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Ricky Powell

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Ricky Powell
Powell at the opening of Contact High: A Visual History of Hip-Hop in New York City, Jan. 2020
Born(1961-11-20)November 20, 1961
New York City, U.S.
DiedFebruary 1, 2021(2021-02-01) (aged 59)
NationalityAmerican
OccupationPhotographer
Years active1985-2021
File:Rickypowell blog.jpg
Powell captured the classic Run DMC photograph in Paris 1986
Powell (center) with two of the three Beastie Boys, MCA (left) and Mike D (right)

Ricky Powell (November 20, 1961 – February 1, 2021) was an American photographer who documented the hip-hop movement in New York. His photographs that have been featured in The New York Times, the New York Post, the Daily News, The Village Voice, TIME, Newsweek, VIBE, The Source, Rolling Stone,[1] among other publications.[2] He toured with American hip-hop group Beastie Boys photographing their performances and occasionally appearing in their videos.

Early life

Powell was born on Novemnber 20, 1961 in Brooklyn, New York City.[3] His mother Ruth Powell was a school teacher and did not know of his father. It is noted that his mother was a frequent visitor to downtown clubs and would have Powell accompany her as a child. He grew up in Greenwich Village while spending two years between 1973 and 1975 living in the Upper West Side. Powell attended PS41 with Rachael Horovitz, sister to Adam Horovitz, later known as Ad-Rock of the Beastie Boys.[4]

Powell graduated with an AA in Liberal Arts from LaGuardia Community College and a B.S. in Physical Education from Hunter College.[3]

Career

Powell started out by selling lemon ices in the streets of New York after graduating from college. During this time he picked up photography as a hobby, taking pictures of friends and family.[3] In an admission to the The New Yorker, he would credit an unpleasant experience with a girlfriend in 1985, for him to take up photography as a serious vocation.[5] During this time he would photograph artists including Jean-Michel Basquiat and Andy Warhol in the streets of New York.[3]

Beastie Boys

In 1986, Powell quit his job and tagged along with Beastie Boys on their Run-DMC's Raising Hell tour.[6] Some of the photographs that he took while on tour became significant, and Powell gained fame, becoming the unofficial "fourth Beastie Boy". He toured with the group as Def Jam Records' de facto in-house photographer[7] on their Licensed to Ill tour in 1987 and Together Forever: Greatest Hits 1983–1991 tour with Run DMC and then again in 1992 on their Check Your Head tour and the 1994 Lollapalooza.[8] Powell is famous for being featured in the song "Car Thief" on the Paul's Boutique album, with the lyrics: "Homeboy throw in the towel, Your girl got dicked by Ricky Powell."[9] After being by the group's side for over a decade, he separated in 1995 as the group was changing their style moving away from a rowdy tenor from their early days. Powell would say in a documentary that the group matured, while he continued to remain his old self.[3]

Powell maintained a positive relationship with the Beastie Boys, including photographing them for Interview magazine in 2011.[10][11]

Rappin With the Rickster

The original Rappin' With the Rickster aired from 1990–1996, as Powell interviewed numerous stars on the show including: Russell Simmons, Doug E Fresh, Harold Hunter, Kool Keith, Rahzel, Laurence Fishburne, and Cypress Hill.[12]

With his Public-access television show, Powell became the face of New York's downtown party scene, connected to both musical and visual artists such as Sonic Youth, Jean-Michel Basquiat, Russell Simmons, Harold Hunter, Dondi White, and Sofia Coppola.[6]

Rappin' With the Rickster often has been called the world's hippest-ever public access TV show, as Powell gave insight into the artistic phenomena of the day, with an excess of candid footage, impromptu interviews, and a vision of Powell's New York.[13] Powell considered the show "a time capsule of someone growing up in Manhattan during that era and being around the music scene".[6]

A DVD of Rappin' With the Rickster, released in 2010, was declared a must-have by Juxtapoz.[14]

Books

Released in 1998, Oh Snap!: The Rap Photography of Ricky Powell featured 88 photos, 53 of which were in full color. Powell's first book, Oh Snap! was a ten-year retrospective of some of the best known rap and hip hop artists of all time, including old school rappers Public Enemy, Run DMC and LL Cool J to some of the biggest stars of the day.

The Rickford Files: Classic New York Photographs was Powell's second work, featuring what he considered "the real New York", beyond the tourist glaze of Times Square and the deteriorating Greenwich Village.

