Terry Richardson is a well known fashion and publicity photographer: he’s worked for Gucci, Sisley, Miu Miu, Levi’s and many other. His images have appeared in Vogue, Dazed and Confused, GQ, Harper’s Bazaar, “as well as a host of worldwide publications too numerous to mention.” He also does portraits: Daniel Day Lewis, Faye Dunaway, Leonardo DiCaprio, Vincent Gallo, Tom Ford, Sharon Stone, 50 Cent, Kanye West, Nicolas Cage, Dennis Hopper and many other celebrities (check his website for some samples). Yet self made porno seems to be in his heart:
“Kibosh is the most important book of my career. This is my life’s work.
From the age of 16 when I first started to photograph for fun and then as a profession, I have always thought of Kibosh as the summary of my career. Kibosh is my book, the most intimate part of me as a photographer.
I believe that the phrase, “I would never ask anyone to do something that I myself would not do” from the introduction of this book, shows the profound respect that I have for the people who collaborated in the realization of this work, which for me is so important. For the realization of Kibosh I stopped working, for months I dedicated myself entirely to collecting the photos and planning the lay-out. I wanted it to be understood how important this book is for me, that no detail had been left out and that everything had to be how I had always imagined it. To tell people about yourself using images is something that requires time, lots of time, perhaps a lifetime, and this is Kibosh.”
Kibosh (printed in 2.000 copies, € 250, on sale only through the website) features very realcore images of Richardson and his partners that, despite his amazing professional background, manage to retain that special quality that “real” images always have. Kibosh is on exhibit in Milan. (Thanks to Andrea for the tip)