reviews_and_ramblings | Richard Phibbs: Chasing Beauty

Richard Phibbs brings an artist's eye to every photo he takes - in advertising and magazines, fine art and his personal work.

He has shot advertising campaigns for Giorgio Armani, as well as iconic American brands such as Ralph Lauren and Calvin Klein. His editorial work has appeared in Italian Vanity Fair, Vogue Hommes, The New York Times Magazine and others.

Phibbs's portraits give a revealing "take" on subjects as varied as Hillary Clinton and Bernard Henri Levy, Beyonce and Pedro Almodovar, Meryl Streep and Jay Z. Phibbs has just compiled more than a decade's worth of work into a provocative new book, "Richard Phibbs - Chasing Beauty", which release was in Fall 2010.

Huck is so happy, Water Island, NY 2007

Travis, Water Island, NY 2007

Another facet of Phibbs's work is revealed in Richard Phibbs Fine Art, limited-edition prints - conceived for interior designers, architects and private collectors including Anderson Cooper, Francis Ford Coppola and President Bill Clinton.

Photography is Phibbs's passion. He believes photographs can change, inspire and motivate us. His signature causes - children with AIDS and animals - are his inspiration. His emotional connection to his work is perhaps best revealed in his photos of forgotten children of Romania's AIDS epidemic - some stark, some heartbreaking, all life-affirming. Traveling four times to Bucharest, he has taken more than 200 portraits of children with HIV, many of them orphans. Phibbs's work, including portraits of the children, is the basis for the non-profit Children of Nowhere, co-founded by Phibbs, which funds vital medications and supplies for Romanian children with HIV/AIDS (www.childrenofnowhere.com)

Whoever his subject, Phibbs looks for a personal connection, then brings that connection to the viewer of his finished photos. "Something touches me, something in my heart says now!" he says. "There's a shift in the subject, one way or the other, and I see who that person really is. When I lose a bit of my heart I know: That's the picture".

Born and raised in the Canadian West, Phibbs has received degrees from the University of Toronto and Parsons School of Design. Richard lives in New York City.

http://www.richardphibbs.com/

Chasing Beauty by Richard Phibbs
Hardcover: 144 pages
Publisher: powerHouse Books (October 5, 2010)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 157687561X
ISBN-13: 978-1576875612
Amazon: Chasing Beauty

“I’m in constant search of chasing beauty, chasing hope—I’m not interested in the dark.”

The celebrated photographer Richard Phibbs, known for his celebrity portraits and iconic ad campaigns for Ralph Lauren, Giorgio Armani, and more, has an unwavering eye for beauty. Many theorists argue that beauty is subjective, a product of individual preference, but the images from Phibbs’ archive of work from 1997–2009, edited, sequenced, and collected in Chasing Beauty, may put that argument to rest.

The book is a deeply personal labor of love, affirming Phibbs’ belief that photographs can change, inspire, and motivate. Alfredo Paredes, one of the creative minds behind Polo Ralph Lauren, approached Phibbs with the idea of making a monograph—with one caveat: Phibbs was to step back and relinquish control. Paredes had a vision in mind of taking Phibbs’ aesthetic and selecting images that would realize his unique eye for beauty. The result is a fascinating juxtaposition of photographs that excite, tantalize, shock, and surprise. A delicate and gorgeous rose is followed by the rawness of a dirty rugby player; a pair of horses is set beside a female nude. These combinations highlight undeniable beauty of both natural and human origin, and show us that if you only look beauty can be found anywhere.

“Sometimes things cannot be expressed in words—that’s what is so expressive, emotional, or revealing about a photograph. Just look and enjoy it. It reveals that exact fleeting moment in time—that’s all. When I lose my breath a bit, I know that’s the picture.” —Richard Phibbs