Honky-Tonk Woman
Texas, USA – 2022
Bandera, Texas is the self-appointed home of the cowboy and a visitor is left in no doubt that this is the beating heart of Marlboro country and Marlboro men. This small town in the Hill Country also boasts a bar – Arkey Blue’s Silver Dollar – that is as good a honky-tonk bar to film in that I know of. It is also a firm fixture in the country music scene which is core to the culture of this part of the great state. Willie Nelson has sung here, as has Hank Williams, and of course, the owner himself, Arkey Blue.
Three requirements must be met for the saloon to work for me. I need a decent amount of ambient light from a door or a window; I need the décor to have a quintessential dive bar look to it and I need a well-positioned old pool table around which to build the narrative. We did our research in the area and Arkey Blues looked the most promising and the reality when we arrived was even better.
The cowboys had an important role to play in this image, but it wasn’t their toughest day at work. Many had just returned from being wranglers on the set of 1883, which allegedly involved 16-hour days. In contrast, all they had to do in this shoot was be themselves, have a beer and just be a little infatuated with our lead – Roxanna. All quite easy stuff.
I have had this photo in my mind for as long as I started to immerse myself in the cowboy culture of Texas. For those who think this timeless culture may hold the state back, it is worth perhaps remembering that in 2023, Texas will be the 9th biggest economy in the world.
AVAILABLE SIZES:
LARGE: Edition of 12 + 3 AP
- Image Size: 56” x 96” in (142.24 cm x 243.84 cm)
- Framed Image: 71” x 111” in (180.34 cm x 281.94 cm)
STANDARD: Edition of 12 + 3 AP
- Image Size: 37” x 63” in (93.98 cm x 160.02 cm)
- Framed Image: 52” x 78” in (132.08 cm x 198.12 cm)
We ship worldwide and use a multitude of providers to safely deliver your masterpiece. Domestic delivery and installation may also be available via Hilton Asmus Contemporary’s private art shuttle. Please inquire.
Devil's Backbone
Texas, USA – 2022
Devil’s Backbone makes claim to be “The oldest Dive Bar” in Texas. Situated on an earthquake fault, the historic venue offers spectacular views of the surrounding Texas Hill Country. The history dates back to the late 1890’s, when the first stone room was built for a blacksmith’s shop and a stagecoach stop at the base of a treach- erous trail. After Prohibition, the sale of alcoholic beverages, particularly beer, became licensed in early 1936 and the tavern was built a year later.
In the 1950’s, a service station and package store building was added and shortly after, the dancehall was constructed. The venue became a one stop shop for all that Hill Country cowboys needed including a cold-beer, a tire change and a dance.
I knew there must be an opportunity here for a photograph that could pay homage to the working cowboy and the Backbone’s long history of serving a cold beer. The decor behind the bar and on the ceiling are classic honky-tonk and they demanded some involvement in a vignette.
The cowboy – the most enduring symbol of America, not just Texas – is identifiable by his hat and individual faces in a collective group matter less. Nothing is lost from anonymity if the narrative is true.
That understanding gave me the idea of building a story around the bartender and we had just the right girl with us – Roxanna Redfoot from Dallas, Texas. She is our go to bar girl whether we film with cowboys in Montana or Texas.
The image works; it is Texas through and through and I know the owners and staff of Devil’s Backbone are delighted to be a part it. That makes me happy as they were as good to work with as anyone we have met on our travels.
AVAILABLE SIZES:
LARGE: Edition of 12 + 3 AP
- Image Size: 56” x 92” in (142.24 cm x 233.68 cm)
- Framed Image: 71” x 107” (180.34 cm x 271.78 cm)
STANDARD: Edition of 12 + 3 AP
- Image Size: 37” x 61” in (93.98 cm x 154.94 cm)
- Framed Image: 52” x 76” in (132.08 cm x 193.04 cm)
We ship worldwide and use a multitude of providers to safely deliver your masterpiece. Domestic delivery and installation may also be available via Hilton Asmus Contemporary’s private art shuttle. Please inquire.
American Beauty
On this 1950s set – built in Santa Clarita near Los Angeles – my excellent production team gave me the chance to create something very special. American icon Cindy Crawford would be my lead, so there was a little bit of pressure to be on my game, especially as Cindy had made the location famous from the iconic 1992 Pepsi commercial. The gas station and cafe haven’t changed much and neither, in fact, has Cindy.
