Advertising Archives - Tony Ward Studio

Scarves by Rashid: Winter Collection 2024-25

Commissioned Work: Scarves by Rashid

Roberto Rashid is a Philadelphia based scarf designer who commissioned me recently to photograph his winter scarf collection. We first met in 1974 when we lived in the same dorm at what was then Millersville State College, now Millersville University in Lancaster, Pennsylvania.. We got to know each other during our college days because we were on the same floor in Burroughs Hall and our dorm rooms were just a few yards away from each other. Jenx (nickname) as he was affectionately called was and still is a dapper character with exquisite taste. He was always well dressed even in college and for some that didn’t know him way back when he was one of the colleges DJ’s. Hearing Roberto’s distinctive and soothing voice on the school radio station and in the hallways at our dorm was reminiscent of the same kind of sounds I heard on the Philadelphia radio stations like WDAS fm in college. I thought he was destined to become a radio personality but fate would have it he turned to fashion, influenced by his mother working in the textile industry when he was a young man.

I didn’t have further contact with Roberto after college until a little over a year ago. We bumped into each other on June 12, 2023 at a Jeff Bradshaw album release party hosted by none other than Patty Jackson from WDASfm at a venue in Germantown. After the event we started following each other on social media. Roberto had become keenly aware of the collaborative work I’ve been producing with KVaughn, creative director and legendary scarf designer from Philly. When he called to engage me about photographing his winter scarf collection he made it clear he wanted still lives of the product only, no models. That was a distinction with a difference as I started to plan the shoot and construct a set that would make the shoot with Roberto unique.

In general, people mainly associate my work these days with portraiture as it relates to fashion and erotica, not so much product photography per se, so this was a welcome departure for sure. Roberto put his trust in me, and a pleasure to work with on set. Knowing his musical background, we listened to a variety of tracks to stimulate our collaboration including Mario Lanza, Miles Davis and some R&B mixed in as well played on vinyl.

To learn more about Scarves by Rashid, link here: https://scarvesbyrashid.biz

Contact us for your next shoot! Call: 267-475-0828 or email: Tony@TonyWard.com.

The Photo Review: Auction

The Photo Review is a critical journal of international scope and readership. Publishing since 1976, The Photo Review covers photography events throughout the country and serves as a central resource for the Mid-Atlantic region. With incisive reviews, exciting portfolios, lively interviews, the latest in books and exhibitions, The Photo Review biannual journal has earned a reputation as one of the best serious photography publications being produced today. Our writers — including A.D. Coleman, Stephen Perloff, Shelley Rice, Peter Hay Halpert, Barbara L. Michaels, Jean Dykstra, and Mark Power — have weighed in on subjects as varied as the posthumous publication of work by Diane Arbus, women in photography, the growth of digital media, the historical movement from Pictorialism into Modernism, etc., etc. In his ongoing series, “The Censorship Diaries,” Editor Stephen Perloff was in the forefront in covering the controversy over funding for the NEA and censorship of the arts.

The Photo Review has earned a reputation for lucid and incisive writing aimed at an intelligent and informed audience, but free of the cant and jargon that infects much contemporary writing about art. Thus, both arts publications and the popular press have looked to us for interpretations of what’s happening on the photography scene. Articles have been reprinted in such publications as Afterimage, To, Photography in New York, American Photo, and others.

Editor Stephen Perloff, a respected writer, educator and photographer, has been interviewed for The New York Times, The Toronto Globe & Mail, The Wall Street Journal, the Philadelphia Inquirer, Photo District News, and the New York Observer. He has received two critic’s fellowships from the Pennsylvania Council on the Arts and the Colin Ford Award for Curatorship from the Royal Photographic Society.

Tony Ward's portrait of four fetish models for famous Wasteland Poster 2005 — Wasteland. Photo: Tony Ward, Copyright 2024. Available at Auction on October 26, 2024.

In The Moment: The Art & Photography of Harvey Finkle

Exhibition announcement for Harvey Winkle at the Woodmere Museum of Art — Harvey Finkle at The Woodmere Museum.

In The Moment: The Art & Photography of Harvey Finkle

About the Exhibition

The work of the Philadelphia-born photographer and activist Harvey Finkle offers an intimate view of the hardships, sacrifices, and joys experienced by members of the diverse communities and political movements he has engaged with over the course of his career. In the Moment explores photography’s ability to interrogate social inequities, arouse empathy, and inspire political action. Consisting of photographs that Finkle has taken over the past half-decade, the show surveys the multiple and sophisticated ways in which his work forges meaningful connections with its audiences. Guest-curated by Antongiulio Sorgini, categorical groupings take us through Finkle’s journey, chronicling the stories that shape our collective consciousness.

For more information about the exhibition, link here: https://woodmereartmuseum.org/experience/exhibitions/in-the-moment-the-art-photography-of-harvey-finkle

Exhibition Announcement: Artist Statement

Portrait of dominatrix and sub wearing gas mask. She's holding a wip. — Photo: Tony Ward, Copyright 2023

Artist Statement

Thirty years ago in 1993. I embarked on a new body of work that explored our rights in America to freedom of expression. My subjects were from all walks of life, from various races, religious backgrounds and sexual persuasions. This melting pot that stubbornly defines America formed the palette of a series of black and white photographs that defined an era. What was that era? It was the time in which sexual freedom and multiculturalism was on the rise.

Unfortunately, in these times there are certain bigoted elements of our society that continue to attempt to roll back the hands of time. Sadly, Facisim in America is on the rise. Obsessions as a body of work reminds us of what we once were and still are, a free and open society in which each individual American is free to choose and be who they are.

To find out more about the exhibition, link here: https://tonyward.com/obsessions-vintage-prints-1993-1998/

Obsessions: Vintage Prints 1993 – 1998

Prisim Arts Philadelphia is hosting Obsessions: Vintage Photographs 1993-1998 by famed photographer Tony Ward — Exhibition Announcement

PRESS RELEASE:

We invite you to join us for an exploration of human vulnerability and the timeless beauty of the unadorned form. “OBSESSIONS” is an ode to the human spirit, a celebration of the profound authenticity that lies with us.

For more information about this exhibit, link here: https://www.prismartsphiladelphia.com