Alice and Koshka in the Crux Forest
20 June 2007 - Twelfth Anniversary
The twelfth anniversary of the filming of 'Alice and Koshka in the Crux Forest' provides us with an appropriate opportunity for contemplation. The timeless pictures, taken a dozen years ago, continue to yield sources for fresh crux manipulations by numerous artists, including most recently, Jollyrei, MahaShiva and GoatJr. Additionally, in the last few months, we have also seen 3D figures, inspired by Alice, from L'bogo and jucundus, as well as an impressive series of pencil sketches by jimsac. And recent manips by Damian, Melissa, Messaline, Cypher and others further endorse the popularity of Alice's glamour sessions as sources for both crux and non-crux themes.
The range of Alice-inspired artwork has expanded to the point at which it is no longer unusual to see her fully clothed. She appeared in First Century, Judean garb in 'Alice Barabbas' by Wragg, and several scenes from 'Barbarossanova' and elsewhere show her in contemporary dress. Ironically, the only authentic, published image of Alice fully clothed, of which I am aware, is by the very photographer who recorded her nude crux performance. Makar's 'behind the scenes' views from the 'Crux Forest' show Alice in a rear view, as she observes Koshka performing a stint on the cross. These are entitled, 'Contemplation' and 'Contemplation of Crucifixion', respectively -
I have previously commented that these pictures also present a rare view of Alice's dorsal tattoo, which was frequently deleted from her modelling pictures. Rarely do we see a candid picture of Alice, relaxing unselfconsciously, between sessions, smoking a cigarette, apparently unaware of the camera. But of course, she
was aware of the fact that Makar was taking pictures, behind her, whilst Koshka was performing as the crux girl in the distance. The two pictures are seconds apart - Koshka has moved, but Alice remains transfixed.
In many ways, this is a defining moment in the middle of the session, since these are the images which indicate a willing participation on the part of the actresses. This moment is timed at 2.29 pm on Wednesday 20 June 2007. The 'Crux Forest' session was filmed over a period of three hours, starting at about 12.40 pm, to produce just over an hour and a half of video, as well as the accompanying photo series. Alice was on the cross at 2.22 pm, and then she took the break recorded in the 'Contemplation' pictures. She was back on the cross by 2.37 pm, and allowing for the time taken for dismounting and remounting, her break was probably no more than twelve minutes long.
We can see that her clothing is conducive to a quick change - just a pair of over-long jeans with large turn-ups, a T-shirt and a pair of flip-flops on her feet. She probably wore nothing underneath, but these few items were sufficient in case of an emergency, such as the approach of woodland hikers or dog-walkers. Koshka would also have had quick-change clothing, and the cross ropes were obviously arranged to facilitate pulling the hands and feet out quickly, if the need arose to jump down in a hurry. Only Imagemaker can say whether or not this actually occurred!
Having revised my opinion of Alice's awareness of Makar taking her picture, I decided to develop the theme for this year's anniversary manipulation, to show her turning to face the camera. This makes for an unusual Alice manip. Now she is quite recognisable, in a crux manip, but fully clothed and not crucified. All the components were sourced from Makar's 'Crux Forest' pictures, which allowed me to expand the vista to widescreen aspect. Changing the angle of alignment of Alice's upper body produces the necessary turning movement in her shoulders, so that the inserted head blends into a natural position. The join is largely disguised by her hair. Colourising the original black and white photograph was achieved by selective colour adjustments using multiple layers in Photoshop. The finished picture contains fifty-six visible layers and is entitled, 'Contemplation of Crucifixion 2'.
The portrait of Alice is sourced from the photograph taken by Makar, just after the end of the session, at 3.47 pm. It looks almost like an afterthought, and it has a natural, snapshot quality. We can imagine him calling to her, so that she looks up, tired after an unusual afternoon's work of physical exertion. There are dark rings below her eyes. Apart from the green tint, which affects all Cruxdreams photos taken in the forest (and is a nightmare for manipulators) the only hint of colour is the pink lipstick, which she wore throughout the session.
This portrait is used as Alice's identifying thumbnail in the Models List on the Cruxdreams website. My Photoshop enlargement has smoothed out the pixellation and provided warmer colouring, reducing the darkness below the eyes and the contrast of the lipstick. Alice is no longer acting or posing here, and her enigmatic expression seems to suit my version of the 'Contemplation' picture. I think she looks pleased with her performance, relieved that the session is over, and she doesn't really want any more pictures taken. She has worked hard, and she was wonderful, but she would never do anything like this again.
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