Ed Templeton is an American photographer, artist and pro-skater. He is the founder of the skateboard company Toy Machine. Outside of skateboarding, Templeton is a painter, graphic designer, and photographer, areas that he has gained a reputation within without any formal training, the Photography Colleges website, in an article entitled “New School Photography: Ed Templeton”, identifies Templeton as “probably the most influential contemporary photographer”. Templeton’s signature model skateboards for the New Deal company were self-designed and he subsequently became the head designer for his own brands—Templeton produces all of the art work for the Toy Machine skateboard company that, as of January 2013, is his primary skateboarding project. Templeton is also a co-editor of ANP Quarterly, an arts magazine started in 2005.
Teenage Smokers: in 2000, Templeton’s book of photography, Teenage Smokers, won the Italian Search For Art competition and Templeton was awarded US$50,000. ‘The idea for this book sprang from finding the original boxes of Polaroid’s that started this whole series, shot in 1994 at my local skateboard park in Huntington Beach, California. I would be skating there when the kids finished school and they would collect there to hang out and smoke. One day I brought a Polaroid camera to the park and started asking all of them for a portrait while smoking. Those first Polaroid’s were the photos that Aaron Rose saw when I did an exhibition at his Alleged Gallery in 1999.’
‘Templeton began taking candid, sometimes intrusive photos of his wife Deanna, strangers and teammates on skate competition tours. His next show with Alleged, in 1999, was a large collection of voyeuristic photographs of kids and the accompanying book, “Teenage Smokers,” that caught the attention of art critics and garnered a very different reaction from his first paintings. The series was acquired by the Orange County Museum of Art and the book, if found today, goes for a nice chunk of change. Since, Templeton has proven that he clearly has an extraordinary eye for composition, and is valiantly carrying on the tradition of contemporary art photography in the vein of Nan Goldin, Garry Winogrand and even Walker Evans. However, like his predecessors, his subject matter is extremely raw and personal; at times X-rated, violent and emotionally draining.’ (From Skater To Artist – K.CET)
The reason I am choosing to use Ed Templeton as an artist reference in my personal investigation is because I think he is quite unique in the way he photographs people, the images all appear to be genuine as if there is a backstory to every single one, this is reinforced with the writing that is included on almost every picture; these state dates,times, names and even the actions of those in the picture. Therefore all of his images seem raw and unedited, which is something I want to include in my own photography and responses to him. Another aspect I enjoy is how he incorporates multi-media into still photographs, such as: paint, pen, cardboard, backgrounds and other ways of displaying the photography. These techniques bring colour to the black and white photographs and give another personal touch from the photographer.
