Renaissance Creator: Ben Seagren

Introducing Ben Seagren, aka Jupiter, a New-York based photographer, makeup artist, and drag queen. Working closely with the drag community, the born-and-raised Coloradan uses his background in storytelling to capture creative, surreal, and unique portraits of his subjects that often hit home to many who struggle with mental health. Refusing to allow anxiety and depression rule, his pieces go beyond the struggles highlighting the beauty within them and the transformation that can come as a result of working through the hard times. As depression and anxiety have risen over recent years, especially within the LGBTQ communities, this year’s issue on mental health is more important than ever. OFM had the opportunity to chat more with Ben about his work as well as his own struggles with mental health.

Can you start off by telling me a bit about yourself and your background as an artist?
Yeah definitely! I’m originally from Denver, moved to Seattle for a while, and then just recently moved to New York City two months ago. So, newly out here and really excited! I come from a background in opera and vocal performances in musical theater, moved into photography, and then added on makeup as I did more photography work. 

So you come from an opera background! That’s so cool! Can you tell me a bit more about that and how you moved into photography?
I started in opera when I was 13. I was training and doing vocal performance and it was always something that I was going to do. I ended up going to school for vocal performance. During my years in opera, I was performing a lot when I realized that to be a good opera singer, you had to do it the exact same way it’s always been done. That never really rung true for me. So, I had a full diva moment and left opera. A few months later, I was in school for photography. That just felt like second nature because it was something that I cared so much about in addition to music. These two worlds always worked in tandem for me because I’ve always been interested in storytelling and creating a world for characters to live in. Photography allows me to do that on my own terms. 

Storytelling is really important to you; how do you tell stories through your photography?
That’s a great question! I would say that more than anything, when I’m making something I kind of have a feeling or emotion in mind while I’m making it. I think it’s just that idea of being able to live in different boxes or in different shoes, very similar to, to opera, or to performing. Being able to embody an emotion from a moment in time. It’s usually not ever something I plan, but more of how I’m feeling in the moment. On the flip side, when it’s for a performance or for a number that I photograph it’s planned around the song, what kind of arc the story is going to take, and how I want people to react to it.

Can you tell me a bit about your pieces for this mental health issue and the stories behind them?
I made two pieces that were kind of embodiments of mental health situations. There’s the black-and-gold skull and then the blue portrait. I wanted to embody the depression and anxiety that I and many artists deal with while turning them into something a little more beautiful. The idea behind the blue portrait with its big silver halo and silver tears represents my depression and where I had a tough time. Coming out, growing up, finding my own, and all of those difficult moments coming together to make the person that I am now. I don’t think of them as sad moments but things that I can look back on and be proud of making it through.

The gold skull portrait represents how my anxiety is something that has fueled a lot of things that I make. The gold on the front represents the beauty in whatever I’m making or the result of my anxiety. It’s the good part of it. The dark piece of the makeup is the back end of that. A lot of times making the art or making a piece is fueled by this idea of not being good enough or not wanting to prove that you’re good enough. And that is where that golden spark grew from.

A lot of your images are rooted in this idea of transformation. Why is that so important to you?
I think transformation is something that’s always fascinated me. I grew up watching monster movies, anime, and cartoons. Those were my idols growing up as a queer kid in suburban Colorado. When I started doing makeup, my mom gave me this old eyeshadow palette that was plastic and from the early 90s. I still have it! I would do whole faces in eyeshadow because it was the only thing I knew. They turned out horribly every time, but this idea of being able to embody something else was almost like a passport for me. It gave me an escape and permission to experience different things. The same thing with acting, it was being able to create a monologue and exist in that space or that experience. 

What are some projects you are currently working on? What can we see coming from you in the future?
I can’t disclose any details, but I’m really excited to be working with a few performers, a few companies, as well as a few brands out here in NYC. And as far as personal projects go, I have this one project in my mind that I’ve been wanting to do for a few years now, and I’m finally getting to the point that I can do it. It’s going to be a series of a lot of different makeups but move beyond just makeup. I’ll be doing costuming, styling, location work, and prosthetics. That’s one of the next projects I’m scheming about right now.