"Around the Sign o' the Times album he called to say he was joining Prince's band, and said: I'm gonna take you with me. He showed Prince some of my artwork, which he apparently liked. I was asked to paint a stage for him that was the first job I did, and one day he asked: Have you ever taken photos? I was in the right place at the right time."
"When I first met him, nobody told me, Don't look him in the eyes or anything like that. I was 25 and tried to be my normal self, but professional, which suited the way we worked. He'd say: I've got an idea, grab your camera. Sometimes he'd ask me to delete a photo it might have blurred, or the light hadn't been good but he was very lucky to be so photogenic."
"It was for their end-of-year cover and their art director wanted his stomach to read 1999. Prince was not having that. He wanted to do something new. It was during the period he was talking about his freedom from record labels."
A photographer's childhood dream of working with Prince materialized through persistence and strategic networking. After photographing local bands and using creative tactics to gain access to major artists, a chance conversation with Sheila E's guitarist led to an introduction to Prince. The guitarist showed Prince the photographer's artwork, which impressed him enough to offer a stage painting job. This led to Prince asking if the photographer had taken photos, resulting in a position as in-house art director at Paisley Park from 1988 to 1996. The photographer's approach of being authentic and professional created a productive working relationship where Prince would spontaneously request photo sessions. Prince was exceptionally photogenic and collaborative, though particular about creative direction, as demonstrated when he rejected a magazine's concept for a cover shoot.
#prince-photography #paisley-park #music-industry-career #artist-collaboration #behind-the-scenes-documentation
Read at www.theguardian.com
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