Richard Prince: The Entertainers
This artist’s book by Richard Prince features The Entertainers (1982–83), an early series of photographs inspired by the nightclubs, theaters, and restaurants of New York’s Times Square. Manipulating publicity shots of aspiring singers, actors, and models, he softened their focus, heightened their contrast, and added garish colors and graphic elements that capture the area’s sleazy glamour. The book reproduces the panels of the series and related works, together with taped-up clippings from trade publications and advertisements.
Included as an introductory text is Prince’s “The Counterfeit Memory” (1981), which describes the experiences of compiling tear sheets for magazines and spending time in an adult film theater, a restaurant, and a bar. Bookending the volume is another text by the artist entitled “The Lone Ranger,” in which he recounts his childhood enthusiasm for Zorro and Superman and reflects on issues of celebrity and death through the figure of George Reeves, the actor who played Superman in the 1950s television series.
Publisher: Fulton Ryder
Publication date: 2023
Contributor: Richard Prince
Distributor: D.A.P./Distributed Art Publishers, New York
Format: Cloth hardcover
Dimensions: 8 3/4 × 11 1/4 inches (22.2 × 28.6 cm)
Pages: 148
Language: English
ISBN: 979-8-985236-82-8
