As a teenager living in San Francisco, I remember very vividly going into a used bookstore and seeing the cover of New York Girls by photographer Richard Kern. This book encapsulated all of my contrived punk sensibilities and awkward self-consciousness. It represented a fringe society that no longer existed and I wanted to be a part of it. Richard's portraits capture women in their essence. He shot good girls gone bad, while still showing bad girls can be good.
Now that I'm in New York, Richard and I coincidentally get our hair cut in the same place, Salon Shizen in Alphabet City. It's amazing that in a city as big as New York you can still hear about someone from your mutual hairdresser. I had worked with Yoko from Salon Shizen before, producing Julia Burlingham's yet to be released photo book and she asked me to work on Richard's book, 10:41. I spent three days in a beautiful old house in Connecticut and got to know him. We stayed in touch and, not long after, I visited his studio to chat about some of his work, old and new.
Kalena Yiaueki: Let's start by talking about 10:41.
Richard Kern: As in how it started? I was getting my hair cut at Salon Shizen when I saw some books that Yoko and the salon had produced. There was one by Tim Barber, kiss by Kathy Lo, and one other by Julia…
KY: Yes, Julia Burlingham—but she hasn't finished it yet.
RK: Yoko said we should make one together, and I said sure, 'cause I like Yoko. That was the impetus behind everything.
KY: And it was all shot at Duncan Hannah’s place in Cornwall, CT? How did that happen?
RK: Yes. I have two of Duncan’s paintings in my apartment. That Tarzan painting is Duncan's [points to the wall] and that little tiny woman, is his, and there's a boat in the other room that's his too. Duncan is a guy I met a couple years ago. I had heard his name but I never knew who he was. He has this great house upstate by a river, and 90% of everything is location. If it had been a little bit warmer, I would’ve asked the guys to go swimming.
KY: Did you shoot on film or just digital?
RK: About half the photos were shot on film. But film is so ridiculously expensive so we couldn’t use it.
KY: It's not even worth it anymore! 10:41 has a zine quality to it. You made a lot of zines in the 80s, right?
RK: Yeah, but I don't think of 10:41 as a zine, I think of it more as a conceptual project. Although, [laughs] I hate that kind of thing. Now, the concept seems a little cliché but 10:41 is all about cell phone and personal device obsession. There had to be a cell phone in every photograph.
KY: I always have my cell phone in my hand, everyone I know does. And it's due to a constant desire to be connected, or informed, I guess. But this ultimately disconnects you from the current moment, don’t you think?
RK: Right, because you're always waiting.
KY: What's your relationship with social media? Do you have Twitter or Facebook?
RK: I don't do any of that shit. I use e-mail and text, that's about it. I ha
Now that I'm in New York, Richard and I coincidentally get our hair cut in the same place, Salon Shizen in Alphabet City. It's amazing that in a city as big as New York you can still hear about someone from your mutual hairdresser. I had worked with Yoko from Salon Shizen before, producing Julia Burlingham's yet to be released photo book and she asked me to work on Richard's book, 10:41. I spent three days in a beautiful old house in Connecticut and got to know him. We stayed in touch and, not long after, I visited his studio to chat about some of his work, old and new.
Kalena Yiaueki: Let's start by talking about 10:41.
Richard Kern: As in how it started? I was getting my hair cut at Salon Shizen when I saw some books that Yoko and the salon had produced. There was one by Tim Barber, kiss by Kathy Lo, and one other by Julia…
KY: Yes, Julia Burlingham—but she hasn't finished it yet.
RK: Yoko said we should make one together, and I said sure, 'cause I like Yoko. That was the impetus behind everything.
KY: And it was all shot at Duncan Hannah’s place in Cornwall, CT? How did that happen?
RK: Yes. I have two of Duncan’s paintings in my apartment. That Tarzan painting is Duncan's [points to the wall] and that little tiny woman, is his, and there's a boat in the other room that's his too. Duncan is a guy I met a couple years ago. I had heard his name but I never knew who he was. He has this great house upstate by a river, and 90% of everything is location. If it had been a little bit warmer, I would’ve asked the guys to go swimming.
KY: Did you shoot on film or just digital?
RK: About half the photos were shot on film. But film is so ridiculously expensive so we couldn’t use it.
KY: It's not even worth it anymore! 10:41 has a zine quality to it. You made a lot of zines in the 80s, right?
RK: Yeah, but I don't think of 10:41 as a zine, I think of it more as a conceptual project. Although, [laughs] I hate that kind of thing. Now, the concept seems a little cliché but 10:41 is all about cell phone and personal device obsession. There had to be a cell phone in every photograph.
KY: I always have my cell phone in my hand, everyone I know does. And it's due to a constant desire to be connected, or informed, I guess. But this ultimately disconnects you from the current moment, don’t you think?
RK: Right, because you're always waiting.
KY: What's your relationship with social media? Do you have Twitter or Facebook?
RK: I don't do any of that shit. I use e-mail and text, that's about it. I ha