Random Excellence: Paul Heartfield

Johnny Rotten by Paul Heartfield

A beautifully done portrait that stopped me in my tracks and made me meditate on youth culture, the generations, my generation, music, image, attitude, and aging and the passage of time.

Paul Heartfield is a photographer and former magazine publisher based in Bloomsbury in central London, mainly known for portraits of musicians and politicians.

Johnny Rotten (John Lydon) of the Sex Pistols and Public Image Ltd. is now 60 and a U.S. citizen.

I don't know much about Paul H., but I'd think if a person could make a decent living photographing and also do a portrait as great as this one once a year or so, that would be a good thing to be doing with a career.

Mike
(Thanks to davesailer and Dave Stewart)

Original contents copyright 2015 by Michael C. Johnston and/or the bylined author. All Rights Reserved. Links in this post may be to our affiliates; sales through affiliate links may benefit this site.

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(To see all the comments, click on the "Comments" link below.)
Featured Comments from:

Kenneth Wajda: "I like this. It's interesting though if that were Johnny Not-So-Bad, we wouldn't even look at it because he's not well known. It's the known factor, the ability to recognize something in a scene that makes it have extra value. So celebrity photographs are always more interesting than non-celebrity photographs. Or at least they get more traction. If you see a picture of a fat old man in a black suit you may not share it but if you see Alfred Hitchcock, you immediately recognize and relate to the photo. I guess it's the old 'If your photos aren't interesting enough, find more interesting subjects.'"

Jeff Markus: "Just finished reading John [Lydon's]'s autobiography, Anger Is an Energy: My Life Uncensored, found it to be a good read. In it he mentions doing a photoshoot with Norman Seeff, for which he had high hopes, but ended up being disappointed with the results. He also mentions how, back in the day, he used to like doing speed. John was moving pretty fast that day.

"Norman's forte is gently coaxing people to be relaxed and natural in front of his camera. He primarily has shot performers, most of them musicians, many of whom are surprisingly (or not) quite camera shy when not in performance mode. Shoots generally would start very low-key, even those that would later get pretty lively.

"John came out of the gate running, literally. No head shots here. He ran in circles around the perimeter of the set, pogoing, bobbing and weaving liked a demented prizefighter. Almost impossible to even keep him in frame. As he ran past camera position he would pull a face or a pose, then go for another circuit.

"After doing this for awhile, John giving no sign of slowing at all, Norman called for a break to try to come up with a plan to cool things down a notch or two, or five or six. As the most junior assistant and gofer, I was told to ask John if he wanted me to get him anything to drink, and to go get it. The studio was coincidently, or not, next door to the best-stocked liquor store on the Sunset strip. When told that the record company would pick up the tab, John ordered Courvoisier. I took everyone else's orders and left.

"When I got back I found that the rest of the crew had left the shooting room, leaving John there alone. We talked while I sipped my beer and he polished off his bottle. I went next door for another one. As he slowed down to earth speed I found him to be quite an intriguing and charming guy, with a seriously wicked Irish sense of humor. I alluded to his friend Sid Vicious, to which he replied 'He weren't my friend!' Why not? 'Because he was an eedjit.' Why do you say that? 'Well now, he's dead, isn't he.'

"Norman has a page of photos from that shoot on his website Normanseeff.com. Worth a look."

Edd Fuller: "I have no idea who 'Johnny Rotten' is so I came at this without the celebrity vibe. To me it looks like a photo of an actor playing a character, not a portrait of a real person. More movie poster than portrait."

Gabe: "Must disagree with K. Wajda—I never saw the caption (below screen edge) before looking at the picture for a minute or two. I wouldn't recognize Johnny Rotten if he bit my ear off. What I saw was a great picture of an old Brit (some faces have national character) looking punkish with a faint smile. It's a great face—full of character and unique charm.

"Although I'm far better at vintage cars, I did photograph a bunch of celebrities, bands, actors, etc. in the '90s. Most, if they saw my camera, automatically assumed a 'crank best 3/4 face, practiced smile,' and the picture looked like every other picture ever taken of that person. When I was at 'zoom tele' distance, and was much less noticed, sometimes real personalities were captured—real smiles as well as frowns. I don't know if this is Johnny's Rotten angry face or not, but it's a fine picture of a unique looking man. Cheers!"

Comments

[Jim Lewis]

Love this. I'd be curious to know what you think makes a great portrait. Is it verisimilitude? Showing a side of someone you hadn't seen before? The inherent interest of the picture even if you don't know who's being portrayed?

In this case, what makes it great to me is not the head-in-a-circle bit -- which I find heavy-handed -- but the way it captures our Mr. Lydon's very faint smile, which you often notice in filmed footage, but rarely see in stills.

[Ken Tanaka]

It's fascinating what elements in a portrait can "stop you in your tracks". I know nothing of this sitter (and have only heard of his band). But there are three elements that grab my attention and make this a memorable image.

