In other words, revealing the character by celebrating the human form in a highly stylized and beautiful fashion was critical to Ritts' art. Even his ordinary subjects look like models. In "Vladimir: Hollywood 1980" a man smoking a cigarette with a stocking cap on his head looks almost sensual in his delight at this act, as if he is advertising the brand as well as simply enjoying a smoke.
Ritts' studies of African natives, far away from exposure to the Western media, are lit in ways that recall his Calvin Klein ads and other commercial representations from America like "Dijimon with Octopus." This work shows an African native with braided, octopus-like hair. (Images available from the website text and image catalogue "Herb Ritts on Show," 2000) Ritts suggests that even celebrities have a personal and human side, and even ordinary Americans and Africans have the power to speak to the camera as an iconic image -- in other words, anyone can indeed be famous for fifteen minutes, if photographed by someone like Ritts.
Thus, the similarity between these images of African natives and ordinary Los Angeles residents with more famous Ritts images such as his pictures of Madonna highlights not only his love of celebrity and how the idealized, optimistic view of human beauty permeates even his non-Western images. Perhaps it is only fitting that Ritts came to photography accidentally, as he began working in his family's furniture business in Los Angeles, and took night classes in photography for fun. In the 1970's he took pictures of friends, and gradually words of his talent grew.
Thus Kasia Dybowska...
Dybowska points out that the one conjoining commonality between all of the artist's works, whether magazine covers, rock videos, or even his shots of Africa, is the human form in the nude, depicted in strength and beauty. When exposed, the human form takes on a linearity and power much like an icon, even if the actual individual is not an icon. She calls him an image-maker, rather than a photographer, as Ritts used images to comment upon character and life, rather than to merely render reality onto the page. The image of the nude body said more truthful words about the artist than the celebrity's conventional, best face. Ritts was able to create something 'new' from Madonna that said something about himself, the culture, and the famous woman's soul, rather than to merely take her image and 'send it up' like Warhol's depiction of a tomato soup can, for example, does with the commercial, advertised image.
Works Cited
BBC News. (27 Dec 2002) "Photographer Herb Ritts dies." Images and accompanying text available at 25 Jan 2005 at http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertainment/showbiz/2608665.stm
Dybowska, Kasia. (2002) "Herb Ritts Photography." Trincoll Journal: Current Events. Images and accompanying text available at 25 Jan 2005 at http://www.trincoll.edu/zines/tj/tj11.14.96/articles/cover.html
Herb Ritts on Show." (15 Feb 2001) Images and accompanying text available at 25 Jan 2005 at http://www.designboom.com/portrait/hr.html
