GREG GORMAN
A Collection of Outsiders & Auteurs at Fahey Klein
The Fahey/Klein Gallery presents “Greg Gorman: It’s Not About Me,” an exhibition in conjunction with his newly published book of the same name by TeNeues Media. The exhibit is a visual feast of Gorman’s study of portraiture and the human form. In this curation are some of the most influential people of the end of the 20th century photographed with an intimacy, physicality and trust between every subject and Greg Gorman. Mick Jagger, Leonardo DiCaprio, Raquel Welch, Andy Warhol, Sophia Loren, Iggy Pop and Kevin Costner are among Gorman’s subjects in this collection.
Greg Gorman was an in demand photographer for every top magazine at the time. He did shoots for Esquire, GQ, Interview, Life, Vogue, Rolling Stone, Time and Vanity Fair. He became hooked on photography after borrowing a friend’s camera to take along to a Jimi Hendrix concert with specific directions on film type and shutter speed and was told he might get something. When he developed the film and printed images in the dark room he had indeed captured some very raw images of Hendrix playing electric guitar and Greg instantly fell in love with becoming a photographer.
Some of the subjects in this show are unique cultural outsiders who became icons. Some are auteurs. It is Gorman’s direct and confrontational style that brings every image to a powerful statement about the times. Spend some time with the contact sheet for Leonardo DiCaprio and you might see an almost magical physical interaction between the young upcoming actor and Greg Gorman’s energy and connection to Leo. Every image on the contact sheet is a wonder in itself and it unveils the talent of Gorman to get movement and emotion from what seems to be a very willing Leo. You can hear the camera clicking away as the shoot proceeds almost as if it is a short film. Gorman works in a perfect rhythm with DiCaprio. Greg Gorman did that with almost everyone he photographed. He is beyond gifted with innate and unique abilities to tune in to the subject and create the most powerful images.
