Tuesday, August 25, 2009

Part 2: Making of the Book


Last summer of '08 I started developing an exhibition and book of photographs documenting the time I worked for Michael Jackson in the 1980’s . Sometime around February of ’09 I contacted Victoria Dailey, editor extrodinaire, and art book publisher. She came by my studio, examined my photos and insisted that I make a book that reaches far beyond the art community. Victoria said this would be an excellent pop culture book. Convinced, we spent the next few months reforming the project into a compelling story of my time with Michael. By the time spring rolled around I had an edit of 90 photographs and several pages of text I’d use as a book proposal. Now all I had to do was figure out who to send it to.
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Bio

My photo
Los Angeles, CA, United States
Todd Gray photographed Michael Jackson over a period of 10 years, often as Jackson's chosen photographer. He has shot numerous album covers and directed music videos, and his photo-based artwork is in the permanent collections of museums in the U.S. and abroad. He is currently a professor of art and photography at Cal State University, Long Beach, and lives in Los Angeles.
Photographer Todd Gray worked with Michael Jackson for several years before Jackson requested that he become his personal photographer, a relationship that would encompass the singer's performances with the Jacksons through the release of his smash solo albums Off the Wall and Thriller. 

This collection of unseen, intimate, and joyful pictures of Michael taken over a span of 10 years reveal him at home, with his family and fans, in career-making live performances, and the on the "Beat It" video shoot. 

A young black man not much older than Jackson at the time they met, Gray brings unique insights to his time with the singer, contributing stories and context to the images, presenting a rare, intimate portrait of Jackson at a creative peak as he grew from a brilliantly talented young man into a pop icon.