Ellen von Unwerth and Annie Leibovitz Could Give Terry Richardson a Photography Lesson, When the Subject is Erotic, Beautiful Women
I agree with Flavorwire. You can do better, Terry Richardson, photographing AMC’s “Mad Men” Betty Draper, aka January Jones for November 2009 GQ.
We showed January Jones most recently in Annie Leibovitz’s shoot for “Vanity Fair” September 2009, a detached yet emotively connected contradiction in terms. Doesn’t that describe Mrs. Draper?
A super-restrained eroticism is captured through the Leibovitz lens.The play of light and dark describes all the good girl/bad girl wrestling inside Mrs. Draper, spilling not only across her face but the car, too.
When I first saw the Leibovitz photo early August, I thought “I am woman, hear me roar.” In the case of Mrs. Draper, she hasn’t found her octane just yet. more Annie Leibovitz photo of January Jones
“Mad Men” Hamm and Jones, Vanity Fair September 2009, photographed by Annie LeibovitzI’ve always found Terry Richardson’s photos of women to be genuinely superficial. Richardson likes his women ‘dirty’ and gritty’, not haughty, powerful grownup women with a turbo-charged sexuality. He’s frequently looking down on them — part of the spontaneous, involved Polaroid style he’s known for.
In all honesty, Terry Richardson can’t handle women like January Jones, and I doubt he could please her in bed. Nor can he relate to her through his lens.
January Jones photographed by Terry Richardson for GQ, Nov. 2009So Richardson’s photos for the November 2009 issue of GQ are empty. He can’t do his pornified trademark style, because, unlike W Magazine, GQ US rarely pushes the envelope, as most luxury style media moves into soft porn. (You gotta go to Sexy Futures for those photos.)
Wait — I’ll bring one over, but the blog is naughty. Eye of the Beholder is not a proper blog for Anne of Carversville. Although this feature is driven by your love of the recent Ellen von Unwerth post, so I’m just trying to make you happy.
Jessica Biel on Eye of the Beholder blogTerry Richardson couldn’t render a woman this smolderingly erotic, if he hadn’t had sex for a month. It’s not in his soul. You can only photograph a woman this way, when you genuinely worship female sensuality, whether you are a man or woman behind the lens.
Women like Jessica Biel scare the wits out of Richardson, which is why he can’t relate to them as a professional photographer. Richardson only knows how to reduce women, not unleash them. As a photographer, he lacks the empathy to help a woman discover something about herself, she didn’t know was inside her.
This unfettering via the photographic image is the great gift a sensitive artist gives to women.
January Jones photographed by Terry Richardson for November 2009 GQSame empty story with this Richardson photo of January Jones. Richardson taps into the vision of the voyeur, but again there’s no connection. The man behind this lens can only look,. but not really touch. There is no connection between the voyeur and his subject.
If you’ll forgive me for saying so, Richardson could run over Jones with the car and not look back. That’s how much psychological connection exists between photographer and subject. And Jones looks like she’s saying “Could you PLEASE get me a woman photographer like Annie Liebowitz or Ellen von Unwerth.
You are looking at woman objectified without worship. She’s just an ‘ol thing in the road, high-end roadkill, when Richardson is done looking at her.
Ellen von Unwerth Photographer
Contrast the Richardon photo with this one by Ellen von Unwerth. With no color, no smoke and mirrors and no props, the model seduces us with her eyes and body. Unwerth and her model (lone Kuodiene, Alyssa Miller or Anne Vyalitsyna — I don’t know who is who in the photo shoot) share the sensual tension of the moment. They are connected, and we are also invited into the photos. More photos at Live Journal.
Ellen von Unwerth photographerTerry Richardson accomplishes a bit much with this photo of January Jones. He hasn’t penetrated her interior, but for a moment we feel that he’s honestly searching beneath the surface.
January Jones photographed by Terry Richardson for GQ, November 2009It’s fair to say that GQ is a men’s magazine. I’m a woman and so are Annie Liebovitz and Ellen von Unwerth. Anne of Carversville is a womanly place.
This is not a new subject for me. I sense from our many men readers and endless life conversations about what men want in women, that many men would agree with me that Terry Richardson doesn’t know how to capture the essence of what arouses them intellectually and physically, when the mission is photographing deeply sensual, beautiful women. Anne
More Reading: Oh, Betty! (January Jones in-depth interview) GQ
One More Unwerth for the Road
By Ellen von Unwerth
More reading:
Ellen von Unwerth’s New York Moment
Smart Sensuality Women as Envisioned by Ellen von Unwerth
Ellen Von Unwerth | Smart Sensuality Woman’s “Revenge”
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Reader Comments (3)
What an interesting post! I never really noticed the differences in how male and female photographers shoot women. Really insightful and thought provoking!
Ellen Von Unwerth seems to me to be obviously aware of the work of the late great NYC photographer, the German expatriate, Helmut Newton inspired, Chris Von Wangenheim. (Both males) Not much of Chris's personal work is known due to an unsettled divorce at the time of his accidental work but he is known for his photos with his model friend Gia as well as his violent Christian Diior jewelry ads featuring a doberman pincher. While I was working as his assistant Chris also shot the (much protested) ad campaign for MAIDENFORM bra. (women in public in only their bra and panties) If you don't know his work, check him out.
Great post, I totally agree but it's something I haven't been able to articulate myself. Great examples too. I'm getting so much out of your posts, I find myself talking to my monitor, saying: "Yes ... See? ... Exactly".