Photographed by Steven Klein for Vogue Paris Feb 2009
Just before the All-Lara Stone Feb issue of Vogue Paris went on the stands, the internet was hit with a burst of imagery allegedly from the Steven Klein edit titled "Lara Fiction Noire". Yet when the magazine finally emerged several of those powerful images were not in the proper editorial. A casual trace revealed those out-takes had come from the stevenkleinstudio.com website, in a flash series titled "Uncensored". Whatever the vagaries behind what was published and what was not published lay a fascinating story of passion on the part of the photographer and a testament to the burgeoning power of the internet as a vital (and viral) distribution center of insider imagery. Already this editorial has rippled across the fashion groupie radar as one of the most controversial series of imagery thus far this year. With those thoughts as the backdrop TI emailed Mr Klein with a couple of questions for this exclusive interview. This is what he had to say...
> Was there a particular theme or reference driving this shoot or do you like leaving that open to the viewer?
'IT WAS THE MYSTERY AND POWER OF BLOOD... HOW IT STIRS IN US A PRIMAL REACTION, BE IT RELIGIOUS, OR THAT OF HORROR AND REVULSION OR VIEWING IT MERELY AS A BIOLOGICAL FACT. FOR ME, THE BLOOD IMAGES ARE ABOUT HOW BLOOD LINKS THE BODY AND THE SOUL.'
> When you were shooting did you intend every picture for publication or were you just feeling free and bold with the ideas.
'I INTEND EVERYTHING I SHOOT FOR PUBLICATION AND I SERIOUSLY PRE-PLAN THE IMAGES.'
> How common is it for mainstream magazines to find the images in an editorial too strong.
'I FIND MOST MAGAZINE EDITORIALS WEAK IN COMPARISON TO THE VISUAL FIELD OF CINEMA AND ART.'
> 4. Do you think today's audience wants pushed images or do they want to sit in a comfort zone given the recession fears of today?
'PEOPLE CRAVE TO SEE IMAGES THAT WILL COMPEL THEM OUT OF THEIR BOREDOM.'
> Do you think your images lose something when they're seen on the Internet as opposed to print?
'I AM FINDING MANY IMAGES TO BE STRONGER ON THE INTERNET. IN FACT WHEN THE NY POST PUBLISHES AN IMAGE FROM MY SHOOT OR I SEE MY EDITORIAL FEATURED ON A BLOG AND MIXED IN WITH ITS GRAPHICS AND TEXT, THE IMAGES TAKE ON A NEW LIFE, NOT SO PRECIOUS BUT VITAL.'
>What do you see as the future of print magazines and lavish fashion editorials?
'THEY NEED TO CATCH UP TO THE MODERN LOOK OF MANY OF THE BLOGS I SEE.'
>Your images are certainly cinematic. Do you think we'll be watching fashion ads+ editorials that are mini- videos or mini-films in the near future?
'I AM ALREADY CREATING MINI FILMS ON MY WEBSITE THAT ARE DERIVED FROM MY SHOOTS,'
TO SEE THE MOVIE ON THE STEVEN KLEIN SITE :
stevenkleinstudio.com
enter site
go to: Moving Image
proceed to Film Projects
title French Vogue-Lara Stone
THE EDIT AS IT APPEARED IN VOGUE PARIS :
Photographed by Steven Klein for Vogue Paris Feb 2009
Photographed by Steven Klein for Vogue Paris Feb 2009
Photographed by Steven Klein for Vogue Paris Feb 2009
Photographed by Steven Klein for Vogue Paris Feb 2009
Photographed by Steven Klein for Vogue Paris Feb 2009
UNCENSORED EDIT:
Photographed by Steven Klein for Vogue Paris Feb 2009
Photographed by Steven Klein for Vogue Paris Feb 2009
Photographed by Steven Klein for Vogue Paris Feb 2009
Photographed by Steven Klein for Vogue Paris Feb 2009
Photographed by Steven Klein for Vogue Paris Feb 2009
Photographed by Steven Klein for Vogue Paris Feb 2009
Photographed by Steven Klein for Vogue Paris Feb 2009
Photographed by Steven Klein for Vogue Paris Feb 2009
TO SEE THE MOVIE ON THE STEVEN KLEIN SITE :
stevenkleinstudio.com
enter site
go to: Moving Image
proceed to Film Projects
title French Vogue-Lara Stone
Special thanks to the Steven Klein Studio for accommodating this story.
this is great art!
this is great art!
Crazy!
This stuff is hot but freaky :) www.thisisdomo.com
u are deluded and stupid
u are deluded and stupid maybe even have a mental health problem that you find it Hot!?What is the point of this sickening picture?It is not passionate its disturbing.
Herr Klein
steven klein's work has always escaped me due to his violent themes whether subtle or blatant as in this editorial,there is allways a gratuitious violence thing that yes i agree
is a bit dull and apathetic as if he exist in a bubble.This explains perfectly why the fashion world loves him,He represents the hunger of the masters of fashion and therefore empire.He is the perfect director for a film on the bush family not politically vague mr stone,but self indulgent and unapologetic mr klein.What he does he does well,i am not sure of his motives,his point as a photographer but for the fascist angle on the culture of cloth mr klein is just perfect.
gratuituous violence
klein uses shock, blood and criminal scenario for pr value and it's abhorrent. we would guess that's he's never seen a real murder scene. anything for buzz has reached a new low. bravo to vogue paris for recognizing the scam.
wow
im still wondering why the Vogue Paris team havent published it ! after all, they shine at controversy with Amy Winehouse ed, in bed with Paris Hilton !! they've done quite provocative things ! it's still not the one named " doggin " by meisel nor the one about rehad from Vogue Italia but STILL
Ray from wherethelightsend
Print is dead. There's too
Print is dead. There's too much at stake, and their advertisers are once again calling the shots. That's a sad day for art. It annoys the hell out of me that that the world reverts to safe in 'troubled times'. These times are highly creative for artists and now the internet is ringing the death bell for print.
Steven Klein is amazing. He's re-setting the bar, and I would imagine he'll be jumping well clear of it, and doing it on his own for what it seems a 'safe' while.
Step up world.
Freakin glorious
I've been saying for years that the public wants and craves more visceral and imaginative images.
I'm a photographer that has fought for years with pubs to print images that inspire, haunt and provoke.
Print is afraid and the web is fearless. It's about the Benjamin's baby.
The web is free in more ways than one.