Photographers I Love: Martin Parr and Taryn Simon

I adored the accessory piece that one of my very favorite photogs Martin Parr shot for Sunday's New York Times Magazine. (see one of his photos below). I was totally jealous and wish he'd done it for us instead! I've been trying for years to get Parr to shoot a fashion piece for PAPER but he's out of our price range unfortunately... Hats off to the Times for doing such a fabulous piece.

Speaking of great photography, you absolutely cannot miss the Taryn Simon show at the Whitney. She's another one we've been begging to shoot for us for a while but she seems out of reach at this point especially as she's now a Gogosian artist and has a big Whitney show. Her photos at the Whitney are also published in a new book put out by Steidel which is a must-have, guys. The book (and show) titled "An American Index of the Hidden and Unfamiliar" is filled with her mindblowing, lush, spooky photographs of secret spots that normal people would never see. (the creepy image you see below is a shot of confiscated stuff taken in a 48 hour period from customs at JFK). Other pieces show weird peeks at places like the CIA's art gallery, where death-row prisoners get fresh air, a bottle of live HIV virus, the printing press that prints money (with a skid of uncut bills) and lots more. Dont miss this show. She's amazing and these photos are important to see. (For more Simon, check out PAPER's May issue... there's a short piece on her.)

Martin Parrr

Taryn Simon