herb ritts is considered one of the leading photographers

herb ritts is considered one of the leading photographers and commercial directors in the world today............................................................................

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herb ritts biography

herb ritts was born in los angeles in 1952, and grew up living and
working among the celebrities of the day.
in 1970, he left california to attend bard college and study economics.
he later returned to west hollywood and worked as a sales representative
for the family business selling rattan furniture, often to movie sets.
this job allowed ritts to travel and to pursue one of his interests,
photographing his friends.

ritts' hobby soon became a self-taught career.
the photographer himself attributes his first success to shots of actor
richard gere taken on a desert excursion that ended with a flat tire.
it was the tender machismo captured in the photograph of the young
gere — rising star of the 1980 movie 'american gigolo' — that launched
ritts' career as a commercial photographer.

ritts looks back on the late '70s and early '80s as apprentice years,
mastering his craft and developing a personal aesthetic photographing
men's and women's fashions.
simultaneously, he was building his reputation as a celebrity portraitist.

while working for 'interview' magazine in 1985, ritts exhibited his
photographs in a gallery setting for the first time.
since then his career has escalated, moving from fashion photography
for the top national and international fashion magazines
such as 'harper's bazaar', 'vogue', 'elle', 'vanity fair', and 'rolling stone',
among others, to album covers and music videos for madonna, elton john
and cher (in 1991, two of his videos won MTV awards for best female video
of janet jackson and best male video of chris isaak).

donna karan, calvin klein, the gap, versace, valentino, gianfranco ferre
and giorgio armani are among his many corporate clients.
it was for his portraits for 'the gap' that he received the infinity award
for applied photography from the international center for photography, new york.
to date, he has directed several international commercial campaigns.
chanel, calvin klein, levi's, rochas, lancome, guess perfume, revlon,
guy laroche and cartier are only a few examples of his work in this area.

fine art, design, fashion, photographic media, and global marketing are all
dynamically connected in today' s complex culture, and ritts' s work
exemplifies our broadening notion of artistic activity.
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books
in the past decade, ritts has published four books that bring together
photographs around a particular theme:

- 'herb ritts', thames & hudson,
fondation cartier pour l'art contemporain, london, 1999.

- 'work', little, brown and company / bulfinish press /
museum of fine arts, boston, 1996.

- 'africa', a study of the masai people,
indigenous animals and the stark african landscape
little, brown and company / bulfinish press, boston, 1994.
— is this a 'hommage a leni riefenstahl' ?
see http//:www.designboom.com/portrait/leni.html

- ritts' more lively and unconventional successes as a celebrity
portraitist were showcased in 'notorious';
little, brown and company / bulfinish press, boston, 1992.

- 'duo: herb ritts photographs bob paris and rod jackson',
is a nude study of gay couples; twin palms publishers, santa fe, 1991.

- 'men / women' conveys his feeling for and
understanding of the beauty and sensuous aura of both sexes;
twin palms publishers, santa fe, 1989.

- 'pictures', twin palms publishers, altadena, 1988.

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recent shows
ritts exhibited his photographs in a gallery setting for the first time in
1985 in a three-person show titled 'working in L.A.'
since then his work has been showcased in galleries around the country.

2001 'herb ritts', galleria carla sozzani, milan
2000 'herb ritts', palazzo delle esposizioni, rome
1999 'herb ritts', fondation cartier pour l’art contemporain, paris
'work', kemper museum of contemporary art, kansas city
museum of art, lauderdale
1998 'herb ritts', gallery of contemporary art, lewis and clark college, portland
sk josefsberg studio, portland
byron mapp gallery, sydney
1997 'africa', albany museum of art, albany
staley-wise gallery, new york
allene la pides gallery, santa fe
fay gold gallery, atlanta
arthur roger gallery, new orleans
fahey/ klein gallery, los angeles
'work', kunsthaus wien, vienna
1996 fahey klein gallery, los angeles
robert klein gallery, boston
work', museum of fine arts, boston (the first time his photographs
have been exhibited in a major museum)
1995 parco gallery, tokyo
fay gold gallery, atlanta
arthur roger gallery, new orleans
1994 fahey/ klein gallery, los angeles
allene la pides gallery, sante fe
staley- wise gallery, new york

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for more info:
http://www.fondation.cartier.fr
http://www.galleriacarlasozzani.com
http://www.boston.com/mfa/ritts/ritts.htm

/ see the exhibition of herb ritts
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'madonna', hollywood, 1986
© herb ritts photography inc.
courtesy galleria carla sozzani, milan

'madonna', san-pedro, 1990
© herb ritts photography inc.
courtesy galleria carla sozzani, milan

'stephanie, cindy, christy, tatjana, naomi',
hollywood, 1989
© herb ritts photography inc.
courtesy museum of fine arts, boston