Frozade Moments: Classic Street Photography of Ricky Powell (Eyejammie Press, 2004) is a book of postcards consisting of candid snapshots of celebrities, local luminaries, and lowlifes that offer a view of New York City. The celebrities include Madonna, Jam Master Jay, KRS-One, Frankie Crocker, Andy Warhol and Flavor Flav.[15]

With Public Access: Ricky Powell Photographs 1985-2005, Powell celebrated two decades of capturing moments in his signature style, documenting much of the early era of hip-hop and presenting the actors, musicians, performers, and artists that inspired him, including Method Man, Doze Green, Bill Adler, Slick Rick, Run-DMC, Eric B & Rakim, Keith Haring, Steven Tyler, Barbara Walters, Cindy Crawford, Eazy-E, and Fab Five Freddy. These photographs are distributed amongst graffiti splattered renderings by Lee Quiñones, Ron Galella, Ron English, and others. Powell depicts a nostalgia for New York's back-in-the-day with universal downtown cool with sentiments from Zephyr, Charlie Ahearn, Glenn O'Brien, and Zoe Cassavetes.[16]

The Individualist, Created by Thomas Radvany, introductions by George Lois, Bill Adler, and Nemo Librizzi (2018): Capturing the intersection of the birth of hip-hop, punk rock, graffiti, pop art, fashion and underground culture, The Individualist shows the world through the lens of one of New York City's most prolific street photographers, Ricky Powell. Featuring dozens of never-before-seen photos, it includes portraits of the Beastie Boys, Run-DMC, LL Cool J, Andy Warhol, Basquiat, Keith Haring and hundreds more, all alongside ordinary people. In the words of Powell's colleague Bill Adler, "Consider the astonishing range and mix of people captured by Ricky: musicians, actors, artists, comedians, athletes and homeless folks. Boldface names and everyday people....And, not infrequently, Mr. Ricky Powell himself, well before the age of the selfie. His portfolio embraces humans of every race, gender and age, all of them drawn to New York, NY because it has always been and remains the world capital of individualism; a city of maximum freedom and opportunity, equal parts glamour and grit."[17]

Documentary

Ricky Powell is the subject and central character of a 2020 documentary film, Ricky Powell: The Individualist, which captures his rise to fame and life with celebrities. It is directed by Josh Swade and written by Christopher McGlynn and Josh Swade.[18]

Solo exhibitions

Powell's "Frozade Moments, 1985-2003," ran at Bill Adler's Eyejammie Fine Arts Gallery in New York from July through September 2003.[19]

Powell's "Public Access: Ricky Powell Photographs 1985-2005" exhibition was featured at the colette in Paris, the powerHouse Gallery in New York, Milk Bar in San Francisco, and Lab 101 Gallery in Los Angeles.[20]

Powell exhibited both his photographs and his signature street style at BRAVE Art, Whistler in 2006.[21]

The Ricky Powell Art Funk Explosion! was Presented by Frank151 at Sacred Gallery NYC from December 9–28, 2010, and celebrated Powell's guest curation of Frank Chapter 43: Bug Out!,[22] which highlights his photographs and interviews with renowned street artists.

Powell's slideshow at All Tomorrow's Parties was highlighted by Billboard.[23]

Group exhibitions

In 2019, Powell's hip hop images (along with works by photographic legends such as Janette Beckman, Barron Claiborne and Danny Clinch) appeared in the best-selling collective photography book Contact High: A Visual History of Hip-Hop (written/curated by Vikki Tobak) and its subsequent series of large scale traveling group exhibitions which has included The Annenberg Space for Photography (Los Angeles), International Center of Photography (New York) and Abu Dahbi at Manarat Al Saadiyat (United Arab Emirates).[24][25][26]

Death

Powell died on February 1, 2021 from heart failure.[27]

Philosophy

Powell's photographs focus on New Yorkers. Powell considered the relationship between the photographer and the photograph to be "a chemical connection of some sort".[28] As the intrinsic qualities of the photograph changed after Powell began capturing moments, so did the subjects; later in life, he was more likely to "photograph strangers in his Greenwich Village neighborhood than multi platinum hip-hop acts and Downtown art stars".[28]

