Michael Monar has a bit of a penchant for surprising people.

“I can’t think of anything interesting about me,” said the 26-year-old Monar, adjusting the sleeve of his plaid shirt and grinning.

Then he remarked nonchalantly, “I wish I had that picture of me with Hugh Hefner at the Playboy Mansion.”

Hobnobbing with celebrities was part of Monar’s past life as an art and celebrity photographer in New York, which he abandoned before opening Gallery Mornea at 602 Davis St. in Evanston.

Now instead of partying with the likes of Paris Hilton, he’s bringing a trendy vibe to the Evanston art scene. As well as hosting a T-shirt show dedicated to wearable art, his gallery has featured contemporary artists like the Goldmine Shithouse and David Gista.

“He’s doing amazing things by bringing more contemporary and cutting-edge work (to Evanston),” said Jennifer Arellano, an area dancer and friend to Monar. “He’s got a great vision and he’s going to do a lot of good in Evanston.”

Gallery Mornea opened a 34-piece exhibit Jan. 6 devoted to water paints and sketches by artist Elizabeth Ockwell, depicting various European sites.

“It’s fun. I love artists and characters,” Monar said, looking at the walls plastered with colorful framed art in the otherwise gray office. “It’s indulging my aesthetic side.”

Growing up in a “quintessential Bible Belt” environment in Warsaw, Ind., Monar didn’t set out to be an artist. He developed an interest in photography at Indiana University, where he was an English major. He began shooting photographs for the Indiana Daily Student.

“It was basically my paper for a while,” said Monar, referring to the amount of front-page work he amassed. “I ended up doing really well. I was totally into it.”

But after two years and an award for best photographer of the year, he reconsidered photojournalism as a career.

“I started to question the virtue of the news as mediated by imagery,” Monar said. “If you photograph a subject frowning, readers think he’s mean and inconsiderate. If they’re smiling, it’s the opposite. It’s very subjective. It got me thinking, why don’t I go out and do my own (photography)?”

So he did. While at Indiana he sought out famed celebrity and fashion photographer David LaChapelle. After several unsuccessful attempts to secure an internship with LaChapelle, Monar traveled to New York City and called LaChapelle’s studio manager while standing outside of his Lower East Side

studio. The studio manager agreed to look at Monar’s portfolio and gave him an unpaid summer job.

“I just got lucky,” said Monar, who decided to leave Indiana University to continue working for his mentor. “I just loved it. It was euphoria.”

Over the next few years, Monar assisted LaChapelle with photo shoots that starred celebrities such as the cast of “Survivor,” Cuba Gooding, Jr. and George Clinton. Monar experienced firsthand just how grueling — and perilous — it was to realize LaChapelle’s creative vision.

“We almost electrocuted the Backstreet Boys,” Monar said with a laugh about an almost lethal shoot involving the boy band and fake rain.

Monar’s good looks and ambition also landed him in front of the camera. He sported an Easter bunny costume for the Japanese edition of Vogue magazine and appeared in Christina Aguilera’s music video, “Dirrty,” directed by LaChapelle.

“That was awesome. You can see me shirtless in the video wearing a red bandanna, holding a (fighting cock),” Monar said, his grin re-appearing. “I stole one of the set’s Motocross bikes and rode around L.A. with a porn star on the back.”

After spending two years on and off with LaChapelle, Monar returned to Indiana University.

He completed his bachelor’s degree in fine arts, specializing in photography, before moving to Chicago.

Monar’s years under LaChapelle’s wing also schooled him in the important skill of “taking care of the egos of artists,” says Gallery Mornea manager Richard Davis.

Monar appears to be settling into his new home. He has plans to open a bar in Chicago’s Uptown neighborhood in two or three years and hopes to develop an art and fashion magazine.

“I guess I live on the impulsive side,” he said.

Reach Kate Ward at [email protected].

North Shore Notables: This weekly series will examine the lives of Evanston residents who have left their mark on the city.