STRIVING fOR pERFECTION

Tero Puha is known for his portraits filled with soft light, a hallmark that captures the essence of his subjects in a way that feels both intimate and expansive. Another perspective on visual art can be found in his short films, which provide a dynamic counterpart to his still images, exploring movement and narrative in a compelling manner. In both cases, he sets high standards for the finishing touches on even the smallest details, painstakingly ensuring that each piece resonates with authenticity and emotional depth. The themes that unite them are an examination of male roles and the emotions of human relationships, delving into the complexities of identity, vulnerability, and connection.

Impatience and perfectionism in the same person can sometimes be a difficult combination, as the desire for immediate gratification often clashes with the relentless pursuit of excellence. While wanting to finish the work and start trying something new, the mind does not forgive a single careless detail, often leading to internal conflict and frustration. Somehow, the conflict must be resolved, whether through self-acceptance, collaboration, or finding new methods that harmonize these opposing traits, ultimately allowing for artistic growth and personal fulfillment.

When working on controlling the tones of a photograph or editing videos, I become completely absorbed in my work. I don’t look at the clock or answer the phone. That flow is one of the most wonderful stages of creating art for me, Puha enthuses. The pursuit of the best possible result is also evident in his work with the camera. The light must be just right, and the environment must work in the desired way. Ambition also grows as he works. There is always room for improvement, so the same subject may be explored in greater depth with new shots.

The two different forms of expression also have common features: nowadays, the same camera can be used for both, and the ideas come from the same sources. Puha says that video production began almost two decades ago thanks to technological developments. Heavy special equipment was no longer needed, so moving images could be created with lightweight equipment, using the same camera as for still photography, if necessary. This made it possible to work without a film crew: a man and a camera are enough to go a long way. Puha is responsible for the script, filming, and directing of the videos, but he is assisted by actors—often just one at a time—as well as a sound designer and music composer. The advantage of wearing many hats is that the result is entirely up to you. You can polish the details for as long as you feel necessary. Photography and video directing are so different that they cannot be done simultaneously. Weeks or months are spent intensively on one, and then it’s time for the other. In the future, he plans to make larger film productions. Puha feels that working as a one-man team has been good preparation: now he knows what to focus on himself and what tasks he is ready to delegate to others.

As a photographer, Puha is an admirer of classic black-and-white portraits, but in his videos, he often employs a comical, ironic, and edgier style. Nevertheless, the essence of masculinity is always present in some way. It is a question of roles, whether it is the body of a trained man in a photograph or the gestures of a man struggling with his insecurities, as in some of the short films in which Puha also appears as an actor.

IT ALL STARTED WITH ACTING
The path to a career as a visual artist actually began with acting. An interest in theater that began with childhood plays gave rise to a dream of attending theater school. The world of comic books and muscular superheroes was part of his childhood environment in Rajamäki, near Nurmijärvi. The small town, located in the shadow of the Alko factories, offered a wide range of leisure activities that allowed him to use his imagination. Little Tero enjoyed being in the spotlight.
When he didn’t get into theater school, his interest in visual arts became his second choice. Encouraged by the folk high school, Puha ended up studying at the Imatra Art School. Moving to another city was also an important step toward independence for the young man. However, a career as a visual artist did not yet seem realistic.

Since I had been drawing as a hobby, graphic art seemed like the most natural choice at first. Traditional etching requires good drawing skills. However, visual arts studies involved much more than that. I was a little excited about everything. Photography did not particularly appeal to me. The teaching of the subject was technology-oriented, which tended to reduce my interest. When photographer Päivi Eronen became my teacher, things fell into place. Until then, photography had been more of a source of material for drawings, but the camera quickly became the most important tool for expression. Around the same time, polymer gravure, a photo-based graphic technique, gained publicity through the work of two experts, Taneli Eskola and Kari Holopainen. The latter also worked as a teacher in Imatra. Kristoffer Albrecht, on the other hand, worked as a teacher of art printing at the University of Art and Design.

Puha’s first series of engravings, Equals (1996), was immediately praised and acquired for the collections of the Museum of Contemporary Art Kiasma. It gave him confidence in his ability to succeed as a visual artist, and his theater dreams vanished for good, although this had already happened after his first year of study. The images of two muscular men already hinted at his future themes and style. The series is now also on display at Kiasma as part of the Dreamy exhibition.
Gradually, Puha began to form his own unique understanding of what was possible within the framework of photographic art. It was no longer a two-dimensional image on a wall, but could be built around an experiential installation or a narrative, using a variety of techniques. The University of Art and Design still valued fairly traditional photography, so Puha feels that he followed his own path during his studies. For example, he was not enthusiastic about the Helsinki School concept. The themes of his works were largely the same as they are today: the construction of identity, self-expression through consumption, and the worship of beauty. The tensions of love and human relationships are also often found in his work.

THE LONDON YEARS
Towards the end of his master’s studies, Puha went to London on a student exchange, which he expected to last six months – unless being alone in the big city proved too difficult and he returned home sooner. By chance, he ended up sharing an apartment with three Brits and settled in. The stay stretched to twelve years. The skilled photographer found work in fashion photography. He began to do less art.

The change happened gradually, and I did continue to work on my own projects. However, I was unsure about the direction of my artistic work. It was easy to immerse myself in commissioned work.

The big city is a fascinating and inspiring place to live. Puha lived in Crouch End in North London, but his studio was in Hackney Wick in East London. The neighborhoods offered a glimpse into two different ways of life: the latter has industrial spaces converted into art studios, quirky cafes, and artsy restaurants along the canal.

I hadn’t realized how posh Crouch End was until I got the studio. I saw the extremes of London life there: there was an uproar in Crouch End when a One Pound discount store was coming to the main street. It never happened. There were similar stores everywhere in East London.

Although Puha now enjoys a more peaceful environment, he still finds it good to seek inspiration from the pulse of the metropolis from time to time. Most recently, he spent three months in Los Angeles at the Tom of Finland Foundation‘s residence.
According to Puha, there was one problem with fashion photography for him: he couldn’t freely realize his own ideas. Stylists and other shoot planners have a major influence on the final result. The photographer produces commissioned work. One commission, however, was different from the others: illustrating the Terence Higgins Trust’s safe sex campaign. For this, Puha photographed kissing male couples and was able to use his own style palette freely.

One of Puha’s favorites, and also his stylistic role model, Bruce Weber, has been able to turn the situation upside down: he works in his own style, and clients buy specifically for that. Weber’s photos have been seen in advertisements for major brands from Calvin Klein to Versace and in magazines from Elle to Vogue. Herb Ritts, Puha’s first photographic idol, achieved the same thing in his day. Puha shares their interest in exploring the muscular male body and their refined, even commercial-style black-and-white photography.

IMAGES OF MEN
Athletic men who fit the ideals of antiquity have been a central part of Puha’s portfolio since the 1990s. A year ago, these images were compiled into a lavish book entitled Intimate Light, which presents his three-decade-long career. The book mainly features classic black-and-white photographs that emphasize the sophisticated use of light. It softly caresses the shapes of the body and charismatic facial features. The book includes both film and digital photographs. The cinema format is well suited to Puha’s preferred wide half-length shots or slightly tighter framing. However, the book also contains many medium-format shots and a few taken on sheet film. Puha praises Petri Kuokka, who helped with the finishing touches to the book, ensuring that even the smallest details were just right.

In addition to the stylistic influences already mentioned, the most important one is Robert Mapplethorpe. However, Puha’s photographs are not pastiches of others’ work, but recognizably his own style. As the first photographs in the book are from the early stages of his career and the last ones are from just a couple of years ago, the viewer can also follow the changes in his expression. Also interesting are the pairs of photos in which the same person is photographed again 20 years later in as identical circumstances as possible.

I know that there are many photo collections similar to mine. However, I believe there is still room for it. Classic beauty endures.

