'If life is your table and fate is the wheel,
Then let the chips fall where they may.'
Ten years ago, on 20 June 2007, two young women entered a forest somewhere in Russia. They were accompanied by a small film crew. In an afternoon this team produced a film and photoshoot which have become legendary in the world of crux. As directed, the two women were crucified, naked upon trees. The occasion was an isolated opportunity for the cameras and one of the girls never repeated the performance.
The video 'Alice and Koshka in the Crux Forrest' and its accompanying photoshoot must surely represent one of the best known crux sequences ever filmed, and there can be few crux fans who have never seen at least some stills or video clips. Makar's images of Alice have inspired widespread comment and a veritable genre of photo manipulation throughout the ensuing decade. As a manipulation artist who has used her extensively myself, I have often wondered about the qualities which make her so memorable, alluring, endearing and enduring.
How is it that following a single shoot, a nineteen-year-old girl, who never appears in another bondage set ever again, achieves lasting fame and an international fetish scene reputation as a BDSM porn star? What mysterious qualities make Alice Kiss the adored and respected crux girl she remains ten years later?
I can only speculate on the answers. Alice pursued a nude modelling career which kept her in the limelight. I believe Koshka made an additional indoor shoot for Cruxdreams, in the guise of 'Cleopatra'. Tragically, Makar suffered a fatal heart attack on 3 September 2011 at the age of 43. Sadly, I never had the opportunity to correspond with him. His direction of the shoot certainly contributed to the magic which the results still convey today. A DeviantArt comment on 7 September 2007, informed him, 'You're either a terrific director, your models are very skilled or they are emotionally engaged in the process. Or all of the above. Excellent work.' ImageMaker has kindly expressed his support for this thread, and I am sure we would love to hear his recollections of that day in the forest.
Today is 13 May - Happy Birthday Alice! According to her Metart profile, she is 29 today. We're going to celebrate with a thread in which all Makar models and their manipulations are welcome. Let us make the journey to explore the question, what does it take to be a contender for the MMMM Award - the Most Manipulated Makar Model?
Starting with some portraits, in my opinion the most intense and expressive images of Alice are Makar's. The monochrome photograph at #1 was taken at 12.43 pm on 20 June 2007, using a Canon EOS 10D digital camera and is entitled, 'Why Me?' It is Makar's most popular picture on DeviantArt. In the last decade it has attracted 18,432 views, 991 downloads, 529 favourites in members' collections and 38 comments (including enquiries about the identity of the model) - in all respects exceeding the statistics of any other picture of the 328 in his gallery.
http://makar013.deviantart.com/art/Why-Me-76467972
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DeviantArt comments invited comparisons with actresses Emma Watson and, perhaps more plausibly, Danica McKellar. ImageMaker's comment, summarising #2, 'Why Me? - 2' was the single word, 'Круто' ('Cool').
#7 and #8 appear to be screenshots, which accounts for their reduced quality. The last two pictures demonstrate the enduring popularity of Alice in crux art - the Makar original colour version of 'Why Me?' at #9 and a recent filtered detail by Jollyrei at #10, separated by ten years. Jollyrei's interpretation employs a colour exclusion filter to enhance the blue-green values of the original.
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