Muse, artist-provocateur, streetwise catalyst with a studious eye for sincerity and novelty, Jason Tanaka Blaney is a prism refracting the vibrant spectrum of human personality. Raised in a multi-ethnic environment, he grew up around the alchemy of the Living Theatre and the streets of Pittsburgh and New York, experiences that gave him an innate sensitivity for what lies beneath the surface and how to lure it out. There is no shortage of technically proficient talent in the industry today and Jason is every bit that, but his higher talent resides in his ability to elicit a moment of inhibition and curiosity from his subjects. In an era described by ubiquitous digital image-taking where nearly everyone has a rehearsed self-presentation, this is the rare commodity. Jason does not impose his artistic will upon his subjects in the way many celebrated photographers do, but rather provides a uniquely natural and unexpected stimulus for them to respond to. The results are at once theatrical and sincere, often amusing, unguarded or marked by spontaneity but brimming with true heart and soul.