Saturday, July 24, 2010

Terry Richardson // what up with that?

Photograph by Terry Richardson / Use only for purposes of illustration/nonprofit.

For quite a time, I´ve been kinda searching for something new. Don’t get me wrong, i´m not tired of traditional photography, but my eyes have been staring at documentary photography all day long, 24/7. And I needed a break!

Photograph by Terry Richardson / Use only for purposes of illustration/nonprofit.

A year ago, a friend told me about Terry Richardson. A “dangerous” and “controversial” photographer that makes photos of hot girls almost in a so-called “amateur way”. I didn’t pay too much attention to him, but he insisted that I “needed” to take a look at Terry´s photos. My friend said to me that Richardson took some pictures of celebrities that made them look not very good looking at all, he said; “they look like old pictures from the 70´s”.

Photograph by Terry Richardson / Use only for purposes of illustration/nonprofit.

I saw a couple of photos and I thought; this guy is really drawing outside the lines! – Who is this guy? He looked like a fashion photographer to me, but without all the glamour and assistants of that kind of photographers. But also, his photos looked like the result of a guy working with no plan at all. But definitely, I thought he was a Kick-ass Photographer.

Photograph by Terry Richardson / Use only for purposes of illustration/nonprofit.


Anyway, time went by, and one day, I was editing some pictures at work (I work for a newspaper) and a co-worker, who had no idea about Terry Richardson, got the 2010 Pirelli Calendar one sunny afternoon. Someone sent it to him for free, for publicity purposes.

He didn’t have any interest in Richardson so he gave it away to another co-worker who loves naked women calendars (Yes, he is a truly fan). But he didn´t have any clue about Richardson either. (That was my advantage).

So, when I found out that Richardson´s calendar was being rejected or at least passing from hand to hand with no clear destiny inside the office, I knew I had a chance to get it, so i asked the “naked girls calendar fan (NGCF)” to give it to me. Of course he said no! - I insisted and he insisted back. “No way kid!” He said… I told him that I knew Terry Richardson and his works, but he didn’t care and he left the room before I could say anything else.

Photograph by Terry Richardson / Use only for purposes of illustration/nonprofit.

I really wanted to have the calendar but I knew right away that there was nothing I could do. So I forgot about it! 3 weeks later, the “NGCF” called me and said; “listen, I liked the calendar, but I think it´s too big for my wall…I have no place for it…do you want it kid?” – I was like; “what??? - What you want? A playboy magazine?” I said. He laughed and the next day he gave it to me.

Photograph by Terry Richardson / Use only for purposes of illustration/nonprofit.

I can say is that the size of the calendar is huge, the quality of the paper/print is amazing and the concept is all about beautiful ladies in Brazil modeling in amazing locations.

Photograph by Terry Richardson / Use only for purposes of illustration/nonprofit.

But first things first; Terry Richardson was born in New York and raised in Hollywood. Based on what I’ve been reading about him, he has two passions in life; Photography (Since he was in High School) and music (he played bass in a punk rock band named the invisible government for 5 years).

His photographs not only are related to fashion and magazines, Richardson´s portfolio include models, musicians, politics, food, friends, family, landscapes, etc.

Photograph by Terry Richardson / Use only for purposes of illustration/nonprofit.

Richardson is also known for a collection of books he published though the years; Hysteric Glamour, 1998; Son of Bob, 1999; Feared by Men Desired by Women, 2000; Too Much, 2001, Terryworld (2004) (perhaps the most famous book of Richardson in Latin-American) and Kibosh (2004).

Photograph by Terry Richardson / Use only for purposes of illustration/nonprofit.

The personality of Richardson has been well known all around the globe. Some people say he is a very talented and gifted photographer. A man who brings something new to the table and in his effort, he improves anything that stands in front of his camera. Maybe because he is “thinking outside the box” or perhaps “different” from others photographers.

Other people say that working for Terry Richardson has been like a walk on the wild side. Yeah! Exactly like the song of Lou Reed. Like Pink Floyd said; It´s the “Dark side of the moon” what they experienced with the famous photographer. It all started with a public accusation by Danish model-turned-filmmaker Rie Rasmussen after Richardson published an image of her in his book TerryWorld without her permission.

Photograph of Danish model-turned-filmmaker Rie Rasmussen.

Then, the model said that “"He (Richardson) takes girls who are young, manipulates them to take their clothes off and takes pictures of them they will be ashamed of. They are too afraid to say no because their agency booked them on the job and are too young to stand up for themselves”. “"His 'look' is girls who appear underage, abused, look like heroin addicts . . . I don't understand how anyone works with him."*

Some reports of others women against the photographer are coming out on internet, but what´s for sure is that Richardson´s fame and power in the industry is getting bigger and bigger every day. In his defense, Richardson made his statement:

“I just want to take a moment to say I’m really hurt by the recent and false allegations of insensitivity and misconduct. I feel fortunate to work with so many extraordinary people each and every day. I’ve always been considerate and respectful of the people I photograph and I view what I do as a real collaboration between myself and the people in front of the camera. To everyone who has embraced and supported me and my work, I am so grateful. Thank you, it means a lot.”

Photograph by Terry Richardson / Use only for purposes of illustration/nonprofit.

Anyway, what brought us here today is the 2010 Pirelli Calendar with the work of Richardson.

Photograph by Terry Richardson / Use only for purposes of illustration/nonprofit.

For those of you who doesn’t know what makes Pirelli Calendars so special, its because it is “an important Status and Communication symbol for rich peoples. The calendar is famous for its limited availability because it is not sold and is only given as a corporate gift to a restricted number of important Pirelli customers and celebrity VIPs.

Photograph by Terry Richardson / Use only for purposes of illustration/nonprofit.

The Pirelli Calendar is perhaps the world's only High-Status and exclusive hot girl calendar, featuring pictures generally considered glamour photography including artistic nudes. It was the year of 1964 edition that introduced the Pirelli calendar to international stardom. This Star Value calendar will complete its 37 edition in the year of 2010. Appearance on this prestigious calendar has become a mark of distinction for those photographic models that are chosen, as well as for the photographers commissioned to produce the images used.”

Photograph by Terry Richardson / Use only for purposes of illustration/nonprofit.

Trancoso, a colourful fishing village on Brazil's idyllic Bahian coast was the location selected to make the photos.

Photograph by Terry Richardson / Use only for purposes of illustration/nonprofit.

For all the folks writing names for future projects, here is the full list of models and staff.

Photograph by Terry Richardson / Use only for purposes of illustration/nonprofit.

Photos: Terry Richardson / Styling: Leslie Lessin / Fashion Producer: Camilla Johnson-Hill
Models: Miranda Kerr, Catherine McNeil, Abbey Lee Kershaw, Eniko Mihalik, Marloes Horst, Lily Cole, Daisy Lowe, Rosie Huntington-Whiteley, Georgina Stojiljkovic, Gracie Carvalho and Ana Beatriz Barros.

Photograph by Terry Richardson / Use only for purposes of illustration/nonprofit.

For all of you guys, wanting more, here´s the making of video of the calendar



Well amigos, i hope you enjoyed all the work of this photographer, even when i know it´s not a thing you can talk about it to everyone. What i´ve noticed is that some people feel uncomfortable when they see this type of photographic material.

One thing is for sure, Mr. Richardson had a lot of fun!

Take care folks! hope to see you soon on the road again!

Written by Jesus Rodriguez.