gonzo everything

12 Jan, 2010 • posts i've written • 1 comment

Yesterday I stumbled across photographer Terry Richardson’s tumblr blog.

In case you don’t know Terry Richardson, he’s a fashion photographer that has worked with dozens of brands and fashion houses and though you may not recall the name, you’ve seen his work. If you do know Terry Richardson, you probably either loathe or enjoy him – he’s a polarizing figure in photography and culture. (and if you work around Soho as I do, you may see him weekly at Gimme! Coffee)

He’s polarizing because, unlike traditional photographers, the lens of his camera isn’t a barrier between subject and photographer.

Unlike Bresson, he isn’t lying in hushed wait for the decisive moment – for context, form, and subject to align in a singular breath that can never be recaptured.

Richardson steps into the frame – often literally – and is at once both photographer and subject. His photography is both performance and documentation.

As a fan of Hunter S. Thompson, I see no difference between how Thompson investigated a story and how Richardson constructs a story through his photography. For both, the work is incomplete without the author playing a pivotal role in the narrative; more so, the story couldn’t exist without direct action from some sort of narrator/protagonist combined character.

Both Thompson and Richardson are actors inside the frame, displaying emotion, telling a few fictions, and showing that objectivity isn’t always necessary for truth.

It may seem obvious, but it’s worth noting that today we expect our non-fiction storytellers to step in front of the lens and perform in the scene.

Now, all mainstream media is news plus performance, but only The Daily Show and Colbert Report have fully embraced it.

Michael Moore, Morgan Spurlock, and Bill Maher all have some of the top grossing documentaries of all time – because they stepped onto the stage with their subjects.

Our demand for gonzo is even broader than non-fiction storytelling – everything that involves documenting anything – the artist/journalist/storyteller willing to interject themselves is rewarded with more attention.