David Armstrong formed a crucial friendship with Nan Goldin at 14, contributing to the Boston School collective that revolutionized photography as fine art. Gaining acclaim with his intimate black and white portraits showcased at PS1's New York/New Wave in 1981, his work was lauded for its seductive quality and tactile sensibility. His style, resonating with elegance and simplicity, contrasted with contemporary fashion photography. Armstrong aimed to transform fashion images into portrayals of personal connection, establishing a legacy of beauty and longing through his captivating lens, despite his elusive presence in the art world.
"David has always used photography as a seductive device, a sublimation of his desire. His pictures of people feel tactile because one senses his desire to touch, but never in an aggressive or insistent way. This book is a love sonnet to American style and the Boy as icon."
"Quiet, intense, and imbued with an elegance that evokes the wisdom of Leonardo da Vinci, who observed, Simplicity is the ultimate sophistication, Armstrong's hypnotic photographs are spellbinding meditations on seeing and being seen."
"What I loathe is modern fashion photography - the bells and whistles and light and foolishness. A lot of people just use models as mannequins, so it doesn't matter who they are. But I don't. I approach it from the point of view of trying to make a fashion photograph into a portrait."
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