These photographs originally appeared in the 2014 VICE photo issue.
We interviewed some of the photographers from this issue about the idea of truth in photography. Below is a short excerpt. Watch a video of the full interview by subscribing to VICE’s iPad edition.
Videos by VICE
VICE: Really, the question I wanted to ask is about truth in photography. Are your photographs truthful?
Richard Kern: No, I would say my photographs aren’t very truthful. I just want to say, I don’t think any photograph is really truthful. Maybe if you’re a war photographer and you’re seeing something right in front of you, but soon as you pull a camera out, it turns into something else. The people you’re shooting at can’t help reacting in some way to it.
Talk about the photos that you have in the issue a little bit. They are from your Double series.
The photos originated from these class portraits I started in 1999, taking girls who just got out of school and taking a class photo of them. And then it turned into this thing where, if they got their clothes on, I should shoot the exact same shot with their clothes off.
See Richard Kern’s previous contributions to VICE here.
More from the 2014 VICE photo issue:
Mere
fra VICE
-
Nvidia GeForce RTX 5080 – Credit: Nvidia -
Screenshot: EA Sports -
Pobytov / Getty Images -
Galaxy S25 Ultra – Credit: Samsung
