Cleveland-based photographer Michael McElroy has brought the world a picture of artist Bert Rodriguez—naked and painted in silver. This picture, according to 43.51% of the readers of the Huffington Post, as of this writing, is superior to the original famous image of Kim Kardashian, equally silver and slightly more naked.
The image appeared on the cover of the Miami New Times , which warned readers of the impending cover with a preview of the shoot, including a video of Michael as he carefully shot the painted artist.
Pam Shavalier, the art director at the New Times, said that the idea began when the prankster/artist Bert Rodriguez, whose antics were described in detail in the issue, asked her “how much” she could get away with showing on the cover. The answer? As Pam delicately put it,
I can get away with showing crack, but not junk.
So when Rodriguez offered the idea of a Kardashian spoof, Pam was quick to accept.
When it came to actually capturing the image, the team ran into a dilemma. Referring to the celebrity socialite, Michael explained,
Her body is very different from his. We were just trying to get as close to that cover as we could.
Pam elaborated that this is why she called Michael, her “go-to photographer,” to orchestrate the shoot.
It’s actually quite difficult to find a photographer that is as well rounded as he is. Since I knew the lighting was going to be very tricky, I needed someone that I could trust to work through all the kinks and difficulties that we might encounter.
Fortunately, Rodriguez was willing to pose and experiment.
Once we found the exact way for him to hold his shoulders and pop his hip, it worked out great.