Sex as Currency: Photographer Venfield8 on the Beguiling Power of the Penis

Photos: Venfield8

I've never considered the dick pic a form of art, but then again, most guys don't have Venfield8 snapping shots of their schlong. The mysterious Los Angeles-based artist has made a name for himself creating a brand of striking, sexually-charged imagery that evince his roots in luxury fashion photography. So how did he go from working with clients like Perry Ellis and Town & Country to taking phallic glamour shots?

"About four years ago, I had a friend who decided to go into the adult industry. He asked if I could take some shots of him with a hard-on," Venfield8 told Out, and the rest is history. His friend landed an agent, who kept asking him who took his "head" shots, with the intention of publishing them. Not wanting to upset his conservative clients, he came up with a catchy pseudonym.

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"When I lived in London, I lived off a private courtyard park called Venfield, just like in the movie Notting Hill," he explained. "And I have always liked the number 8--it is the symbol of infinity. So really, I just pulled it out of thin air, but I think as far as pseudonyms go, it's pretty good. I could have said Joe Smith, but it isn't nearly as fun. And it just took off.

"Within three months I had an exhibition at a gallery, and people were really intrigued by the name--was it a person, a label, or what? It's all those things, and it's just me. But now it is more than just a name, it's an expectation, it's a way of seeing the world, it's a brand."

Click through the gallery for more of Venfield8's photos, as well as his thoughts on what makes an image sexy, the fear of the penis in mainstream society, and the singular ability of a naked man's image to transfix.