Page 14 - INTERACTIVE MAGAZINE

DESIGN N THINGS.
September/October.
14
"My day job was tedious.

But after work, my life was

anything but." By Zoe Wilder.

Sept. 6, 2017

This difference is integral in looking at whether
nudity is gratuitous or necessary in art. There's no moved to New York City in my 20s and landed a job in medi-
'right answer' when it comes to asking people to cal publishing. It was tedious and uninspiring, not to mention
strip off - the only thing that really matters is that it paid peanuts. I felt stuck. I was artistic and young and
they've consented to it, and feel comfortable with I craving something more.
On a whim, I modeled topless for a dear friend who just happened
what they're doing. to film amateur porn movies, so his house was full of funny props
It's the intention behind the nudity the matters, like cowboy hats, schoolgirl uniforms, and handcuffs. As a result, the
and in 2015, there's no need to see it as compulso- shoot was flirty and fun. I experimented with showing more skin than
ry to produce good art. usual. And while the photos were nothing exceptional, they ignited a
As Palmer says: "This whole tradition of being in creative spark inside of me. I saw the potential for something greater.
the nude? That’s no longer central to art.” I saw dollar signs.
I went home and spent hours poring over the photos, noting what
worked and what didn't. Then, I set out to collaborate with photog-
raphers and models to build up my portfolio. And just like that, I
became a fine-art nude, glamour, fetish, and pin-up model. Through
a combination of connections made by friends and Craigslist, I was
mini stories dote for my quarterlife crisis. My malaise melted away.
able to book a steady stream of paid shoots – anything from posing
in bikinis on fancy cars for calendars to up-close and personal shots
of my ladyparts for a museum exhibition. This was the perfect anti-
One gig led to another, and I was modeling in dungeons around
Manhattan in corsets and stilettos, posing nude in the rain on a roof-
top with the Empire State Building hovering above, skinny-dipping in
the Pacific, having drinks with Spencer Tunick.
Life became more interesting. I met more characters. My stories
became wilder. My perspective forever changed. I learned there's a
fetish for everything. Using Photoshop, I was shrunk to fit in the hand
of a gentleman who was into microphilia, in which people fantasize
about women shrinking like Thumbelina or The Incredible Shrinking
Woman. A photographer captured 3-D images of me peeing. I was
bodypainted, covered in glitter, cinched in latex, shackled, bound
and gagged in blue jeans. Foot fetish clients were plentiful. I was
paid well to prance around in flip-flops for the camera. Videos were
extra. Live sessions were even more money. Invitations to private foot
fetish parties in swanky lofts on Wall Street started coming in where I
got paid to have my feet massaged. Of course, I'd have to swat a few
wandering hands away from time to time, but I had to do that in bars
and clubs too. Only in this scenario, I was getting paid. Plus, I was
surrounded by security. I had the upper hand.
Of course, friends knew about my modeling and performance
art. In fact, many of them were involved in it too. I didn't share it
with the family or the day job because it's OK to have a private life.
And because it's important to keep such things discreet (you never
know where you'll want to go down the road), I created an alter ego
so that my given name wasn't Googleable. I'm glad I did, because
I ended up going to graduate school to get my master's in social
work. Inspired by my experiences, I thought it would be cool to be a
sex therapist, although I eventually burned out on people confiding
in me about their sexual dysfunctions and paraphilias and never
pursued a career in that field. Instead, I gravitated toward working in
nightlife because I wanted to keep things light. I've enjoyed reinvent-
ing myself.
It's been eight years since I've mingled in the fetish world, and I'm
still proud of my portfolio. The experiences I encountered during
that time in my life made me more confident and allowed me to push
boundaries with art and sexuality. Plus, I made some extra cash.

| september/october