Photographers Greg Gorman and Matthew Rolston will present “The School of Los Angeles,” a talk on the work of Herb Ritts, Gorman and Rolston, at 6:30 p.m. Thursday, Nov. 12, at Santa Monica College.
The SMC Photography and Fashion Department is hosting the talk for students and the community in the Student Services Center Auditorium (SSC 183) on the SMC Main Campus, 1900 Pico Blvd. Doors open at 6 p.m., and seating is limited.
The talk coincides with the closing weeks of a retrospective of the same name at Fahey/Klein Gallery, 148 N. La Brea Ave., Los Angeles. The exhibition features 1980s works by all three photographers. Details are at faheykleingallery.com/exhibitions/the-school-of-los-angeles.
In the late 1970s and through the 1980s, largely through the patronage of Andy Warhol and his Interview magazine, Ritts, Gorman and Rolston developed distinct approaches to photographing celebrities and public figures. Together, they reimagined the traditions of glamour and portraiture, creating a visual language that continues to influence how fame, identity and beauty are pictured.
“We were the ‘children’ of Andy Warhol, and the photographers Helmut Newton and George Hurrell,” Rolston said in an interview with photographer and journalist Mark Edward Harris for Black & White Magazine. “They were, to me, the fathers of this revival of glamour.”
Author Charles Churchward coined the term “The School of Los Angeles” to describe the period. A former Vanity Fair and Vogue design director, he commissioned work by all three artists. Churchward has asked whether the moment deserves recognition as a distinct artistic movement.
Editor Angela Janklow, president of media consulting firm Mouth Inc. and a contributing editor at Harper’s Bazaar, will moderate.
Gorman has worked as a photographer in the motion picture industry and has led hands-on photography workshops around the world for more than 40 years. Rolston is also a filmmaker. He is known for his signature lighting techniques and award-winning music videos and has given multiple campus talks on photography.
A limited selection of the artists’ books will be available for purchase and signing. Guests may also bring their own copies.
More information is available from the SMC Photography and Fashion Department at 310-434-3547 or ivas_lorrie@smc.edu. The talk is subject to change or cancellation.
Edited by SMDP Staff