Voyeur, Voyeur Everywhere, And Not a Camera to Spare

The line between sexy and the disheveled-prostitute-look has been rubbed out in so many ways. Thanks to firestarters Helmut Newton and Terry Richardson.

Helmut Newton: erotic, styled, sadomasochistic and fetish influence.
Born in Berlin, Newton resided most of his life in Germany and France. He most notably shot for French Vogue and Harper’s Bazaar.

Helmut Newton, Self-Portrait with Wife and Model,
Vogue Studio, Paris, 1981. Gelatin silver print.

Terry Richardson: raw, sleazy, 70’s porn style.
Part voyeur, pervert, and talent he likes to take everything a step further. It’s right at the point where you wonder, “should I be looking at this?” Much his style is reminiscent of Boogie Nights meets Hunter S. Thompson. Gonzo-glam photojournalism perhaps? He’s seen rocking Converse sneaks, jeans, aviators and a handlebar mustache, his look screams sleaze. Often on shoots he comes equipt with only a couple of disposable cameras and some jokes.

Now, take American Apparel, boldly biting his style has gone ass first into the world of voyeurism.

Excerpt from his site:
“Terry Richardson is an international celebrity as well as one of the most prolific and compelling photographers of his generation. Known for his uncanny ability to cut to the raw essence of whomever appears before his lens, Mr. Richardson’s vision is at once humorous, tragic, often beautiful, and always provocative.”

His bio name drops several celebs, touches on his debut into film and it ends with:

“Whatever the medium, Terry Richardson continues to prove that he is a true American Original.”

Ok, taken out of context those four sentences make me want to puke. Strike that. Even in context they make me want to puke. It’s funny that such cheese-dick lines are written on such a raw photographer’s bio..oh his site. His own words are much better, “You can’t give your photograph soul with technique. I want my photos to be fresh and urgent. A good photograph should be a call to arms. It should say, ‘Fucking now. The time is ripe. Come on.’  He could just  cut the backstory to two sentence and supplement it with some of quotes. The work speaks for itself.

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