My preconception was to use the panel lighting to showcase Cindy in an intense rain storm. The rain would pop much more than it would do in daylight. I could see the potential of the concept; the set, complete with 1950s LA cop cars, was authentic and all the angles worked. There was an intended nod to the wonderful movie – LA Confidential – but the problem was that her period evening glam look would be immediately vulnerable to the rain.
In my creative processing beforehand I had established in my mind that there could not be many retakes of this shoot. Her hair, so intelligently styled by the legendary Peter Savic, would be in trouble after just a few seconds; quickly followed by her evening dress. We had at best 10 seconds to get the shot.
What I knew was that Cindy is a trooper and indeed she smashes this picture. There are few people that would perform so professionally under such circumstances. She is as good as it gets and this picture is made by her, not me.
I would like to thank Cindy’s excellent A team of Peter Savic, Nicole Allowitz, Jennifer Jacobs and Sam Visser. As for Cindy, it is always a treat to work with the very best. A true American Beauty inside and out.
AVAILABLE SIZES:
LARGE - Edition of 20:
- Image: 61” x 56" (155 cm x 143 cm)
- Framed: 72” x 67" (183 cm x 171 cm)
STANDARD - Edition of 20:
- Image size: 40” x 37" (102 cm x 94 cm)
- Framed size: 51” x 48" (130 cm x 122 cm)
We ship worldwide and use a multitude of providers to safely deliver your masterpiece. Domestic delivery and installation may also be available via Hilton Asmus Contemporary’s private art shuttle. Please inquire.
Americana
The roll out of the road system in America accelerated geographical mobility and the pursuit of the American dream. The country is, and always will be, the home of the road trip. Motorbikes and roadside diners and gas stations became enduring cultural symbols of America.
Meanwhile, the Harley Davidson evolved into an iconic American brand and bikers themselves carved their own archetype and story in a rapidly developing society. There was a spirit of freedom captured so well in the 1969 movie Easy Rider and by bands such as the Eagles, who encouraged us to “take it easy”.
Whilst I did not take this photograph standing on a corner in Winslow, Arizona and whilst none of the bikers look remotely like Peter Fonda, there is a deliberate nostalgic nod to a freewheeling era in American history. My goal was to make a photograph to elicit memories of the America we once knew.
But this vignette is, of course, completed by perhaps America’s most loved supermodel – Cindy Crawford. We could not possibly use any other person in this shoot, as the set we had chosen was the very diner she made famous in the iconic Pepsi advert of 1992.
There may be no cowboys in this photograph or baseball bats or country music references, but there is enough to make it quintessential Americana.
AVAILABLE SIZES:
LARGE - Edition of 12:
- Image: 56” x 56" (143 cm x 143 cm)
- Framed: 67” x 67" (171 cm x 171 cm)
STANDARD - Edition of 20:
- Image size: 37” x 37" (94 cm x 94 cm)
- Framed size: 48” x 48" (122 cm x 122 cm)
We ship worldwide and use a multitude of providers to safely deliver your masterpiece. Domestic delivery and installation may also be available via Hilton Asmus Contemporary’s private art shuttle. Please inquire.
Django
Django
Montana, USA – 2021
My fear of the mundane has no immediate cure and my commitment to western revisionism probably aggravates the condition as this is a well-trodden genre with no room for being dull.
As soon as I had convinced the Seattle Seahawks’ quarterback Russell Wilson and Wilson and GRAMMY-Award winning singer / songwriter – Ciara – to come to Montana to participate in my unhinged madness, we got to work on narratives and storyboards. I liked the idea of building some final frontier sets but that in itself is hardly groundbreaking. Sure, we gave the saloon a name that referred to Montana’s celebrity guests, but that did not quench my thirst. This was an opportunity to push a few boundaries.
Ultimately three decisions coalesced to make the difference and turn an idea into something of which we are all proud. The first was the styling: we hired for Ciara the best we know – Mariel Haenn and her partner Rob Zangardi, in LA. Mariel styles Cara Delevingne and so works with us regularly. I gave her team a simple directive – “post-Civil War badass”. Mariel and Rob don’t need much more than that and Ciara looks ridiculously good and on point. Meanwhile, for Russell’s stylist Alicia Sereno, she did a first class job of making Russell look every bit as badass as Ciara. They both owned their looks.
