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RELIC GUEST CURATOR #02: JEFF LUKER

Nine Photographs That Left A Scar

There’s an image we have in our minds of what the ideal experience should be growing up in America.  It’s filled with the freedom of exploring, road trips, friends, the outdoors, and a ton of good stories.  This is precisely the type of photographs Jeff captures, pure imagery of youth dead in the middle of what appear to be the most nostalgic moments of their lives.  It’s no surprise brands like Levi’s and Urban Outfitters have sought out Jeff to shoot their campaigns.  

After hanging with Jeff and chatting a bit about what he might share, he decided on curating a collection of photographs that have impacted him as a photographer the most overtime.  Here’s what he said: 

“When I was trying to edit down a selection of my “favorite” photographs, I found the process to be far more daunting than I originally anticipated.  After all, there are hundreds of photographs I would consider “favorites”, photos I love, that are amazing, beautiful, inspiring…  But these are nine photos that for some reason or another have lingered in my mind long after I originally saw them, photographs I find myself thinking about often, sometimes randomly…  French philosopher Roland Barthes once wrote that great photographs possess a “punctum”, an innate quality of the image that pierces or wounds the viewer.  And maybe that is exactly what it is about these photos, these are the ones that left a scar.”

This is a pretty amazing collection of photographs, and below are links to find out more about the photographers behind them.  And finally, if you haven’t already, then be sure to take a look through Jeff’s own photography on his site: www.jeffluker.com

Photographers:

1. Ed Van Der Elsken,  2. Robert Frank,  3. Dennis Stock,  5. Paul Fusco,  4. Nan Goldin,  6. Bruce Davidson,  7. William Eggleston,  8. Joseph Szabo,  9. William Gedney

 

Portrait shot with
Film: PX 680 Color Protection  ||  Camera: SLR 680