Wednesday, August 26, 2009

Part 4: Making of the Book

Thursday, June 25, was a shock for me. I'd just achieved my goal of assembling my proposals for the book the day before and feeling quite satisfied with myself. And then my wife comes into my studio and tells me Michael is dead. I shook my head. Half stunned, half in disbelief. I was in a room surrounded by photos of his face looking at me or staring off into the distance. How can he be dead, I thought, he's all around me in this room. I stopped working and left the studio, turned on the TV like millions of others and watched it all unfold. I hadn't seen this much continuous coverage since I was a child and JFK was assassinated. Suddenly I realized the significance of my photographs had changed. But I was not fully prepared for what would unfold in the following days.
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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.