In some circles, late artist George Dureau was just as synonymous with pioneering the male nude in photography as his contemporary Robert Mapplethorpe was. However, for the most part – that is, the mainstream – he remains unknown. This year, Aperture published George Dureau: The Photographs, only the second book to honour the now-deceased artist, in an attempt to shine a light on his incredibly intimate work, particularly with male amputees.
Bruce Gilden has been snapping our focus onto things people would perhaps not see in (for the most part) America since he first gained notoriety for his raw and in-your-face photographs. Continuing a growing fascination with Detroit, earlier this year, Gilden returned to the city for the second time since 2009 to photograph dilapidated houses and residents of the, what is often dubbed, “ghost town”. The photos will be shown in London this month at the Leica Gallery.
Photographer Normski was at the forefront of both the US and the UK’s hip hop golden age, documenting London’s Cookie Crew and Demon Boyz, as well as Dr Dre and LL Cool J. His now legendary black and white images not only capture the talent of the time but also the fashion and the attitude that went hand-in-hand with the music.
Cookie CrewPhotography Normski, courtesy Youth Club
“I feel like my work is as much about rejecting the white male face as it is about picturing the black male face”, revealed Olivia Rose, the London photographer shooting portraits of grime and hip-hop figures, including Kano, Stormzy, as well as Drake and Ty Dollar Sign. Last month, she premiered a short film titled [Absence] Unity on Dazed Digital and discussed her exploration of black masculinity, as well as addressed criticisms of being a white woman almost exclusively photographing black men.
Dapper with his braces – Caledonian Road, LondonPhotography Olivia Rose
Richard Kern’s name often goes hand-in-hand with words like “porn” and “perverse”. As far as I know, it’s not been something that Kern has been particularly upset about – having indeed shot for porn mags and also happy to say that he prefers to shoot nude, novice models. But look deeper and there are more sides to his work than an adjective and he is opening up that element in a new show, naturally in New York. Featuring test shots, early experimental work, and his zines – we caught up with Kern to find out more.
Cindy Sherman is an enigmatic force in photography. For four decades she has explored the role of women across a varying array of projects and shows – from her iconic Untitled Film Stills to actual short films and her work with medical and sex dolls (my personal favourite). Understandably, there’s an incredible amount to digest, so we put together a handy A-Z of everything you need to know as she celebrates a roaming retrospective, Imitation of Life, currently at LA’s The Broad.
No matter how many images of young people we see, we can never get enough. Tom Sloan’s series “What’s The Craic” is no different. Capturing Britain’s coastal towns on the verge of adulthood, we see outer city teens careering on motorcycles, hanging out by the beach, fooling around for the camera and generally just making us nostalgic for a day of no responsibilities.
