photographed by Tarrice Love featuring Rica Reklaw @ unsigned model styled by Tarrice Love makeup Crystal Clark assisted bby Brandon Parker
The first images i saw of Rica Reklaw from LA where those of my fellow photographer and friend, William Elliot Springfield. They were hot!!! I was hoping to one day get to work with her. Makeup artist, Crystal Clark, hit me up and told me Rica was coming to NYC to test with photographers and makeup artist to add a "east coast" element to her portfolio. I was completely down to work with both of them. We really didn't have a concept planned. All I knew was that from looking at her work with previous photographers, I noticed that everyone was going for this androgynous boy/girl thing with her. I told Crystal that I wanted to make sure Rica looked like a pretty girl with some tough edge.
We didn't have a stylist ( as usual) so I had to depend on my own creativity and use my available resources. I made her clothes out of pantyhose I had purchased at the bodega on the corner of my block. I was inspired by a vision of Aaliyah as a modern girl mummy. I think the look was creative and fun.
My "Show Me The Light" editorial is currently featured on this hot fashion blog site called Design Scene (www.designscene.net) . It's always exciting to know that people are watching and taking notice .... i want to also publicly thank everyone at www.designscene.net for even considering my work good enough to include alongside some of the best fashion artist in the business. Its a great compliment to know that photographers, like myself, who don't have access to the best styling, makeup, and hair teams are being recognized for their attempts to produce quality work. THANK YOU...
When I was about 8-9 years old i was watching this Dateline-type news program called 48 hours. They were doing a special on NY fashion week. They spotlighted a newcomer who had recently graduated from Parsons School of Design and unveiling his first big show....that newcomer was Marc Jacobs. During this time many of the top models would select a new talent to lend their modeling services to for free...this season they were lining up to be a part of Marc Jacobs show. One of the models was Veronica Webb. I was lying on the floor in front of the tv watching ( and video taping) amazed..... "Wow, a black person speaking French." At that moment she had me. Fashion and Veronica Webb showed a little kid from Memphis, Tn that the world was bigger than my hometown and I wanted to be apart of it.
While my friends were plastering posters of rappers, actors, actresses and athletes on their walls, I had an extensive collection of tearsheets of VW on my wall. I would walk 3 hours to the library almost everyday and plant myself in the magazine section. I read every book and fashion magazine that was available Memphis Public Library. I would rip out every tearsheet that had VW in it....and yes i still have them. My best friend would call me every time she saw her on tv.... our household came to a screeching halt just so i could adsorb another glimpse of VW.
In 1992 Revlon chose her to represent its new Colourstyle line of cosmetics for ethnic women. With this campaign, VW made history as the first black woman to be signed to an exclusive contract with a major cosmetics line. They later replaced her with Halle Berry. :(
When Veronica Webb started writing for The Paper and Interview magazine...I started actually buying the magazines. I remember when she published her book, Veronica Webb Sight: Adventures in the Big City. It was a reflection on her life. It features a collection of her essays, reprinted journalism works and her 106-page biography ... she was doing a chat online supporting the book. At the time I had dial-up and it took hours for that shit to upload on my old ass computer....but it did and me and my granny sat there chatting with her back and forth on the computer. I remember being sooooo starstruck actually communicating with her via computer. I told her I was an aspiring photographer and that I hoped to one day work with her and my other favorite model, Jason Olive....I recalled her response being ..."hmmmm, good choice". I was soooo hyped.
above: my drawing of supermodels Veronica Webb and Jason Olive
When I was studying fashion design, all my sketches body types were super versions of Veronica Webb with amazing long legs that stretched across my sketchbooks.
left: one of my many design sketches. my asymetric b-ball dress. (far left is Georgianna Roberston in the Dennis Rodman dress, Veronica Webb and Naomi Campbell in the hardaway #1 dress, and Trya on the end in the Michael Jordan joint.)
I don't think people, including myself, realize what kind of affect they have on people. Veronica Webb had a big effect on my involvement with fashion and shaped and molded my way of thinking on a major level. If the opportunity presented itself for me to get the chance to work with her.... i think would pass out.
When i first came to NYC i started "I AM THE NEW BLACK" movement to encourage diversity in fashion campaigns and runway shows. During NY fashion week I asked all of my friends on Myspace to change their display name to I AM THE NEW BLACK during the month of February. That was back in 2006. Its now 2009 and America is in full swing with a social climate screaming for change.
With the men's shows just passing in Europe, Milan designers pretty much stuck to their guns with keeping their show and campaign presentations mostly white. Paris took us back to the late 80's and early 90's when runways were more diverse. NY Fashion week is around the corner and let's hope they reflect the nation's air of change and start showing some diversity on the runways and in the campaigns.
Last season Darrell Walden was one of the few black guys to stomp the international runways and here's what he had to say:
(Darrell Walden Jr is nolonger with Fusion. He is currently represented by Re:Quest Model Mgmt.)
