The architect Ludwig Mies van der Rohe once decreed, “God is in the details.” On the surface, the stern, German octogenarian and this month’s winsome twenty-something cover guy may not seem to have much in common, but don’t be fooled, photographer Jordan Carlyle is definitely more than meets the eye. “Attention to detail,” he informs me “that’s the key to life.”
Indeed, it’s his fine eye for detail that has allowed him to discern beauty not only in the simple, everyday objects of his environment, but moreover, in the adverse circumstances of his own life.
Born in Alabama, Jordan lived with his mother until he was six, at which point he was taken away from her and sent to Mississippi to live with his grandparents. “She wasn’t ready to raise a child,” he tells me in a sweet, pure voice that doesn’t betray a hint of his Southern up bringing. “I can’t hold that against her.” He also forgives the fact that she does not know who fathered him. “She was a bit promiscuous,” he says with a magnanimous smile.
After three years with his aging grandparents, Jordan was placed, along with his half-sister, in the Tupelo Children’s Mansion Ministries (TCMM), a Christian home for orphaned and needy children. “They were getting too old to take care of me,” he remembers. “Growing up in a children’s home was probably one of the toughest things I have ever had to experience.”
Taken away from his mother, not knowing who fathered him and placed in a Christian orphanage by his grandparents, Jordan’s life could have easily taken a turn for the worse. But a gift from a family who sponsored him at the Children’s Ministry may be what really saved him. “I got a 35mm camera for Christmas while I was in the home and I began taking pictures of nature and landscapes. I was just 10.”
As comfortable as he is behind the camera, Jordan is equally at ease in front of it. During our cover shoot at the sleek, new West Hollywood eatery Murano—the newest venture of Jeffery Sanker, Sandy Sachs and Robyn Gans—where his art work is on display, Jordan effortlessly struck pose after pose like a tried and true professional. This, however, was not completely unexpected. Besides the fact that this 25-year-old is more comfortable in his own skin than most men twice his age, he also spent some time modeling in New York and Miami. “I was spotted by a modeling scout in high school,” he tells me. “Two weeks after graduating (second in his class from TCMM), I moved to New York City for the summer before heading to Miami.” He pauses to reflect, “It’s what I really wanted to do.”
{mosimage}But some dreams aren’t always what they appear. “I hated it,” he sighs. “Being from a small town, I had no idea how competitive it was going to be.” But as Jordan will tell you, everything happens for a reason. “It didn’t take long living in Miami to realize that I might just be gay,” he chuckles. “Miami definitely has a way of bringing that out of you!”
But his first gay experience at 18 in New York’s Splash Bar caused much more angst. “I didn’t even want people looking at me,” he says, recalling a very different time in his life. “I was offended that they thought I was gay. In the South, where I grew up, being gay is such a negative. You burn in hell for that.”
After that initial encounter, Jordan took the same oath many of us have previously pledged in moments of remorse. “I promised God that I wouldn’t do it again.”
So what prompted him to finally come out as an openly gay man? Ironically, it was the Bible.
“There’s a passage in Revelations [3:15-17],” he interprets, “It says it is better to be hot or cold than to be lukewarm about things. So I decided…”
“…to be hot?” I complete his thought.
“Yeah,” he smiles bashfully. “Something like that.”
Back at the photo shoot, Jordaan is true to his motto that life is in the details. He had arrived that afternoon with a selection of his own clothes to review with the stylist. He even brought along his favorite American Crew Citrus Mint Clay to ensure that every hair stayed exactly where it was meant to be (he swears by it). Not to mention that during our interview, he handed me four pages of typed-out notes, “in case I forget something.”
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None of this is to say that the 25-year-old former model is a diva. Far from it. Between shots, he was pleasant and friendly, joking with the crew and eating Doritos from craft services.
He applies this same focus to his photography as well. “I am an extreme editor!” He informs me. “When I got that first camera at 10, I would take pictures of landscapes, and if there was one person in the photo it was ruined. I would throw it out.”
When asked if he felt that this was a reflection of his isolation from his family, he disagrees. “No,” he says. “I just wanted to capture the organic beauty of the landscape.”
Today, his work still captures that same beauty, now in vibrant, saturated hues that are Pop-art modern interpretations of nature and architecture. Much of his work combines numerous images into one piece. “I compile multiple layers of an image or images, like a building, to create a finished piece. There’s not always some reasoned, bullshit, fluffed answer to how each piece comes together,” he says light-heartedly. “It’s more intuitive. Either it works…or it sucks,” he laughs.
His current work is heavily influenced by his latest love, architecture. “Once I decided modeling was not the career I wanted, I picked up and moved to Monte Carlo as an executive assistant.” His job took him through Greece and eventually to Paris. “I fell in love with the great architecture of those cities.”
After his job was finished, he decided it was time to get back to the States and pursue his real passion, which, since that first camera, has always been art. “So I picked up and moved from Paris to Los Angeles, and began studying Art and Architecture at Woodbury University in Los Angeles.” He recently graduated with his BA in Architecture and has begun working on a residential development project in Laguna Beach. “My style mixes classical and modern,” he conveys.
In addition to earning his degree, Jordan has built a successful career as an artist in the last four years as well. His artwork has managed to create a diverse group of collectors ranging from celebrities like Lucy Liu and Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. to retail stores in like Eli Tahari in New York. Additionally, his work was showcased at this year’s Sundance Film Festival and at the Academy Awards. “I’m also in the works with a clothing company to create a line of hoodies that will be exclusively Jordan Carlyle with my artwork on them.”
Despite what many may view as an unfortunate childhood, Carlyle sees the details differently. “I wake up every day feeling blessed,” he beams. “There is not a day that I don’t look back and feel so fortunate to have gone through all of those experiences. I feel every chapter of my life has happened for a reason and has made me who I am today.”
