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Inspirations
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While at college, we spent a day at the Johannesburg Art Gallery, where we were introduced to the world of Alfred Eisenstaedt, who (in 1993) was still alive and was billed as the world’s oldest living, working photographer. Best known for his Magnum Opus "V-J day in Times Square", Eisenstaedt’s photo-journalism sparked something in me that I just cannot explain in mere words. There was more than just V-J Day however - images of "The First Meeting of Mussolini and Hitler in 1934"; Marilyn Monroe; Marlene Dietrich as a very young woman - and much, much more! Children at a puppet theatre; a gnarled oak tree; Mount Rushmore under construction, and Hiroshima survivors. The seed was sown! My first thought was "What an amazing life it must have been to have seen these things, and to have recorded them". I wanted to do the same. To be fair, Alfred Eisenstaedt is the reason this web site exists. A few years later, after the advent of the Internet, I discovered Annie Leibovitz. Sienna Miller seductively smoking in the nude, Lance Armstrong powerfully depicted on his bicycle, David Lynch with his polo-neck up to his hairline, and even the Queen. Legendary Vanity Fair covers . . . too many to name them all. The portraiture of Annie Leibovitz clarified things in my mind: This is what I want to do - I want to capture the essence of the human being, the individual, the way Ms. Leibovitz does. And then it happened. Looking at photographs on the web one day, I discovered the pure, unadulterated magic of Helmut Newton. That totally sealed my fate. The images this man has captured, the portraiture, are just beyond belief. I will sit in Exclusive Books for hours, and just marvel at this man’s sheer talent. What helped, of course, was the fetishist nature of his photographs. I am after all, a man, but gads - the portraiture! The one he did of Anthony Hopkins leaps out of the page and bites you (without Fava beans and a Chianti, one hopes). Anyway, armed with Mr. Newton as my inspiration, I said "That’s it - I’m getting back into photography. I want to do this!" The bolt was finally shot on the 26th of April, 2008, when my girlfriend and I went, on a whim, to the Goodman Gallery in Johannesburg, only to be pleasantly surprised by finding ourselves at the opening of an exhibition by the South African photographer, David Goldblatt. Simply entitled "Joburg", the exhibition consisted of about 50 photographs, all taken in and around Johannesburg. Mostly Black and White, with a few colour pics thrown in for good measure, the exhibition was truly, truly inspiring. I got to meet Mr. Goldblatt that day, and talk with him a while. It was an invaluable experience to learn from such an achieved photographer. I recently stumbled across the work of Irving Penn. At 91, this man is still photographing (not anymore - Mr. Penn died at the age of 92, 7 October 2009) , and still creates awesome images. I put him and Helmut Newton in the same class as far as my influences are concerned. I don’t care whether this statement is ridiculous or sublime; all I know is that I love his portraiture! The way he used to push his subjects into a corner - literally - and the elegance of his photos, moves me. My fave image? I love the drama of his portrait of Picasso. There is not much on his official website except a list of his published books, but the National Gallery of Art has some samples of his work. Update October 2009: I recently came across the work of polish photographer Joanna Drazek. I have no clue how this young lady does what she does, but boy, is she good! She captures a sensuality and softness in her images that I can only categorise as "Visual poetry". I can see myself attempting to recreate the look and feel of her work for a while. (More Joanna) And those, my friends, are the people responsible for what I want to do and be photographically. Will I ever emulate them? Hell, no. That’s like emulating Leonardo da Vinci or Beethoven. I can never be a Newton or a Goldblatt, but I can be a Gerry. These people, and what they have achieved, help keep me focused (pun intended) and maybe, just maybe, one or two good photos will come out of my camera. Oh - none of the images on this page are used with permission, for which I apologise, to anyone and everyone. I’m honouring these people on this page. I have no desire to rip them off in my work, to cheapen their names or to make money off their images. If you have a problem with these images, which are obviously the copyright of these marvellously talented photographers (and/or their estates), please speak to me and we’ll sort something out. |
