Bob Gothard, People, Plants and Places

Story by Samuel Ogden White

     Bob Gothard is careful with labels. He explains that he doesn’t take himself seriously.
     "I don’t feel like an artist. I’m a technical voyeur.”
     But then perhaps we use that term "artist" too loosely anyway. What Bob Gothard is first and foremost, is a fashion photographer. All else follows from that.
     His upcoming exhibition will be held at the old Agricultural Hall, on Wednesday, August 28, through Saturday, August 31.
     The collection, which will represent a career worth of work, focuses on what he’s been doing when he hasn’t been shooting fashion models, namely People, Plants, and Places. It’s just something he’s been doing on the side for the last 30 years. Snapshots. A hobby.
     But don’t let his casualness fool you. Gothard is a craftsman who survives on his craft. Born in England, he’s worked in the fashion industry for 23 years, shooting for Vogue, various other European magazines, and his own World Wide Fashion magazine called Preview. On top of all that, he travels around the world on assignments, lives on the Vineyard, and has done Carly Simon’s last four album covers.
     He works hard four months out of the year and the rest of the time he spends with his family on the Island.
     The snapshots, which make up what he’s done with his spare time, are a stunning collection of images from around the world. They are panoramic landscapes of Tibet, Alaska, and England, portraits, and still lifes. They’re a collection of “strong images” he says, trying not to sound pretentious or over-reaching. Most are high contrast light oriented images; dewy flowers shot sensually against a black back drop, a profile of the late photographer Eisenstadt in a moment of reflection.
     There is also an element of humor in his work. He shows me a stately picture of Ringo Starr in an absurdly tacky suit, proudly displaying one of the first digital watches which hangs off his wrist like a great slab of cheese. We also talk seriously for a moment about a photo session he did for Barbie’s thirtieth birthday. I ask if the much publicized diva was as difficult to work with as rumored. Was she easy in front of the camera?
     “Oh, she’s a pleasure to work with,” he remarks. “She’s looking good. She hasn’t had too many tucks.”
     In truth, his philosophy with fashion photography betrays his nonchalant manner. “I try to photograph the person in the clothes,” he says.
     And many of his images are just that. The person in the clothes. The inner identity of his subject matter. Nuances that point beyond the image into its origins. Like a photo he shows me of a seated Egyptian man, a cigarette in one hand, looking sternly into the camera. It’s impossible not to focus on the man’s eyes; you can see a whole history there. It’s completely arresting.
     Whether or not Bob Gothard is trying, the art creeps in. All of which will be in evidence when the show opens this Wednesday, a private collection of work to be enjoyed and taken seriously.