The Resurrection of Brad Braverman
(1961-1995)
by Shawn Turney

Brad Braverman, raised in Denver and educated in prestigious art schools around the world, was an accomplished photographer and video artist in the late 1980’s and early 90’s. The majority of his work was showcased in Los Angeles, San Francisco, New York and European galleries, print media, film festivals, and even album covers for such artists as Quincy Jones. “Bad Brad’s” later and final works delved into the erotic arts, where he became an award-winning video producer/director and designer.

From the time he entered Kindergarten, Braverman's talent for the visual arts was becoming apparent. While other students were busy learning nursery rhymes and showing-and-telling, Braverman created elaborate panoramas and other pieces that earned district-wide awards.

Throughout his short adult career, Brad produced three series of black-and-white photographs: Woman, Man, and Flower, with each series exploring a broad range of subjects. The Woman series ranges from soft-focus portraits suitable for hanging in any wholesome mother’s home, to Lesbian couples pushing the limits of S&M. The Flower series is reflective of the late Robert Mapplethorpe’s still-life close-ups of flowers. The Man series stretches beyond most people’s imagination and cannot seriously be compared to any other modern photographic artist. Brad was uniquely unique.

Just before his death in 1995, he completed his fourth and most controversial series; auto-erotic suicide; nude gay males and couples (all HIV-positive models) who have succeeded in various methods of suicide. This was very personal work that Brad produced exploring his own sexuality and his imminent death from AIDS. His vision behind the suicide series stems from the beauty of a rose, which once cut is in the process of dying, yet still looks beautiful. That beauty then confronts the choice of either dying through physical devastation by disease, or as an erotic personal statement while still in the full-bloom of life. The models in this series chose the latter. Having watched many friends endure long, painful, undignified deaths, Brad passionately believed people should be allowed to choose how they leave this world. He was asking, “Is it wrong to want to die while young and beautiful, and even expressly in a sensual way?” He wants the viewers to answer that question for themselves.

Like much of Braverman's work, these pieces are erotic and beautiful, disturbing and ambiguous. They juxtapose the attractive and the repulsive, the handsome and the hideous. "You're drawn in by this beautiful, nude body. And then you begin to realize that it's bloody; it's dead. And you wonder why." It is up to your own interpretation to answer that question. And that is exactly what Brad intended. Make up your own story, and above all, make your own decision.

This thought-provoking, disturbing, yet erotic series is proof that Braverman had effectively established himself among the pioneers of on-the-edge, risk-taking photography. The full auto-erotic suicide show has only been shown in its entirety once, in San Francisco, 1994. A smaller selection was shown in Los Angeles, the Kansas City Art Institute, and most recently Denver. National critics have compared Brad’s style to Herb Ritts, Andy Warhol, and of course Robert Mapplethorpe, but in the same breath recognizing that Braverman takes the subject one step further than Mapplethorpe ever dared. Sadly though, Brad never had the joy of experiencing the censorship uproar that propelled Mapplethorpe into the homes of mainstream America. He really would have loved the debate and drama of it all! A true artist, he had a deep desire to get his work out into the public and see their reaction... and maybe stir up a little trouble in the process. The next complete show of the auto-erotic suicideseries is planned to take place in Denver by the end of 2005.

"My images are constructed to convey little judgment," he once said. "I'm not saying, 'Cry at this moment' or 'Feel angry at this villain now.' I hope people will respond to my work with feelings - powerful feelings - and discover something about themselves in the process."

Since his death in early 1995, Brad’s work has remained virtually locked away, until recently. Brad Braverman’s artistic works are being resurrected by his estate, and managed locally by InterMedia Design of Denver. His family, still residing locally, has made a commitment to finish presenting Brad’s work to the world as he would have wanted it, in carefully selected ways that would make him and his legacy proud. Many projects are currently in development, including a book on the auto-erotic suicideseries, as well as a nationwide interactive gallery show premiering in San Francisco on July 7, 2005. This new concept in artistic expression will move to Denver in the late summer.

Tennyson Gallery ( 4369 Stuart Street, at 44 th & Tennyson), in association with InterMedia Design, will be presenting a show of Brad Braverman’s photography throughout the month of August. The show will change during the month to highlight each of Brad’s series. The premiere will take place on the popular First Friday Gallery Art Walk, August 5 th. It promises to be an unprecedented multi-media event, unlike what is currently available in the local gallery scene. It is not to be missed.