Black is a reoccurring staple in everyone's wardrobe... that is why I call the movement I AM THE NEW BLACK. Fashion is always proclaiming a different color the "new" black. This season, "we" all are the staple of our existence... Black, White, Spanish, Asian ect.....WE ARE THE NEW BLACK . These images are dedicate to all of "us" during this upcoming fashion week.
model: dominique miller
hair &makeup by dante blandshaw
model: joseph daniels - vicc@boss models
models: dominique miller & lawrence annunziata@identities nyc
model: michael seals - daniel blalock @ identities nyc
Every first saturday of the month, photographer Ron Arrindell had been inviting me to attend the Brooklyn Museum's Target First Saturdays and I always had a reason to not go. This time I wasn't gonna past it up. THe weather was nice and I was on vacation from my job at FedEx. I need to take a break from retouching and shit and experience some culture. First Saturdays is an event of free music on the 3rd floor of the Brooklyn Museum sponsored by Target that's held on the first saturday of the month. They were having two popular deejays playing music - one playing afrobeat artist Fela Kuti and the other played James Brown. The Blacklist Project was showing on the 1st floor...I had to go check that out.....
the Blacklist Project is an exhibition of twenty-five portraits by internationally renowned photographer Timothy Greenfield-Sanders and a documentary project that explores being Black in America. Sanders also directed a series of filmed interviews conducted by noted film critic Elvis Mitchell that showed along with the photographs. Serena Williams, Chris Rock, Colin Powell, Toni Morrison, Russell Simmons, Al Sharpton, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, and Sean Combs are among the many African Americans whose faces are seen and voices heard in The Black List Project.
The images, photographic and filmed, are the core of the collaboration between Greenfield-Sanders and Mitchell that has resulted in The Black List: Volume One, an HBO documentary that you can buy exclusively at Target. I was so blown away by the Avedonesque way the photographs were shot....it was very inspiring for me. The atomosphere of the Brooklyn Museum felt like I was at the Southland Mall in Memphis...uck! It was so crowded and loud, you couldn't even hear the film. I wished the people would give the museum the same respect you give libraries and churches. I had to sit thru the film twice to hear it. The interviews I enjoyed the most and felt related directly to me were Toni Morrison, Al Sharpton, and Chris Rock. This exhibit parallels the 2 art projects I am working on.
I never seen so many people at the museum in my life. There had to be at least 3 thousand people up in there. The coolest part was being at a event where you were in the company of men, women, and children of all denomination, social backgrounds, and ages. from left to right - model/ friend Rumando Kelly - me - photographer/model Ron Arrindell I really did enjoy myself and i look forward to next month's first saturday....i'll definitely be there.
photographed by Tarrice Love featuring Lawrence Annunziata @ Identities, Lamar James@ Wilhemina Miami, Shawn Sutton @ Red Models, Christian Dubosse @ Basic Model mgmt., Darrell Walden Jr @ Next Model mgmt. and Sidney Etienne-unsigned styled by Tarrice Love
I wanted to start doing editorial submission so I started putting this project together of black guys as angels dressed in all white. God threw them down from heaven to do his work in Bedstuy Brooklyn. model-lawrence annunziata @ identities nyc
I tried to find a stylist but that really didn't work out, so i ended up going to H&M, Zara's, and Daffy's to get things to put together looks that were funky and interesting. The models helped me out as well by bringing white things they had from their own closets. model-lamar james @ identities nyc Each guy was shot on a different day thru the course of the summer of 2008. I am impressed that it still flows as a consistant story. model-shawn sutton @ red models nyc
model-christian dubosse @ basic model mgmt
I enjoyed working with all the guys for this shoot. Each one brought a different attitude and personality to their "character". Lamar James was my favorite to work with . He gave me everything I needed in less than 20 minutes. Darrell Walden Jr. was the hardest worker. He was hanging from fire escapes, jumping, falling and manage to keep the white clothes clean. The Muslims own the fire escape and threaten to call the police because we didn't have permits....it also happened when again when I shot Shawn Sutton. It turns out that Malcolm X's name is on the deed of the buildings across the street from my apartment ( aka studio 12x12) and they are some kind of historical landmark or something like that and they didn't want me taking pictures of it. Despite them making it difficult to shoot in my neighborhood, I still manage to get some really great shots. model-darrell walden jr. @ next model mgmt
model-sidney etienne - unsigned I held off showing these images sooner because i was trying to find a magazine to submit them to. I never anticipated how difficult it was going to be to find an outlet that would publish an all black male fashion story. I was also afraid magazine would be "inspired" by my submission and re do it with their team. Since I have started using my blog to showcase my work I decided now was a good time to share this fashion story. I would have loved to have access to stronger clothing , but I think I did a respectable job with the minimum access I had.
I continue to evolve and develope work that is reflective of my true visions. I consider myself an artist first and strive to do work that remains true to that aspect of my being.
