Kirjahaku

Ryan McGinley, one of the most important photographers of his generation, asks his friends and colleagues to take the camera into their own hands. Following instructions given to them by the artist, a group of individuals explore their own image.Ryan McGinley, since the earliest days of his unparalleled career, has chronicled his friends and cohorts. Whether on the now legendary annual road trips he has organized with a large coterie of twentysomethings documenting summertime exploits or documenting the early gritty years in downtown New York, McGinley is known as the consummate storyteller about freedom and abandon of youth. A few years ago, however, he wanted to challenge his creative habits and asked more than one hundred of his friends and colleagues--guided by detailed instructions and a camera given to them by the artist--to take nude self-portraits using mirrors and other props. Though related to the ubiquitous selfie, the participants didn't have the benefit of seeing the image before they clicked the shutter. Furthermore, McGinley would make the selection of the final image to represent the photo session. The experiment yielded scores of intimate and psychologically revealing photos that--even though not done by his own hand--bear some signature McGinley flourishes in their emotional depth and resonance.

Known for his outdoor photography of young people cavorting in the nude, McGinley s YEARBOOK ventures into the artist s studio, creating more intimate portraits almost character studies--of his models. The project was initiated in 2010, before the advent of Instagram, which is now the most important platform for sharing his work and connecting with fans. His subjects are often friends or part of his extended community of artists, creatives, and street kids exude candid awareness of the camera, creating powerful, alluring images that define a new-bohemian coterie. As a master chronicler of downtown New York City for two decades, McGinley captures the lives of the young and restless, earning acclaim as the voice of his generation and indelibly capturing the millennial zeitgeist. The book will feature brief interviews with many of the models discussing their lives and what they do. And cult film director John Waters will pen the foreword.