Another man that should have probably appeared in our homage to
the power of the moustache is the godfather of camera sleaze, Terry
Richardson. Somehow, Terry has carved a name for himself as the fashion
world's go to guy for,the kind of coarse, raw and sexually suggestive
photography that has famously defined the modern image of brands like
Sisley, Gucci and H&M.
The Richardson name and it's association with sex in the fashion
industry existed well before Terry was even born. His father and
photographer Bob Richardson, who died at 77 a couple of years back was
notorious for incorporating sex, violence and drugs into his fashion
photography during the 60s. It's in the blood...
If Richardson Jr takes a photo of himself performing cunnilingus, or
being serviced from under a desk, (which he has) is it porn? I kind of
think it is, but at the same time it's seems to be mildly more
acceptable... not exactly sure why. Is it because he's photographed people like Kate Moss,
Lindz and JT?
The thing that i find interesting,
particularly at the moment is that Terry and others have been taking
sexually explicit and provocative photos of young people for the fashion world for years, but
when a well respected artist, like Bill Henson photographs a naked
subject, without even a hint of sexualisation in the image, to display in a gallery, the world
goes crazy. So confusing.
Whether you rate his work or not, Terry is particularly good at
bringing out the inner whore or scumbag in his subjects... Check out some samples of the provocative work of Mr Richardson
(massive warnings here... if you're offended by nudity and sex best not
look) and for more visit
Terry Richardson's website.