So fortunate, in fact, he talks to his mother almost every day. “I’m still very close to her.” Seeing that I am somewhat skeptical of his attitude, he educates me a bit more. “The only way for new things to come into your life is through gratitude and love.”
After accomplishing so much at just 25, I ask him what he wanted to do 20 years from now. With a coy smile, and channeling his best Madonna, he looks me straight in the eye and tells me, “to rule the world, of course.”
And just between you and me…I believe he can do it.
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To learn more about Jordan or his artwork, visit jordancarlyle.com .
Comments (14)
... written by *drea,
May 02, 2007
I would like to congratulate Jordan! I’ve known him for many years, as we grew up at TCMM together. He has always been extremely talented and I always knew he would succeed in life. I also appreciate his wonderful sense of humor; he always had a way of making us laugh until our sides hurt. Congratulations on your many accomplishments and beautiful artwork! I'm glad you're dreams are coming true!
+1
... written by doug,
May 02, 2007
What a handsome guy...and what a great beginning to his story. I'll have to wait for my copy in the mail to read the rest! You guys really can pick 'em. Thanks for taking the time to find "quality" gay guys to feature -- I love that!
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... written by Grey,
May 10, 2007
Dear Jordan, As I come from a similar problematic family as you, I understand how difficult all this was for you. Congratulations for all you've done so far. Rgds
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... written by Cripps ckick,
May 10, 2007
Yeah I totaly like know you from Tcmm You was one cool guy.
+1
... written by Zeke,
May 10, 2007
I grew up in Mississippi too. I was born in Tupelo as a matter of fact. It's so great to see gay Mississippian's who have been so successful. It's funny that we grew up thinking we were the ONLY homos in the state but in the last coupld of years Mississippi Sissies have been coming out of the woodwork! I'm loving it. I hope our being out will help the next generation of little redneck gay boys and girls in Mississippi to grow up with more hope and less anxiety than we grew up with.
Thanks for your story. It's inspirational.
+1
... written by Michael,
May 17, 2007
I'm glad you overcame you own internalized homophobia crap and decided to come out. As for deciding to become HOT, boy - there's was not deciding involved. You just are - COMPLETELY, TOTALLY BEAUTIFUL, HOT, SEXY - Basically, man, you got it goin' on!
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... written by jorge sandoval,
May 23, 2007
OK, I know that I'm probably going to upset several people by posting this comment, but, I'm sure I'm speaking for many others out there by saying what I need to say. First of all, I must say that I'm most dissapointed in instinct Mag for publishing a feature cover/story based solely on physical appearance of the model. I don't like to make a habit of criticizing outsider artists, BUT, as a visual artist myself, I have to say that I'm a bit offended. I know for a fact that there are other gay artists out there who are dedicated to the art process who incorporate valued academic methods and ideals who are noteworthy not just because they are gay, beautiful or popular but because of the effort and thought they put into their work. Mr. Carlyle's work is pretty, but quite honestly, couldn't just about anyone make the same effects in photoshop? What happened to extending the boundaries in use of color, composition, expression gaze etc...? I'm sorry to say this, but Mies Van der Roh would have been far from impressed. Wouldn't it have been wonderful to see a featured gay artist who is not just "handsome" but is making truly amazing art that can be respected and admired in the academic world as well? I know this sounds bitchy but I had to put in my two cents worth.
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... written by Christian Scott,
May 24, 2007
WOW...it’s funny to see HATERS... Well Mr. Visual Artist... I doubt you make a living from being a Visual Artist. It’s very easy to run your mouth about someone else, but I have known Jordan Carlyle for many years, and when you have cliental list as big as he does and are making the money that he makes and you drive the car that he drives... then maybe your bitterness might actually account for something. Just because you can not appreciate his style of artwork, doesn’t give you the right to criticize someone else. There are many people who call themselves artist, but there are few who actually make a living, and good one from it!
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... written by Christian Scott,
May 24, 2007
One last comment... "Your two cents†that's literally all it was...
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... written by freddie-st thomas,vi,
May 30, 2007
SEXY!real sexy.
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... written by Mike Fleming,
June 22, 2007
What most strikes me about Carlyle is the serendipitous nature of his life, something that is more true of a lot of us than we'd care to admit. The child of a promiscuous mother, a child who never knew who his father was, a child raised in an orphanage in the deep South, Carlyle's life could have, as Bob Kasunic indicates, taken a different turn. But the gift of a camera and a trip to New York and then to Miami led him to what appears to be a successful professional life. No doubt Carlyle had to make choices along the way, and they are the details that filled in the outline that serendipity provided. I would hope that Mr. Carlyle does not, as Christian Scott seems to, measure his life only by the money he makes and the kind of car he drives. Carlyle can rightly feel proud of his accomplishments, but I think that he would agree with at least part of Jorge Sandoval's comment, namely that Mr. Sandoval's good looks have nothing to do with his talent. Serendipty is the confluence of a person and situations about which that person must make a choice. Good looks are purely an accident. I sense that Mr. Carlyle has his head on right about these things.
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... written by Mike Fleming,
June 22, 2007
Of course I meant that Mr. Carlyle's good looks have nothing to do with his talent, although the same is true of Mr. Sandoval.
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... written by Erin,
January 01, 2008
Jordan, I'm from mississippi too and i'm glad you've been so successful being from on orphanage in Tupelo,becuase i'm from around tupelo too. keep up tha good work!
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... written by Terry Merritt,
June 27, 2008
Jordan, You are a great inspiration to all of us. Your work is simply incredible. You have a great eye for art and design. The South has risen again!