References

  1. ^ "Beastie Boys". Rolling Stone. September 2011. Retrieved September 7, 2011.
  2. ^ Loughlin (December 21, 2009). "Snappin' With the Rickster". Choice Cuts. Archived from the original on April 2, 2012. Retrieved September 7, 2011.
  3. ^ a b c d e Caramanica, Jon (February 3, 2021). "Ricky Powell, 59, Dies; Chronicled Early Hip-Hop and Downtown New York". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved February 3, 2021.
  4. ^ "RICKY POWELL: The Individualist aka Lazy Hustler became a photographer to piss off his ex-girlfriend". YouTube. Retrieved February 2, 2021.
  5. ^ "Video: Ricky Powell on Street Photography". The New Yorker. January 7, 2011. Retrieved September 1, 2011.
  6. ^ a b c Mlynar, Phillip (March 29, 2010). "Ricky Powell's Official Guide to Rappin' With The Rickster, His Legendary '90s Public Access TV Show". Village Voice. Retrieved September 1, 2011.
  7. ^ Adams, Erik (July 18, 2011). "Photographer Ricky Powell". The A.V. Club. Retrieved September 1, 2011.
  8. ^ Denver, Nate. "Access Granted." Mass Appeal, Issue 35: 63-66. Print
  9. ^ Diehl, Matt (August 2011). "Beastie Boys' Original 'Fight For Your Right' Revisited: Meet Ricky Powell". Interview magazine. Retrieved September 7, 2011.
  10. ^ Montgomery, James (April 20, 2011). "Beastie Boys". MTV News. Retrieved September 1, 2011.
  11. ^ "Beastie Boys". Interview Magazine. July 12, 2011. Retrieved February 3, 2021.
  12. ^ Penalty, Jeff. "A Slice of Life with Ricky Powell: Rappin' with the Rickster." Swindle, Issue 3: 50-53. Print
  13. ^ "Chapter 43: Bug Out!". Frank151. Winter 2010. Archived from the original on September 1, 2011. Retrieved September 1, 2011.
  14. ^ The Citrus Report (August 4, 2010). ""RAPPIN WITH THE RICKSTER," NOW ON DVD, NOW A MUST-HAVE". Juxtapoz Magazine. Retrieved September 6, 2011.[permanent dead link]
  15. ^ "Frozade Moments: Classic Street Photography of Ricky Powell: Powell, Ricky: 9780975366905: Amazon.com: Books". :. Retrieved February 2, 2021.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: extra punctuation (link)
  16. ^ Warren, Tamara. "Public Access." Anthem, Issue 18: 34. Print
  17. ^ "Ricky Powell: The Individualist - Bill Adler, Nemo Librizzi - Google Books". Books.google.com. May 14, 1929. Retrieved February 2, 2021.
  18. ^ "RICKY POWELL: THE INDIVIDUALIST". TribecaFilm. Retrieved February 3, 2021.
  19. ^ See "Fete Work: Gadfly-shutterbug Ricky Powell has a career retrospective," by Margeaux Watson, Time Out New York, August 7, 2003.
  20. ^ Books, powerHouse (September 12, 2005). "Public Access: Ricky Powell Photographs 1985-2005". powerHouse Books. Retrieved September 6, 2011.
  21. ^ News, Whistler (April 13, 2006). "Whistler Ski and Snowboard Festival News". Whistler Outfitters. Archived from the original on April 2, 2012. Retrieved September 6, 2011. {{cite news}}: |last= has generic name (help)
  22. ^ AJ the Barber (November 20, 2010). "Frank151 Presents Chapter 43: Bug Out! and The Ricky Powell Art Funk Explosion!". A Lesser Evil New York. Archived from the original on April 2, 2012. Retrieved September 6, 2011.
  23. ^ Comer, M. Tye (September 7, 2010). "ATP NY 2010: 10 Reasons It Rocked". Billboard. Retrieved September 7, 2011.
  24. ^ "Contact High: History of Hip-Hop Exhibition is Coming to Abu Dhabi". Man.vogue.me. December 9, 2020. Retrieved February 2, 2021.
  25. ^ "Contact High". Blessthisstuff.com. Retrieved February 2, 2021.
  26. ^ "The Most Iconic Photographs in Hip-Hop: Opening Night at 'Contact High'". www.lataco.com. 2019. Retrieved February 2, 2021.
  27. ^ Heigl, Alex. "Iconic NYC hip-hop photographer Ricky Powell dead at 59". Pagesix.com. Retrieved February 2, 2021.
  28. ^ a b Weisman, Daniel (February 25, 2007). "Video: Ricky Powell". The New Yorker. Retrieved September 1, 2011.
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