Once upon a time I lived in a legendary bacchelor pad known as the Purple Room. It wasn't my bacchelor pad, I was renting it, but it was purpose built for the task of entertaining lovers, and it was indeed fabulous. Large mirrors, plush furniture, every last detail ready to create the appropriate mood. I loved it, and was ready to put it to good use.
The only problem with the Purple Room was the art work. It mostly consisted of photos of its owner, a charming gay man who is indeed quite attractive and charismatic. But his vibe was not going to work with my vibe if I were to start bringing my dates home. (not to mention the fact that I had started to have erotic dreams about him, no doubt induced by his everpresence on the walls, above my bed, peering at me from a dozen angles as I showered, cooked, or went throughout my day)
My idea for the redecoration was to work with Anna Avramenko inside of the apartment to create pieces that could be positioned in the room such that the viewer would be standing in the photographer's perspective at the moment they would view the shot. The shot of Anna on the bed would be above the bed. The shot in the windows would be hanging, at 100% scale, next to the window, etc.
Anna in the Purple Room is the most technically complex shot that I have ever created. The amount of light that I needed on the ceiling to bring out the color of purple I wanted, while still illuminating Anna properly, was quite hard to achieve. Furthermore, the room is small. There are 4-5 soft boxes and stands at work here, and they were impossible to arrange such that none of them appeared in the reflection of the mirror. I left one in as an easter egg - do you see it?
That couch was truly made for cuddling.
Anna in the window was to appear on an aluminum photo panel at 100% scale hanging directly next to the window in which she's standing.
The cowhide stool is now the seat of honor in the Purple Room.
Here you can see more of the kit that I was using (and the ladder!)
In the end, I didn't stay long in the Purple Room, and I didn't use it as my bacchelor pad. And, honestly, if my goal was to bring women there to seduce, having a half-dozen photos of Anna hanging everywhere probably wasn't the best idea either. But the photo shoot was fun, and if R. ever sees this, I hope he likes my reinterpretation of the Purple Room.