1. The bulls-eye geometric pattern created by the background. This is further emphasized by the strong vignette.

2. Everything then frames or points towards this guy's face. His jacket, his buttons, even his gelled-up hair all scream "This Is The Place".

3. Finally, its the head-on organization of a subject with strabismus. It really doesn't matter who the sitter is. Photographing anyone with eye misalignment looking straight into the camera will "stop you in your tracks". You get extra credit if it's an angry-looking guy with scowl lines in his brow.

So if this reflects the intentions of Paul Heartfield I'd have to say well done.

[Chuck Albertson]

He's a U.S. citizen now? Does that make him the "anchor punk"?

[c.d.embrey]

An interesting expression on his face—not your usual portrait. Well done from both sides of the camera.

All people, not just rockers, are living longer. Rolling Stones drummer Charlie Watts and I are both 74. Neither one of us looks like we did in the 1960s, but the musical connection is still there.

Being a celebrity for 40/50 years must be challenging. You need to keep sorta the same look, without becoming a parody of your younger self. Roger Daltrey, 71 (who didn't die before he got old), still has the highly recognizable curls, but they are a lot shorter now.

One of the nice things about growing old, is that I've stopped caring about what others think. Years ago I worked on a VW TV commercial, featuring Reggie "Mr October" Jackson. He hits the ball over the right field fence, turns to the camera and says: "I drive a VW Rabbit, because the only person I have to impress is me." Words to live by—keep on rockin'.

[Stan B.]

Since we're the same age (and former fan), I rather just concentrate on the image.

[MikeR]

Rust Never Sleeps.

[Dave Stewart]

Did you miss the link?

http://www.paulheartfield.com/

[marcin wuu]

I'm sorry, but this is so similar, conceptually, to this here selfportrait, I just can't stop myself from spamming. Sorry. I know I'm no Johnny Rotten, but still...

[Anthony Shaughnessy]

It's a great portrait but in response to Kenneth Wajda, John Lydon "usually" looks like this in portraits of him, so I'm not surprised by the look - "oh look, it's johnny rotten scowling again". However, if I'd never seen him before I would certainly be arrested by this remarkable picture.

[Stan B.]

Kenneth- My first and only year in photo school, an art history professor asked me my major and said she saw this great photo exhibit on celebrities. "Only problem with that," I replied, "is that you don't know if you're responding to the photograph, or the celebrity." All the while pondering why I was paying her.

Must disagree on this one though, it's the lighting, strong angular face, and distinctive backdrop that drew me in and held my attention- only then did I recognize who it was.

[Kevin Purcell]

"It's interesting though if that were Johnny Not-So-Bad, we wouldn't even look at it because he's not well known."

I disagree.

Assuming Johnny Not-So-Bad has the John Lydon stare then we would look at it.

He was infamous for it back in 1976 (see him use it, for example, at the end of his performance on Tony Wilson's So It Goes (show 9 -- you'll find it on YouTube).

The other thing I see in this picture is the triangular shape of Lydon (very Renaissance painting composition, no?) embedded in the circle reminds me of the A-in-a-circle Anarchist symbol. A reference back to Anarchy in the UK, perhaps?

On the other hand I wonder what 1976 Lydon would have made of 2015 Lydon being a US citizen. He explains why in this interview (which includes the shot above) published a couple of days ago.

http://noisey.vice.com/blog/john-lydon-johnny-rotten-interview-2015

[Manuel]

A great portrait, for sure, but being someone who loved "Silly Thing" and "Anarchy in the UK" in my teens, it makes me feel very old.

[D. Hufford.]

@Kenneth: I take your point that photos of a celebrity get more traction, but even though I had no idea who this Johnny Rotten is, I was immediately interested in this photo. He could have been some grouchy old guy down the street, but he would have suddenly become interesting to me because of the photo. A really good portrait can make people want to know more about the person, I think.

[Mani Sitaraman]

Hey, hey, my, my. Is this the story of Johnny Rotten? That he became an American? God save the Queen.

[Richard]

Johnny Rotten with a halo...bloody brilliant!

[Nigel]

It's a beautifully done piece of work. The way the background circle dovetails with the coat collar forming an upside-down teardrop is quite exquisite.

I suppose part of its appeal is the care and attention given to the portrait of a bloke who is not that attractive - though not exactly lacking in character.

[Stan B.]

Guess it would've helped if I remembered to write that the esteemed professor's reply was, "I never thought of that."

[Jeff Glass]

Beautiful

[Robin]

This is Johnny Rotten as he always wants to be depicted. I thought the comment someone said earlier is very true. He looks like an actor playing a role, his role is "enfant terrible" or presumably now "pere" or "grand-pere terrible". Surely one of the most ornery "rock personalities" there is? Sometimes ornery is good, but I don't find it so in his case,: but then I was never a punk. He may have some positive attributes, but I have no idea what they are really, as he spends most of his time trying to disguise them. He rivals Ginger Baker in "the most unpleasant man in music" stakes, but without the latter's undeniable talent. The portrait's good, but JR's 10 minutes of fame is really up. I, too, find it ironic, that he is a US citizen.