Born August 13: Herb Ritts

A classicist in the tradition of George Platt Lynes, Herb Ritts' elegance was always overshadowed by his popularity. His friendships with superstars were somehow more newsworthy than his ability to capture the iconic instant and transform mortals into myth. Those friendships began early; he grew up in Brentwood, next door to Steve McQueen who on Sundays would take Herb riding on his motorcycle in the desert. As much as any other photographer, Ritts defined style for the ten years from 1982 to 1992 on the covers of Vanity Fair, Vogue, Rolling Stone, GQ, as well as in countless ad campaigns, the apex of which was the Marky Mark Calvin Klein underwear shoot. Ritts also directed commercials and more than a dozen music videos such as Wicked Game, Cherish, and Ain't It Funny. Yet because his subjects were celebrities and supermodels he was often deemed shallow and superficial. I think in those early years straight critics found it easier to dismiss him rather than confront their discomfort with his work's homoeroticism. Openly gay throughout his career, he was a major force in fundraising for aids groups like Amfar long before it was fashionable. Forthright about his own hiv-positive status, he died of pneumonia six years ago and is survived by his partner, Erik Hyman.

Here's his video for Love Will Never Do (Without You). With his eye for talent, Ritts hired a young model for his first onscreen appearance, Djimon Hounsou who has gone on to be nominated twice for an Oscar, and Antonio Sabato Jr. when he was eighteen. The video helped make the song Janet's fifth number one single from Rhythm Nation, a first for any singer. On lists of the 100 best videos of all time, this one has ranked #13 (Rolling Stone), #72 (VH1), and #88 (MTV).

Comments

[super real]

That's the kind of image that i really thing is super image like. If more images very real like this were out there we'd be super full of graet images in the world.