Fifty Years of Paparazzi Photography

If you’re a fan of the not-so-classy celebrity shot, we’ve got a show for you: more than 600 snaps from the sneakiest and ballsiest photographers who have captured some of the most iconic work of the 20th century, exposing stars who are no different than we are. Paparazzi! Photographers: Stars and Artists is the first 50-year retrospective of paparazzi photography. The show opens on June 27 at the Schirn Kunsthalle in Frankfurt and travels from Centre Pompidou in Metz, showcasing spy cameras, long lenses, and disguises, not to mention photos by Richard Avedon, Ron Galella, and Andy Warhol.

Some of the photos will even make you chukle. One photograph is of Mick Jagger chucking a teacup at French photographer Pascal Rostain. Another of Marlin Brando storming past photographer Ron Gallela, who is wearing a football helmet because Brando knocked out five of his teeth. Gallela is probably the only photographer who sued Brando, affirming, “I don't want anyone to think they can go around punching me if I am taking their picture. Get that story out, not the money.”

There are photos by Tazio Secchiaroli, one of the original Italian paparazzi, as well as photos by Sébastian Valiela, whose exposé of the French president Françoise Hollande cost him his relationship with the First Lady Valérie Trierweiler. Madonna’s garbage is on view, courtesy of photographers Pascal Rostain and Bruno Mouron, who dig through the trash of celebrities. There are paparazzi parody shots by Alison Jackson, who got a lookalike of the queen to sit on the loo with her knickers at her knees.

Check a few of the pictures yourself and an interview with Katharina Dohm, the project manager of the show, who told us more about the show and how to get the perfect shot.

VICE: Is the show a tribute to the cult of celebrity?
Katharina Dohm: It’s more about the aesthetic of paparazzi photography and the relationship between photographer and subject. We focus on the perspective of the paparazzi. It’s a social and cultural view on the phenomena. It’s the first time the history of paparazzi photography is being shown. It’s a relationship full of aggression. What can you call paparazzi photography? Flash. Not sharp. Now, even drones change the whole possibility. We started with asking what is paparazzi photography.

Which stars are featured in the show?
A lot of the celebrities are women and a lot of the paparazzi are men, it’s like men chasing women. Aggression is a part of it. We chose six women, among them, Paris Hilton, Bridget Bardot, and Britney Spears. The photos show they have no privacy. Jackie Kennedy had many lawsuits against Ron Galella to keep him away from her family.

How are Britney Spears and Paris Hilton in the show?
They represent the type of subject that responds to the camera. Paris Hilton is from a first wave of celebrities without a profession who has used the paparazzi for her own success and fame. We have one picture of her by photographer Nick Ut, who caught Paris crying in a car after a court case. We have Britney on her way out of a car without wearing a slip underneath, tacky shots. War photographers are heroic, paparazzi photographers are the enemy. They’re like small animals, lurking around. Back in 2000, it was lucrative to be a photographer. The job is not still lucrative as it once was.

Is paparazzi art or immorality?
I don’t think paparazzo is an art form but some of the photos have become part of our image bank. They’re important and they have an influence on artists, like Gerhard Richter, Cindy Sherman, and Andy Warhol. Paparazzi photography gives new ways of expressing actual problems.

What is one of your favorite photos in the show?
There is one of Bridget Bardot, which is really nice but we can’t use it to promote the show. It’s really difficult to get the rights for the paparazzi photos because of the agencies and the stars. Bridget Bardot doesn’t allow any of the photos to be used. It’s one of the best photos; she is in a bikini at the beach waiting for her husband at the time, Gunter Sachs, to arrive. He just got out of a river and is smoking. It’s so cool but we can’t show it.

That’s terrible because the whole point of a paparazzi show is to expose that. For the artist to not say they can use it to promote an exhibition is strange.
It’s really strange. There is one by Ron Galella called Wind Blown Jackie. It’s his Mona Lisa and it’s really a beautiful picture. That’s the paparazzi stars.

Sometimes the paparazzi go too far. When photographers Pascal Rostain and Bruno Mouron went through Madonna’s garbage, is it too much?
Rstain and Mouron are the paparazzi photographers who take the garbage of celebrities and put it neatly on a table, like a museum. They’re over-exposing the trash like relics of someone, as if it shows a history about this person. They even found the garbage of Jeff Koons, who is considered a “celebrity” to them. Madonna drinks a lot of water. It’s just normal. It takes them down to earth again.

How did the paparazzi changed in 50 years?
It’s still the same. We have photos by Sabastien Valiela who took the photos of the French president Françoise Hollande, who led a second life. The paparazzi photographers say one of the most important things to do is wait. Then it’s the information, the worst thing that can happen is that the information they’re gathering is not accurate. It hasn’t changed much.

What's the signature paparazzi photograph?
In a lot of photos, there is the hand in front of the face. It’s a very typical paparazzi composition, one could say. A hand over the lens is a typical reaction from people who don’t want to be photographed.

We have photos showing the strategies behind photographers: One photographer jumps and the stars react, while the other paparazzo gets the shot. Paparazzi photographers work together.

Some use charm, right?
Of course, there has been the quote of one photographer, Jean Pigozzi: “I’m just a friend of all those celebs.”

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