The second call was to shoot in a rainstorm – an unrelenting one. As a storyteller, I have always enjoyed inclement weather, but I knew we would have to make the rain, not ask Russell and Ciara to wait for a storm mid-summer. I studied the rain scenes from Paul Greengrass’s recent western – News of the World – with Tom Hanks and the effect added such mood and textural detail to Hanks’ face and clothes that I could not remove the prompt from my head. To use rain in this shot was a good decision.
The third decision was, of course, to set the building on fire. This is not an easy thing to do from a practical perspective and it meant shooting at night to make the most of the effect. But again, the decision paid off – perhaps a little better than we could have imagined.
Russell and Ciara make for strong doubles for Jamie Foxx and Kerry Washington in Tarantino’s bad ass western “Django Unchained”. On this one occasion, I believe that I can get away with the reference, albeit Django burnt down a plantation mansion in Mississippi, not a saloon on the banks of the Madison River in Montana. It was a powerful and authentic film, but I think this is a powerful and authentic photograph.
A great team effort and a hell of a result.
AVAILABLE SIZES:
LARGE - Edition of 20:
- Image: 56” x 85" (142 cm x 216 cm)
- Framed: 67” x 96" (171 cm x 244 cm)
STANDARD - Edition of 20:
- Image size: 37” x 56" (94 cm x 143 cm)
- Framed size: 48” x 67" (122 cm x 171 cm)
We ship worldwide and use a multitude of providers to safely deliver your masterpiece. Domestic delivery and installation may also be available via Hilton Asmus Contemporary’s private art shuttle. Please inquire.
Persons of Interest
For this shoot, I took the Seattle Seahawks quarterback and his wife to my favourite shooting location in the world – the Pioneer Bar – high up in the mountains of West Montana. I wanted to be in command of as much as possible and with my intimate knowledge of the location, I knew I could muster together a smorgasbord of western archetypes to complement the rock star American couple. I also know the lighting and the angles inside out. It was a home fixture for me.
My preconception was to build a vignette that lived and breathed cinema whilst playing on the importance of cultural refinement in the Wild West. To that end, I thought it would be playful to dress Russell and Ciara in black tie so as to accentuate the narrative. Finding the extras was easy – they are mostly drinking buddies.
There are no weak characters in this shot; there is simply no room for them. In fashioning together so many ethnicities, I hope his photograph celebrates the diversity of America and reminds us that the pursuit of the American Dream was, and is, inclusive.
Revlon Ambassadors have been filmed in many locations, but perhaps none offer the storied past of the Pioneer Bar. Ciara smashed this look, but I soon discovered, she kind of smashes every look.
AVAILABLE SIZES:
LARGE - Edition of 20:
- Image: 56” x 100" (142 cm x 254 cm)
- Framed: 67” x 111" (170 cm x 214 cm)
STANDARD - Edition of 20:
- Image: 37" x 48" (94 cm x 122 cm)
- Framed: 48" x 59" (122 cm x 150 cm)
MEDIUM - Edition of 20:
- Image: 45" x 80" (114 cm x 203 cm)
- Framed: 56" x 91" (142 cm x 231 cm)
We ship worldwide and use a multitude of providers to safely deliver your masterpiece. Domestic delivery and installation may also be available via Hilton Asmus Contemporary’s private art shuttle. Please inquire.
The Daily News
Proof again that Cindy Crawford is gold dust for a photographer. She looks quite sensational in this “film noir” piece taken at the very location made famous by her Pepsi commercial in 1992.
My idea was to build a 1950s set and shoot at night; not just to add drama and contrast, but also to legitimize the period evening glam look. One I knew Cindy would excel in.
In the weeks running up to the shoot, I played around with a few possible narratives and I was drawn to the concept of a film set within a film set. I had long admired Peter Lindberg’s work for the Breitling Squad campaign which also played on this theme and I also knew how Hollywood always enjoys work showcasing itself. The nod to Peter Lindberg was apposite as he and Cindy often collaborated together to great effect.
It dawned on me that those with cameras could be press men as opposed to film makers and the narrative could lean on the intense media interest Hollywood stars have long received. Since the Press tend to hang as a pack, I could play on that and throw in a wolf. The premise was that the vignette should live and breathe cinema.
My instincts were that Cindy should be enjoying the attention and her face should glow, not scowl. Over the years I have learnt that she is very comfortable playing a role and the look certainly works here.
The still cameraman in the photograph is Dimitri Dimitrov – Sunset Tower’s much loved and celebrated Maître D. He has had so many cameo roles in Hollywood over the years and I did not want to miss out. Cindy and I were delighted to have him on set – as were my family who adore him.
