Phillip Toledano
Relevancy:
Phillip Toledano is very inspirational to me. His series “America the Gift Shop” seems to capture a consumerism of the news that has been digested and turned into photographs. He has taken his photograph ideas and been able to move them into sculpture and then photograph what he has made.
Phillip’s series “Kim Jong Phil” I find is exceptionally interesting. He commissioned the paintings as reproductions and then painted his face into the work. I can really embrace this body of work because he is accepting his role as an artist and the impossibility to remove yourself from your own work. I also enjoy that he is working with oil paintings as a photographer.
His series of photographs function as books and websites primarily so I don’t feel that I am learning anything new about distribution methods however his reach into mainstream fashion, editorial and advertising is where I am learning the most from him. Being political charged photography, I find it very influential that he has been hired to shoot advertising campaigns and editorial work. I think so of his most storytelling and potentially most controversial work is his editorial body of images. The work seems to be able to capture a feeling or idea that may be affecting a segment of society at any particular time and brings his commentary into it.
Overall I find Phillip to be a very diverse artist and find him inspiring in his use of multiple mediums from film, digital, sculpture, oil painting and his work with editorial and advertising.
About:
“Phillip Toledano was born in London to a French Moroccan mother, and an American father. He believes that photographs should be like unfinished sentences. There should always be space for questions.
Phillip’s work is socio-political, and varies in medium, from photography, to installation.
His work has appeared in Vanity Fair, The New York Times magazine, The New Yorker, Esquire, GQ, wallpaper, The London Times, The Independent Magazine, Le Monde, and Interview magazine, amongst others.”
“Bio” Mr. Toledano. Feb 2011. <http://www.mrtoledano.com/Extra/Information/BIO>
Interviews / Quotes:
“What was your inspiration behind America the Gift Shop?” - Balvinder Sandhu
“Eight years of failed policy, war for no reason, torture, lies, death of both Iraqi civilians and American soldiers; I could go on, but I think we've all heard it before.” - Phillip Toledano
Sandhu, Balvinder. “Gallery: The strange world of America according to Phillip Toledano” CNN GO.com. Jan 2010. Feb 2011. <http://www.cnngo.com/singapore/play/interview-phillip-toledano-288001>
“And more concretely, when you approach an idea, how do you develop the photography? Some ideas might be more easily accessible than others. For example, for “Bankrupt” you “simply” shot inside abandoned office buildings. But for “Hope & Fear” or “America - The Gift Shop” the original idea seems to have required a lot of thinking and conceptualizing. How do you typically go about this?” - Joerg Colberg
“I find that for me, ideas drive the execution. The idea and the way it will be created are both born at once. “Bankrupt”, or “Phonesex” were quite straightforward documentary ideas, whereas “Gift Shop”, “Hope & Fear” or “Video Gamers” required a different kind of interpretation.
For an idea like “Gift Shop”, as usual, the idea came to me in an inexplicable way, and then I sat down and wrote down all the ideas that came pouring out of my head. Some of the ideas were perfect immediately, and some needed to be fiddled with for a few weeks or months, before they clicked. It’s like having a piece of food stuck between your teeth… you keep worrying it with your tongue, and then there’s this immense sense of satisfaction when you dislodge it. It’s a bit of an odd metaphor, but quite accurate, I think. I also like the idea of not being bound by photography - the potential of operating in any medium is very liberating.” - Phillip Toledano
“Given what you’ve just described what advice would you give younger photographers who still are trying to figure out how to work on/approach projects?” - Joerg Colberg
“To paraphrase Glengarry Glenross, ALWAYS BE WORKING. Don’t worry about how/why, the most important thing is kinetic energy. Always be moving forward. Just start the project, and the momentum will carry you forward.” - Phillip Toledano
Colberg, Joerg. “A Conversation with Phil Toledano” Conscientious Extended. Dec 2008. Feb 2011. < http://jmcolberg.com/weblog/extended/archives/a_conversation_with_phil_toledano/>
“During your ten-year stint in advertising, you must have made buckets of dough and been involved in some great projects that millions of people saw. How'd you cope with the loss of your soul, though?” – Jessica
“It's amazing how scrubbing yourself with a gold leaf loofah will alleviate the separation anxiety of loosing your soul.
All things considered, advertising was the best possible training I could ever have had to be a photographer. It focused me on the idea of ideas. Plus having a soul is sooo outmoded — just ask the current administration.” - Phillip Toledano
Jessica “The 5X5 Interview: Phil Toledano, Photographer” Gawker. Sep 2004. Feb 2011. <http://gawker.com/#!21309/the-5x5-interview-phil-toledano-photographer>
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