by “I must live” is spelled out in neon letters at the entrance to the Juergen Teller exhibition at the Grand Palais Éphémère in Paris. A title that goes well with the posters that can be seen around the city: a self-portrait of the photographer reclining brightly in pink silk shorts while holding candy-colored balloons. In the temporary hall, put in place while the gallery is being renovated, the work of the photographer known for his witty, humorous and spontaneous style – the British actor Riz Ahmed Teller demanded once he shot in “20 seconds, two clicks” while sitting on an Ikea folding chair under a tree – a refreshing antidote to the glamorous side of the city outside.
The show opened last weekend, and the show is the most important one still dedicated to Teller’s work: more than 1,000 pieces, including photographs, films and installations, covering 10,000 square meters. Some of the pictures on display have become more famous than the man behind them: Victoria Beckham’s legs coming out of a Marc Jacobs bag, a triptych of naked Vivienne Westwood, Charlotte Rampling completely naked in the middle of the Louvre, Iggy Pop at hug her tree, Björk with her son.
Teller’s style is immediately recognisable: shot on streets, studios or outdoor clubs, using hard flash, they are unglamorous, unrefined, transmetrical against slick studio fashion photography. Teller is at the forefront of contemporary realism, endlessly replicated online and evoking the aesthetic of fashion brands such as Balenciaga Demna – the show includes a controversial portrait of the designer.
Another look at fashion and celebrity photography, Teller’s work seems to embrace the bravery of truth. A German born and based in London, where he moved in the 1990s, Teller himself removed himself from the clean style of photographers working in fashion at the time, such as Craig McDean, Nick Knight or Steven Meisel, giving into motivational style of information that was compared. with the work of William Eggleston, Nan Goldin and Diane Arbus.
Teller is now one of the most famous photographers in the world, thanks to his campaigns for Marc Jacobs, Celine and Yves Saint Laurent, among others, with more than 50 books to his credit and solo shows around the world.
What is remarkable about Teller’s approach, as this exhibition shows, is the blurring of distinctions between genres, high and low, private and public, personal and commercial work.
“Honesty is the best way to describe it. He is interested in seeing what is behind the facade,” says Thomas Lenthal, founder and creative director of System magazine, who has collaborated with Teller for almost 30 years. “He’s trying to document his own life, with recurring characters coming back into his life. The photographs are his life and vice versa; he wants to photograph things that interest him and that’s what keeps him and his work alive.”
The show is conceived as a journey through the essential events of his life – starting, in particular, with his father’s suicide, then his coming of age; More recent events include his marriage to Dovile Drizyte in 2021, his creative partner and co-curator of the show. It crosses the personal life, plants, organic elements, books, baby photos, but also personalities such as the philosopher Slavoj Žižek, the filmmaker and artist Agnès Varda with her cat, the fashion editor Edward Enninful in a public swimming pool, and Yves Saint Laurent next to him.
“This is never about one’s status; he shoots very democratically – things, people, nature are put on the same level,” says co-curator Thomas Weski, joking that Teller knows neither the celebrities he shoots nor the fashion world itself. “Juergen finds beauty in the most ordinary space or moment. He is very good with people and works in a spirit of cooperation… He stands in front of the camera, he also allows himself to show vulnerability.”
Vulnerability is central to the show, and is treated with humor. In 2021, Teller was criticized online for perceived amateur football he did for W magazine of 28 Hollywood stars, including Michelle Pfeiffer, George Clooney and Riz Ahmed. For those who knowingly celebrate Teller’s non-green work, the critics missed the point. These photos are on show as well as the internet comments on them which are framed like works of art.
Behind Juergen’s lens, reality is theatricalized and human glitz is made – but their vulnerability never feels captured. Teller rejects the title of fashion or art photographer, insisting in interviews that he is simply a photographer who produces work. As Charles Baudelaire said: “Créer un poncif, c’est le génie” (“Cliché creation, that’s genius”). Teller’s work may seem simple, but it lies in its brilliance.
• Juergen Teller: I Need to Live continues until January 9
