Today we’d like to introduce you to Allan Teger

Hi Allan, we’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.

I was a professor of psychology at the University of Pennsylvania in 1976 when I first began my series of Bodyscape Photographs. This work (www.bodyscapes.com) changed my life. I had been teaching research social psychology – conflict resolution, attitude change, decision making etc – but gradually had changed my focus. At this time I was also a volunteer at the HELP free clinic in Philadelphia (this was in 1976 – during the hippy days!) and I found that my friends at the clinic were into psychology of consciousness, mysticism, and eastern philosophy. This changed my focus and I began to teach these new subjects to my students.
One of the main points of these studies was the fact that people learned to see the world differently after they had experienced spiritual growth, drug experiences and other types of elevated consciousness. Those changes were fascinating to me. I wanted to find a way to show, in art, that it was possible to see something in more ways than one – that it was possible to look at something and say “wait a minute, its not what I thought it was.” I didn’t know how to do this but I thought about it for months. Then one day I realized that the miniature skiers that I had for my children’s model railroad could also be used in a different way. I placed the small skiers on a woman’s breast and created a scene that looked like a ski slope. The viewer initially saw it as a ski slope and only after a few moments realized it was a woman’s body! I knew at once that I had a great technique here – one that would allow the viewer to change their perception- and most important, to be aware that they had changed the way they saw something!
Within a few weeks I had a small group of photos and began showing them at art festivals. I took them to National Lampoon Magazine and they accepted them for publication. This all happened in a few weeks and I felt that I was off on a new adventure!. I continued teaching until 1981 when I left academics for a full time career in art.
My work has been published in over 30 countries and is the subject of two books. I have shown the work in some of the best art festivals in the country, and also at many erotic art festivals. I should mention here, that I never thought of my work as erotic. True, the images show body parts that are often not shown, but the focus has always been on perception – not on the erotic. Although it has been almost 50 years since I began, I still enjoy developing new ideas. I did one group of images using models in bodystockings and shooting in color. A number of my more recent images involve two models at a time – sometimes with a black and a white model together. I hope to have some new special pieces in time for the 50th anniversary of Bodyscapes, in 2026.

Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?

Even though i have been doing this work for almost 50 years, there are still some issues that haven’t gone away.
I have tried a number of times to develop a line of male bodyscapes, but those images are never as popular as the female images. Part of the reason, I believe, is that if there are any curves, the viewer assumes that the model is a female!
Often galleries are reluctant to show nudes – assuming that the audience would not be receptive. The truth , however, is that the public has become much more accepting of nudes over the years. What was shocking in 1976 is no longer shocking today! But, nudes are still seen as risky by most stores and galleries. The ones that do show my work, however, have found that they are very popular.
I have made it a feature of my work that I do not use photoshop or AI to create the images. Although I will use photoshop to clean up a blemish etc, the images are created during the shoot – in one exposure with the toys directly on the model’s body. I have to explain this often, however, as anything that seems unusual is often assumed to be the produce of photoshop and other post production techniques.
As much as I enjoy producing the bodyscapes, the concept imposes limitations on my style. I sometimes have a need to do something different and so I come up with entirely new bodies of work so that I can explore new directions (see teger.com and allanteger.com).

As you know, we’re big fans of you and your work. For our readers who might not be as familiar what can you tell them about what you do?

My work is produced as small prints in open editions, and larger prints and prints on aluminum in limited editions.
Although I began with film and darkroom prints, I now use a digital camera

What does success mean to you?

I feel successful in that I have been able to do what I enjoy and support myself for almost 50 years. I often find that I am selling to people who grew up in homes where the Bodyscapes have hung. When the children grow up they purchase Bodyscapes for their own home!
I started with the idea that it is possible to see things differently – and my goal was to show that to the viewers. I still enjoy the art festivals because I can watch many people each day rediscover the work and realize that they have, in fact, been able to watch their mind change perceptions as they begin to recognize the body in the photograph!
Social media, for the most part, doesn’t permit nudes. I can’t say that I blame them, as I would hate to see it overrun with pornography. However, it seems as though they can’t separate the art from the porn, and as such, I am not able to use social media very much.

Pricing:

• small prints $70.
• larger prints : $325 – $495.
• metal prints from $1500.
• custom shoots with you as the model: $2000

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.bodyscapes.com

Image Credits

all images are copyright by me