Garry Gross
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Garry Gross (November 6, 1937 – November 30, 2010) was an American fashion photographer who went on to specialize in dog portraiture. He faced serious controversy regarding photographs taken for a ''
Playboy ''Playboy'' (stylized in all caps) is an American men's Lifestyle journalism, lifestyle and entertainment magazine, available both online and in print. It was founded in Chicago in 1953 by Hugh Hefner and his associates, funded in part by a $ ...
'' publication, which included nude images of a 10 year-old girl.


Career

Born in New York, Gross began his career as a commercial photographer, apprenticing with photographers
Francesco Scavullo Francesco Scavullo (January 16, 1921 – January 6, 2004) was an American fashion photography, fashion photographer best known for his work on the covers of ''Cosmopolitan (magazine), Cosmopolitan'' for over three decades, and his celebrity portr ...
and James Moore and studying with master photographers
Lisette Model Lisette Model (born Elise Amelie Felicie Stern; November 10, 1901 – March 30, 1983) was an Austrian-born American photographer primarily known for the frank humanism of her street photography. A prolific photographer in the 1940s and a member ...
and
Richard Avedon Richard Avedon (May 15, 1923 – October 1, 2004) was an American fashion and portrait photographer. He worked for ''Harper's Bazaar'', '' Vogue'' and '' Elle'' specializing in capturing movement in still pictures of fashion, theater and ...
. His fashion and beauty photography has been featured in numerous fashion magazines over the years and his work has appeared on the covers of such magazines as '' GQ'', ''
Cosmopolitan Cosmopolitan may refer to: Internationalism * World citizen, one who eschews traditional geopolitical divisions derived from national citizenship * Cosmopolitanism, the idea that all of humanity belongs to a single moral community * Cosmopolitan ...
'', and ''
New York Magazine ''New York'' is an American biweekly magazine concerned with life, culture, politics, and style generally, with a particular emphasis on New York City. Founded by Clay Felker and Milton Glaser in 1968 as a competitor to ''The New Yorker'' a ...
''. Celebrities Gross has photographed include Brooke Shields,
Calvin Klein Calvin Richard Klein (born November 19, 1942) is an American fashion designer. In 1968, he launched the company that later became Calvin Klein. In addition to clothing, he has also given his name to a range of perfumes, watches, and jewellery. ...
,
Gloria Steinem Gloria Marie Steinem ( ; born March 25, 1934) is an American journalist and social movement, social-political activist who emerged as a nationally recognized leader of second-wave feminism in the United States in the late 1960s and early 1970s. ...
,
Whitney Houston Whitney Elizabeth Houston (August 9, 1963 – February 11, 2012) was an American singer, actress, film producer, model, and philanthropist. Commonly referred to as "Honorific nicknames in popular music, the Voice", she is List of awards and no ...
, and
Lou Reed Lewis Allan Reed (March 2, 1942October 27, 2013) was an American musician and songwriter. He was the guitarist, singer, and principal songwriter for the rock band the Velvet Underground and had a solo career that spanned five decades. Althoug ...
. Gross studied with the Animal Behavior Center of New York and became a certified dog trainer in 2002, using that training to begin working with dogs and creating Fine Art style portraits. His last project was a series of large scale portraits of senior dogs and he actively supported charities that benefited rescue dogs and senior dogs. His work has received awards from The
Art Directors Club The Art Directors Club of New York is an organization for art directors in New York City. It was founded in 1920, and has grown as an industry group, promoting art directors' work through exhibitions and awards, including the annual DESI award fo ...
and the Advertising Club of New York.


Brooke Shields photograph controversy

Gross was the photographer of a controversial set of nude images, two containing full-frontal nudity, taken in 1975 of a then ten-year-old
Brooke Shields Brooke Christa Shields (born May 31, 1965) is an American actress. A child model starting at the age of 11 months, Shields gained widespread notoriety at age 12 for her leading role in Louis Malle's film ''Pretty Baby (1978 film), Pretty Baby ...
, with the consent of her mother, Teri Shields, for the ''
Playboy ''Playboy'' (stylized in all caps) is an American men's Lifestyle journalism, lifestyle and entertainment magazine, available both online and in print. It was founded in Chicago in 1953 by Hugh Hefner and his associates, funded in part by a $ ...
'' publication ''Sugar 'n' Spice.'' The images show Shields standing and sitting in a bathtub while wearing makeup and oil. In 1981, Brooke Shields attempted to prevent further use of the photographs but in 1983 a US Court ruled that a child is bound by the terms of the valid, unrestricted consents to the use of photographs executed by a guardian and that the image did not breach
child pornography Child pornography (also abbreviated as CP, also called child porn or kiddie porn, and child sexual abuse material, known by the acronym CSAM (underscoring that children can not be deemed willing participants under law)), is Eroticism, erotic ma ...
laws. In ruling, the presiding Judge stated: "The issue on this appeal is whether an infant model may disaffirm a prior unrestricted consent executed on her behalf by her parent and maintain an action pursuant to section 51 of the Civil Rights Law against her photographer for republication of photographs of her. We hold that she may not." A photograph of one of those original photographs was produced by American artist
Richard Prince Richard Prince (born August 6, 1949) is an American painter and photographer. In the mid-1970s, Prince made drawings and painterly collages that he has since disowned. His image ''Untitled (Cowboy)'', a photographic reproduction of a photograph ...
, an artist famous for his "reproduction photography." Prince called his version "Spiritual America," after a 1923 photograph by
Alfred Stieglitz Alfred Stieglitz (; January 1, 1864 – July 13, 1946) was an American photographer and modern art promoter who was instrumental over his 50-year career in making photography an accepted art form. In addition to his photography, Stieglitz was k ...
that depicts the genitals of a workhorse. Although it had previously been shown in New York's
Guggenheim Museum The Guggenheim Museums are a group of museums in different parts of the world established (or proposed to be established) by the Solomon R. Guggenheim Foundation. Museums in this group include: * The Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum in New York, Ne ...
in 2007, eluding debate, "Spiritual America" was removed from the
Tate Modern Tate Modern is an art gallery in London, housing the United Kingdom's national collection of international Modern art, modern and contemporary art (created from or after 1900). It forms part of the Tate group together with Tate Britain, Tate Live ...
gallery exhibition called Pop Life: Art in a Material World in 2009 after protesters described the image as "obscene" and a "magnet for
pedophile Pedophilia ( alternatively spelled paedophilia) is a psychiatric disorder in which an adult or older adolescent experiences a primary or exclusive sexual attraction to prepubescent children. Although girls typically begin the process of puber ...
s". Gross has stated that "The photo has been infamous from the day I took it and I intended it to be" and that he was "disappointed but not surprised" by the Tate's decision to remove the photograph.


Death

Gross died from cardiac arrest at his home in the
New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...
's
Greenwich Village Greenwich Village, or simply the Village, is a neighborhood on the west side of Lower Manhattan in New York City, bounded by 14th Street (Manhattan), 14th Street to the north, Broadway (Manhattan), Broadway to the east, Houston Street to the s ...
."NY photographer of young, nude Brooke Shields dies"
, Bay Ledger, December 8, 2010


See also

*
Richard Prince Richard Prince (born August 6, 1949) is an American painter and photographer. In the mid-1970s, Prince made drawings and painterly collages that he has since disowned. His image ''Untitled (Cowboy)'', a photographic reproduction of a photograph ...


References


External links


On ArtSlant
{{DEFAULTSORT:Gross, Garry 1937 births 2010 deaths American portrait photographers American fashion photographers Dog trainers Photographers from the Bronx Colorado State University alumni