In Ryan McGinley’s spare time – that is to say, when he’s not getting his model friends to undress for his vintage cameras – he makes short films. It’s a natural fit for him. His photographs have an eerie quality to them that usually suggest backstories and undertones beyond the dimensions of the frame; a photo of a naked girl in a gymnastics foam pit, through his lens, doesn’t suggest the chick just happened to be naked in a gymnastics foam pit that day for no reason. In his short film work, he ascribes the same qualities of his work to a medium where those subjects move.
Check out this short film featuring Tilda Swinton, because it’s weird and oddly beautiful, and one hell of a way for some “creative brand” to present their “Spring Summer collection”.
The Chicago Reader’s Gossip Wolf (often written by the very smart/funny Jessica Hopper with the help of her friend J.R. Nelson) wrote that Ryan Mcginley was spotted at Pitchfork snapping pics of Smith Westerns. “Art stars shooting rock stars”- so hot right now. But really, this got me excited because Cullen Omori, Smith Westerns front man, is an enigmatic teenage heartthrob on the rise, and his coy hair flips and slight smiles on stage would make great fodder for work by McGinley.
And they did! Check out the video Ryan took at Pitchfork, which combines stage shots with crowd voyeurism and cats and winking Asians. Maybe not as powerful as the Tilda Swinton piece or his other photos, but you also get to hear a track off Smith Westerns’ new album, which they just finished recording. The track in question is called “All Die Young” and features an exciting turn away from lo-fi into uncharted territories for the guys. And the album’s due in January, according to their twitter. (Also Girls are in the video, but I don’t have a crush on them.)
