Photographer Larry Coleman makes his local debut in Mostly Men, an exhibit now on view at Studio 11. The 30-piece collection features pics of 10 men — culled from local dance troupes — clad only in black bikini briefs and draped in fishnets. It’s to show off the feminine side of their masculinity, says Coleman. “I saw something unique and interesting in these dancers,” he says. “And they were willing to experiment with my ideas.”

Coleman, a Shaker Heights High School grad, returned to Cleveland last year after a 25-year stint as the associate director of the California Institute of Arts in Los Angeles. In his spare time, he photographed dancers for several SoCal newspapers and magazines. “But it got so crowded, so expensive, so violent,” says Coleman, whose wife, Lisa K. Lock, is a freelance choreographer for the Cleveland-based Verb Ballets and Dancing Wheels. “We had enough of it. Here, we have a chance — for the first time — to be artists.” Coleman recently branched off from his photo gig. He now shoots videos for Karamu House, Cleveland Contemporary Dance Theatre, and Cleveland Public Theatre too. “We’re making art,” he says. “And it’s been wonderful.”
Sept. 13-Oct. 10, 2007

This article appears in Sep 12-18, 2007.