography as a way to meet girls he could kiss. At first it didn’t go as planned (meeting lots of girls, but kissing none of them), but it sure looks like it’s working now. His series, The Makeout Project is a lip locked affair that sees the Chicago-based artist donning copious amounts of red lipstick and kissing his subjects, both women and men. Shortly after he removes his lips – but before he removes his steadying hand – Jedediah takes his photo.

Although each subject is informed of the process beforehand, the work relies on accident and impulse; the kisses may either be restrained or passionate, the lipstick leaving anywhere from a light coating to a bruised, rash-like blur. In this strange and intimate exchange, the person kissed becomes a work of art, painted like canvases with ruddy smudges. The romantic act, normally private, is thrust into the public sphere. Gazing at the subjects from Johnson’s point of view, we are uncomfortably (or thrillingly) implicated in the kiss, becoming an integral party to the affectionate exchange.
On Mondays, Johnson adds new images to his blog: Makeoutville.

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The Makeout Project: Photographer Kisses His Subjects Right Before Snapping Their Portrait: