Slide Show

Robert Sturman, an artist from Santa Monica, Calif., has traveled around the world painting and photographing landscapes, cityscapes, musicians, athletes and even a surfing rabbi. But it is the study of yoga that has triggered one of the most creative periods of his career, resulting in a series of stunning portraits that capture the beauty and poetry of asana, the repertory of postures included in the practice of yoga.

Recently, Mr. Sturman’s stunning photos of Tao Porchon Lynch, a 93-year-old yoga master pictured in a red flowing gown, have been making the rounds on Facebook and other Web sites, bringing added attention to his work, which is featured in the slide show above. (Ms. Lynch can be seen in Slides 5 and 6.) I recently spoke with Mr. Sturman about how he got started, his favorite yoga pose and photographing yoga at ground zero. Here’s our conversation.

Q.

How did you begin photographing yoga postures?

A.

This started in 2003, when I started to get a practice in yoga. I wanted to really go deep into it to make a personal transformation, but I noticed everything around me was so beautiful, and I started to make art of it. Yoga offered me an opportunity to change my life, but it was also something that was so beautiful to study, the poetry of asana. It started growing from being able to photograph people on the beach to being invited to a penitentiary with yoga programs to do yoga asana imagery there.

Q.

How do you find your models?

A.

They are people who teach or who have a devoted practice. They are interested in catching their moment of mastery on film. They find me. I find them. It’s like a movement where we all know each other. It’s like Paris at the turn of the century.

Photo

Q.

What is it about yoga that appeals to you as a subject for art?

A.

It’s the closest thing I’ve ever seen that really shows humanity on its best behavior, of people aspiring to touch something bigger than themselves. They do it in a very pure, longing type of way. It embodies not only the joy of existence, but there is an element of embracing the suffering. When someone is very deep into the asana and reaching out with their hands, in the midst of nature or wherever we are, there is something extremely human about it. I think that’s what moves people more than anything. That’s what moves me.

Q.

Is there a particular pose you most like to photograph, or does it depend on your subject or location?

A.

I’m not as interested in certain poses — there are various arm balances that come across as showing off. I like a pose called a dancer’s pose. It’s where someone is grabbing the back of their leg and pulling it forward and reaching. There are certain poses like that that are so elegant.

Q.

What is the story behind the young woman in a red dress whom you photographed in New York City?



A.

Last summer I was in New York. I was in a cafe and met a girl carrying a yoga mat, and she had a red dress on. She recognized me from Facebook. I asked her where she was going to practice. We walked throughout the day and made the most wonderful art. For the last pose, she grabbed her leg and lifted it so high it looks like a teardrop. The background was the World Trade Center site. She was just the ultimate model. I haven’t seen her since. It was beautiful.