From creator of candid images to compelling historian, Roberto Rabanne has brilliantly documented more than half a century of pop culture with his treasured camera. From Muhammed Ali to John Lennon, his intimate portraits have graced the pages of Rolling Stone, Italian Vogue, WWD, Glamour and Life magazine, capturing his generation’s most famed artists, celebrities, and events. Through a rendering of real moments, Rabanne’s personal archives can claim a stake in our history. Born in Panama in 1948, Rabanne’s earliest art influence was his uncle. “I loved visiting him in his studio as he photographed his clients. Worked as his assistant loading the 4”x”5 film into holders. “I loved seeing the complete process; from shooting to film development to printing” This was my first exposure to the world of professional photography.”
Decades later, he purchased his first camera, a Yashica 2×4 in a pawn shop on New York’s 42nd street. Beginning his career in New York as the influences of counterculture were blossoming in music, fashion, art, and politics. Rabanne’s photographs are a cultural narrative; they can tell a compelling story, capturing an action, a subtle emotion while never interrupting the fluidity of the moment. Such is the raw energy and simple beauty of his work.
In 1966, Jerry Garcia of the Grateful Dead befriended Roberto. The legendary musician gave him access to photograph the band’s early performances at the Fillmore Auditorium, the Avalon Ballroom and other San Francisco music venues. In the early years, he captured the social and music scene. “The camera was my guitar,” says Rabanne. Shooting The Rolling Stones, The Beatles, Jimi Hendrix, The Doors, Janis Joplin, and Bob Marley among others, quickly earned him notoriety from those on and off the stage. Rolling Stone magazine’s Anthony Decurtis explained, “[Rabanne] provides a smart, observant insider’s perspective on the lives of Rock icons.”
“I have a simple philosophy about photography, the image has to be powerful, and I find this happens when you capture the subject engaging in an unguarded moment. The picture always must tell a story, but in doing so, you can break all the usual photography rules.”
Rabanne is the sole photographer to have shot all the members of the 27 Club, a list of popular musicians, artists, or actors who died at the age of 27. He expanded his interests to include Jazz and Reggae, he worked with Down Beat, Jazz Express, Goldmine, and various recording companies including Columbia Records, Warner Brothers, and Island Records. He was the official photographer of The Monterey Jazz Festival where he shot Eartha Kitt, Dizzy Gillespie, Miles Davis, Carmen McRae, and others.
“Roberto’s magic lies in his ability to completely surrender to his subject. His work is egoless; in fact, he is practically an invisible part of the process. He always comes away with so much because he takes only what is offered from his subject. Nothing more, nothing less,” explains jazz writer Bret Primak. In the early 1980’s, upon his return to New York, the legendary Alexander Lieberman, Editorial Director of Condé Nast publications, encouraged Rabanne to expand into the fashion industry. Globetrotting with the fashion set, he photographed the original supermodels: Christie Turlington, Claudia Schiffer, Linda Evangelista and Naomi Campbell Cindy Crawford and Kate Moss. His images appeared in various Vogues, WWD, G.Q., L’Officiel, New York Magazine, and Seventeen. Women’s Wear Daily dubbed Rabanne an “important new photographer” and his work span to include fashion designers Yves Saint Laurent, Givenchy, Giorgio Armani, Christian Dior, and Jean Paul Gautier.
Comparison between his work and that of Guy Bourdin and Helmut Newton, two of Rabanne’s greatest influences. As his career continued to evolve, Rabanne branched into television commercials and promotional videos for his extensive list clients, including Toyota, DKNY, Visa, Gianni Versace, Calvin Klein, and Chanel. Rabanne has toured worldwide retrospectives of his artworks, his photographs hang in the Rock ‘N Roll Hall of Fame, and his work has been featured on VH 1, A & E, Saturday Night Live and National Geographic, documentaries, and major media.
On September 9, 2001, Rabanne was in the vicinity of The World Trade Center on a fashion shoot as he witnessed and documented the entire tragic attack on the World Trade Center Towers. His images and video footage from that historic day are known as The Roberto Rabanne Photographic Archives displayed in The National 9/11 Memorial Museum. Roberto has a particular gift of documenting the quiet emotions and significant moments that create powerful images. Over more than fifty years of photography, Rabanne has compiled an immensely valuable collection of iconic and culturally important moments. Rabanne’s fashion photographs and rarely seen video footage are prominently featured in the Imagine Films/Apple TV documentary “ The Supermodels” directed by Roger Ross Williams and Larissa Bills.
He has now fully embraced the latest technical VR and AI developments by creating compelling images and storytelling in the MetaVerse. Stay tuned for more!