AVAILABLE SIZES:
LARGE - Edition of 20
-
Image: 56” x 84"
-
Framed: 67” x 95"
STANDARD - Edition of 20
- Image: 37” x 55"
- Framed: 48” x 66"
We ship worldwide and use a multitude of providers to safely deliver your artwork. Domestic delivery and installation may also be available via Hilton Contemporary’s private art shuttle. Please inquire.
The Snow Patrol 2021
2021
During our travels in America, we have learnt a great deal about cowboys. The difference between someone who can ride competently and a true working cowboy may ostensibly appear marginal, but in extreme conditions a chasm appears.
To work a horse in -20 degrees, in two feet of fresh snow, whilst holding a weapon in one hand, appearing totally at ease, is a bridge too far for 99% of riders. So, on this set in Norwood, Colorado we knew we had to work with the best of the best.
Ty Mitchell on the left is as authentic a Texan cowboy as they come and it is no surprise to us that he will soon be on set for three months with Martin Scorsese. I don’t think Scorsese will be disappointed with any aspect of Ty’s character. It will not be Ty’s first rodeo, Anthony Bourdain featured him when Parts Unknown visited West Texas and Marfa.
To his right, Michael Malone is a local rancher from Colorado and he immediately impressed us with his understated confidence and ability to play to a role. I fancy he could ride a horse sidesaddle whilst totally stoned and I sense such a challenge may have been put to the test once or twice. We welcomed him to the team with open arms.
In my mind, the key variable in this photograph is the light. On a sunny winter’s day, with snow on the ground, I believe the best light is actually in the first three or four minutes when the sun raises its head and touches the subject. 10 minutes after sunrise is too late as the sun is
too harsh on the subject.
In those initial minutes, the sun can be behind the camera and give the cameraman huge flexibility. In this case, the flexibility I needed was a very fast shutter speed.
AVAILABLE SIZES:
Large: Edition of 12 + 3 AP
- Image Size: 56” x 90” in (142.24 cm x 228.6 cm)
- Framed Image: 71” x 105” in (180.34 cm x 266.7 cm)
Standard: Edition of 12 + 3 AP
- Image Size: 37” x 59” in (93.98 cm x 149.86 cm)
- Framed Image: 52” x 74” in (132.08 cm x 187.96 cm)
We ship worldwide and use a multitude of providers to safely deliver your masterpiece. Domestic delivery and installation may also be available via Hilton Asmus Contemporary’s private art shuttle. Please inquire.
High Noon
Grand Tetons, Wyoming – 2021
“Mount Moran in the Tetons offers as good a mountain backdrop as I know in America. In the winter, in particular, it has a grandeur that is difficult to match.
The lake below this section of the Tetons is frozen thick in mid winter and offers the perfect stage on which to tell stories, but we are always mindful that on a good day, the whole scene become too bright within 45 minutes of sunrise. Images like this require very early starts and we are always in position well before dawn.
The Native Americans were introduced to horses by early Spanish immigrants and they adapted quickly to the optionality and mobility given to them by horses. The Comanche in the south became a feared and dominant tribe largely because of their horsemanship skills.
This frame – taken on a very cold morning in Wyoming – simply pays homage to a tested partnership that played a material role in shaping 19th century American history.”
-David Yarrow
AVAILABLE SIZES:
Large: Edition of 12
- Image Size: 56" x 84" in (142.24 cm x 213.36 cm)
- Framed Image: 71” x 99” in (180.34 cm x 251.46 cm)
Standard: Edition of 12
- Image Size: 37" x 56" in (93.98 cm x 142.24 cm)
- Framed Image: 52" x 71" in (132.08 cm x 180.34 cm)
We ship worldwide and use a multitude of providers to safely deliver your masterpiece. Domestic delivery and installation may also be available via Hilton Asmus Contemporary’s private art shuttle. Please inquire.
More Usual Suspects
2021
AVAILABLE SIZES:
LARGE: Edition of 12
- Image Size: 50” x 100” in (127 cm x 254 cm)
- Framed Image: 65” x 115” in (180.34 cm x 215.9 cm)
STANDARD: Edition of 12
- Image Size: 37” x 67” in (93.98 cm x 170.18 cm)
- Framed Image: 49” x 82" in (124.46 cm x 208.28 cm)
We ship worldwide and use a multitude of providers to safely deliver your masterpiece. Domestic delivery and installation may also be available via Hilton Asmus Contemporary’s private art shuttle. Please inquire.