Oliviero Toscani

[gerry s]

I heard today the sad news that Oliviero Toscani has died. He was best known for the Benetton campaigns. I saw a brilliant exhibition of his in Marina di Bibbona.

 

[ancient_mariner]

For many of us, he's quite obscure, and we'd probably see him as something other than primarily a photographer.

 

[gerry s]

I would be interested to know how else you would see him other than a photographer (albeit a rather controversial one)

 

[ancient_mariner]

From Wikipedia:

*In 1982, Toscani started working as Art Director for the Benetton Group. One of his most famous campaigns included a photo (by Therese Frare) of David Kirby dying of AIDS, lying in a Columbus, Ohio, hospital bed, surrounded by his grieving relatives.*

I'd see him as an advertising creative, someone who sold things by being controversial, with the photographer aspect in second place.

 

[gerry s]

He was a very well respected fashion and commercial photographer way before he worked for Benneton. One of his first commercial gigs was in the early 70s for B&B Italia and it was on the back of this and his work as a fashion and celebrity photographer that he got the Benneton gig. He was renown for the use of social and political messaging in campaigns. Rankin recently called him 'a rockstar in the world of photography' with ideas that were like 'cultural grenades'. Not a bad epitaph.