Queer Life NY: PRETTY MASCULINE APP: A Look Behind The Scenes

Celebrity Photographer Mike Ruiz partnered with Echo Interaction Group to transform his coffee table book, Pretty Masculine, into an interactive photographic gallery for the iPad. The Pretty Masculine App will offer access to Mike’s creative process. “As an artist and photographer, I've always been interested in peeling back layers and portraying people out of context,” says Mike. The Pretty Masculine App will introduce an Innovative way for people to enjoy art. It is a photography showcase with interactive functionality, the first of its kind to be published by a photographer.

In addition to offering a whole new batch of images, the Pretty Masculine App will allow fans to touch, scroll, explore and interact with the images. With behind‐the-scenes videos, fans can watch as models morph before their eyes from a blank slate to full body makeup.

Subscribers will also be able to meet the models and artists through individual profiles, including bios, photos, and video interviews. The Pretty Masculine App also has social media links that allow fans to connect directly with the models and artists. This app will be in constant evolution, with additional material and content continually updated.

Mike says, “Following the philosophy behind the Pretty Masculine coffee table book, my App seeks to deconstruct and maybe even blur society’s notion of what is masculine and what is feminine. New and emerging technology enables us to do this with greater ease. We can now push our collective imagination even further, allowing us to explore our psyches in earnest. It is my aim to give my audience some additional tools to look more deeply at two‐dimensional images by offering them the backstory on the images, allowing them the opportunity to interpret these images from a place of greater understanding."

Particularly exciting to his fans is the app’s interactive Studio Section, which gives subscribers the ability to upload their own photos and transform them with a Pretty Masculine makeover. A variety of make‐up, lighting effects and accessories from the Pretty Masculine collection can be added to subscriber’s personal photos, and can then be shared via Facebook, Twitter or email.

The Pretty Masculine App will also be a philanthropic conduit to various charitable organizations that Mike Ruiz supports, including The Ali Forney Center (a homeless shelter for GLBTQ youth), Bullies and Buddies Animal Rescue, GMHC and Green Chimneys. With links to each organization, fans will be able to access information on how to help or donate.