Puha has been working on a project for a long time in which he has photographed young bodybuilders. The pursuit of perfection associated with the sport is interesting as an expression of the masculine role model. Sports also have something in common with artistic work: long, careful, even ascetic toil is brought to the fore for a short time for the public to evaluate. For Puha, who is himself an avid gym-goer, it is also about expressing his own insecurities and desires related to his body. In this project, Puha has been able to follow the lives of competitive bodybuilders and has seen how high goals sometimes tempt people to take illicit shortcuts. For some, a handsome physique is a status symbol that attracts admiration. This is sometimes combined with the glamour of expensive designer goods and fast cars, which Puha also finds contradictory.

In his earlier work, a parodic, even carnivalesque approach to masculinity was central. In his humorous works, criticism was directed precisely at masculinity achieved through consumption and the fulfillment of external expectations. The works offered, for example, fictional chest hair implants or Arnold-style biceps. The imagery drew on pop culture, films, and advertising. Influences from the history of visual arts, from Duchamp to Warhol, could also be found. These multi-layered works are not easy to describe in words, nor is it necessary to do so. The viewer makes their own interpretations.

One prominent thread in this tapestry is a homoerotic tone. Although Puha’s gaze is filtered through his sexual orientation, he himself emphasizes the universal validity of his works. He has also ironized the clichés and stereotypes associated with gay men and sexuality in general. In the images, gender is presented as a social construct that is expressed in learned ways.

On the other hand, Puha has also dealt with the process of change undergone by people who have changed their gender. The series Unfinished represents his more serious side and, at the same time, a different kind of photographic expression. He had collected material over several years on the stages of three transgender people, but presenting the physical changes did not seem sufficient given the complexity of the subject. Puha ended up re-photographing his material through ice and water, resulting in abstract black-and-white images. It leaves room for interpretation, but also appeals to the viewer’s emotions without explaining itself too much.

SOURCES OF INSPIRATION
Although my works may not necessarily seem to draw specifically from my personal life, they almost always deal with my own feelings or experiences. So I also reflect a lot of myself in them.
The personal touch is more directly evident in the images of former partners or role-playing videos. Some ideas take years to mature, while others take shape more quickly. Puha is sometimes asked about his objectifying style of male imagery, in which the body is specifically the object of attention. Similar objectification when photographing the female body is now met with harsh criticism. It is well known that there are plenty of nude female bodies in art museums, but considerably less art made by women. In the spring, Puha also participated in a panel discussion on the subject organized by the Camera Club, when photographs by an amateur photographer exhibited in the club’s gallery sparked a lively exchange of views.

It is a complex issue with at least two levels. In society, men have defined culture and women have strived to achieve an externally imposed ideal of their gender. Fortunately, this has changed. The second level relates to the situation in which the photograph is taken. In erotic photography in particular, the possibility of abuse of power and even sexual harassment can easily arise. A naked woman photographed by a man may be perceived differently than a still life of a woman photographing a woman or a man photographing a man.

Puha understands the reactions this has provoked, but as long as there is mutual agreement, respect for the other person, and a desire to be photographed, he sees no reason to make a big fuss about it. He himself has not been spared questions about his relationship with his subjects. According to Puha, however, it is not a matter of sexual arousal. He uses amateur models who have been interested in participating in the project. The immediacy and naturalness seen in the photos is different from the rehearsed poses of professional models. Despite his perfectionism, Puha does not plan his photo shoots, but works spontaneously and interactively.

In my pictures, I also try to reveal the person’s personality, and that cannot be done without a relaxed shooting situation. Behind each person’s pursuit of perfection lies their inner self, which cannot be faked. That’s what’s interesting, Puha explains.

He reveals that he is also working on a book on young bodybuilders. Puha says that he is fascinated by photo books as objects, including their feel and smell. His interest in photography originally stemmed from the pages of books. The pictures also live longer in books than on the walls of a gallery or museum. ^{TERO MIETTINEN}