TWELV DIARY #33: BENJI STAKER
NAME: BENJI STAKER
OCCUPATION: MODEL/ ARTIST/ WRITER
AGENCY: IMG MODELS
My name is Benji Staker and I’m a model, artist and writer from Seattle, Washington.
I was scouted by a modeling agency while I was studying art at university in Seattle. After I graduated I took up the offer to begin my career and it launched me into a life of excitement... Although modeling wasn’t my initial goal or passion, I took to the job with enthusiasm because it gave me the opportunity to travel the world and live freely, as well as the time and inspiration to create art and pursue my passions in life. I moved to New York recently to settle down after a few years of living out of my suitcase, hopping from country to country, exploring and discovering new places as well as working with a wide array of characters in the fashion and art industry.
I’ve always been driven by my emotions; When I’m modeling I use that to create my own story and mood. Each picture portrays a character that I’ve created behind the clothes and lights whether the photographer knows it or not. I love the collaborative process behind creating images for fashion; including the photographers, the stylists and creative people that all work so hard to create beautiful images and tell new stories. I feel blessed for being a part of this world, and whenever I think about it, it drives me and inspires me to be a part of the bigger and better picture of a beautiful world. My main goal when I'm painting is capturing specific moments and feelings and translating them into a visual language. When I sit down to make a work of art, I take a selection of images found from searching online and tape them to the wall to create a sort of moodboard. I always visualize what I want to create, and then I begin drawing and let the creation unfold before my eyes. Sometimes I have a specific goal complete with sketches and studies, and sometimes I go freeform and the result is something unexpected. One of my main sources of inspiration are Austrian expressionists (artists such as Egon Schiele and Gustav Klimt) because of the way they manipulate the forms and bodies in a painting to make some very simple concepts so fraught with intense emotion be it positive, negative or ambiguous... As I’ve been settling down here in New York I’ve been able to keep on working in this way and explore different ideas. My studio in Bushwick is a creative explosion, messy and disorderly to the utmost degree; exactly the way I like it.
These “creative explosions” make up a big part of my daily life, and my daily life, be it happenings or feelings, are what provide inspiration for my work in both painting and writing. I try to find honesty in myself and convey the little truths I find with my brush or pencil. I am constantly journaling, writing short stories about my surroundings, people I meet and experiences I’ve had. I hope to soon put it all together into a book, but for now I’m collecting moments and keeping them to myself until I feel it’s the right time to share with the world. I’m also doing some work on a web series about the modeling world called ''Model Boy'' and the first mini-season is out now... It can be found on youtube.com/modelboytv ; It’s not always a pretty industry, and in the show we try to explore the very real ups and downs of living a life such as the one that I'm currently living.
My life is very unpredictable, and there is no way to summarize an “average” day. Some days I stay at home all day reading, some days I have castings or a photoshoot to go to, and some days I’ll spend out and about, meeting friends, collaborating on different projects or going to events and parties. I love variety and mixing things up, which is why I also love New York so much, and all the people in it.
Notes about my paintings: The first one is called "Narcissus" and the last three watercolors are part of a series I made in China called "我什么都不知道" or " I know nothing" (I used to live in Taiwan so a lot of my art is mandarin inspired).
WRITTEN BY BENJI STAKER
PAINTING BY BENJI STAKER
INSTAGRAM: @benjistaker
EDITED BY KAREN YABUTA
