Paparazzi

For Diesel’s BRAVE Terry Richardson, dirty old man and true artist, shot both well and lesser known faces and bodies in the Brazilian Rio de Janeiro back in May 2007. The result was successfully exhibited in Hong Kong. There was considerably more photo material available so Richardson and Diesel created the book ‘Rio Cidade Maravilosa’. Problem is, the book is only available in Diesel stores in Rio and Sao Paolo...

The term ‘paparazzi’ was coined by none other than Federico Fellini, who first gave the name ‘Paparazzo’ to the pushy press photographer character in his film ‘La Dolce Vita’. The scenes of Paparazzo riding through the streets of Rome on his scooter looking for his next big ‘scoop’ seem, in hindsight, to carry an eerily visionary message.

Like a true Roman, Tazio Secchiaroli (1925-1998) was afraid of nothing and no one. Bold, direct and honest, he claimed magazine editors played it safe by publishing boring, censored portraits of the famous. It could get way more exciting than that. In the late 50’s Secchiaroli travelled through Rome on his Vespa hunting down celebrities taking snapshots of their unguarded moments in his quest to get to the top.

In 1962 Marvin Israel, Art Director of Harper’s Bazaar, set out to make a series of fashion photographs, paparazzi style. There was only one man for this project: Richard Avedon (1923-2004). He loved paparazzi photographs and often used them as a source of inspiration for his fashion photography. The result: a satire of the tumultuous relationship between Elizabeth Taylor and Richard Burton.

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Ron Galella is considered the most controversial celebrity photographer in the United States. Newsweek heralded him ‘Paparazzo Extraordinaire’, Miami Herald News spoke of the ‘Paparazzi Superstar’. Galella, by way of his photos of celebrity nightlife, has himself grown into a popular culture icon

In 1980 Bruno Mouron and Pascal Rostain were drawn to an article in the French newspaper Le Monde. A sociology professor had written a piece about a study aimed at analysing consumption and social behavior in relation to trash. Mouron and Rostain decided to do their own research: What does Brigitte Bardot throw away? Gerard Depardieu or Yannick Noah? Afterwards, the duo went on to research the trash of Hollywood celebrities: Brando, Nicholson, Cruise, Madonna and Wacko Jacko. Even Ronald Reagan’s trash wasn’t safe from scrutiny. ‘TRASH’ has become a work in progress for Mouron and Rostain. They are also presently investigating non-celebrity trash in 42 different countries. From the favelas in Rio de Janiero to the affluent neighbourhoods of Quatar. TRASH aims to show the widespread development of standardised consumerism. There is, it seems, a story in every trash bag, and strangely enough a very personal portrait of each consumer.

The Australian born Darryn Lyons began his professional career as a news photographer at a local newspaper in Geelong. At 22, he left for London to work for Rupert Murdoch’s tabloid newspaper News of the World. After two years he went to work for the Daily Mail for whom he reported from Bosnia-Herzegovina covering the war in Yugoslavia.