Photographers and their Musical Equivalence

Before Christmas there was a post on Facebook about Alec Soth and Aron Morel posted that Soth is like the Coldplay of photography which is a bit cruel but not too cruel. To be fair, someone else said he was the Leonard Cohen of photography which is so, so, so much nicer.

So it got me thinking who are the musical equivalents of photographers. It was said that you can't really compare the two, but that didn't stop people when I put up a post wondering at who would be who in musical terms. These are the answers below - and feel free to add more diverse photographers and music as we go.

 Somebody asked if there was a prize. There isn't but if there was, it would go to Markus Schaden for his suggested match up of Cindy and Bert (no, me neither, but I do now) to Andreas Gursky. This is Cindy and Bert's version of Paranoia by Black Sabbath, given a Holmesian twist.

If you watch only one thing today, watch this...

And enjoy the rest of the answers, some fit perfectly some don't. And nobody was too cruel, for the most part...





Alec Soth

Alec Soth = coldplay!

Alec Soth = Leonard Cohen

Roger Ballen

Roger Ballen is Die Antwoord, but everyone knows that :-)
or Throbbing Gristle
not quite




Daido Moriyama

Moriyama / Tom Waits
 Good call
 yes both are equally irritating and forced.

Rinko Kawauchi 

Rinko Kawauchi is Ryuichi Sakamoto

 I was going to say Rinko - Bjork

Rankin 

Rankin are Boyzone
Nah, Rankin is the Spice Girls (not in a bad way).
the spice girls weren't that bad... its a bit cruel to call them Rankin...
Stephen Shore is Dylan.

Rankin is definitely Nickelback.

Diane Arbus 

Diane Arbus - Patti Smith

Diane Arbus is Janis Joplin



 Malick Sidibe

Malick Sidibé / Fela Kuti




Chris Kilip

 Chris Killip is Richard Thompson

Ivars Gravlejs

Ivars Gravlejs is Stump




Niall McDiarmid 

Niall McDairmid is Blur.

 Niall McDiarmid is more Proclaimers than Blur....

Mark Cohen 

Mark Cohen is Talking Heads



 Bjork is more Maisie Cousins

 I dunno, bjork is too ethereal...




Eugene Smith 

Eugene smith - Bob Dylan

 Wolfgang Tillmans 

Tillmans - Brian Eno

 nailed it

Gareth McConnell

 Gareth Mcconnell - Cocó Rosie

Anna Fox

Anna Fox = some punk maybe The Slits? or Blondie? 

Zanele Muholi

Zahele Muholi = M.I.A ?  

Ernest Cole

Ernest Cole / Public Enemy

...Or Gordon Parks





Erwin Blumenfeld 

Blumenfeld is Bowie.

Georgiu Pinkhassov

Pinkhassov Cocteau Twins

No - he's a Cocteau Twins Album cover

Irving Penn

Irving Penn is Cole Porter



Who's Miles Davis?


Miles Davis - Atget

Frederick Sommer

Robert Frank

I suggest Thomas Ruff.

Huger Foote

Larry Clarke - think about it without prejudice.

 I think Paul Graham is Miles Davis. Both aloof and both continually re-inventing themselves.

 yes!

 hmmm - how much does PG actually re-invent... Miles really did go from Kind of Blue to On The Corner past In A Silent Way... MD broke every rule - every sound - every genre...



Cindy Sherman

Cindy Sherman is Blondie

Vivian Maier

Joan Baez

Billie Holiday

Vivian Maier is Lesley Gore

Dayanita Singh

Dayanita Singh = Nina Simone

The Becher's 

Philip Glass is the Becher’s

Bernd and Hilla Becher - Cindy & Bert (see top)


Lee Friedlander 

Friedlander is Thelonious Monk


Nan Goldin 

Dare I say Nan Golding / Dolly Parton....

Nan Goldin is Björk

this is an interesting one...

 I would have went more punk... maybe Sonic Youth

Nan Goldin is Nico


William Eggleston 

Eggleston / Creedence

Eggleston is Elvis

Susan Barnett

Odyssey


Juergen Teller

Juergen Teller / Boney M

Haha



Keep 'em coming. I'm having my consciousness raised. Feel free to ask questions - like Who's Robertino, or who's Billy Holiday?

Yousuf Karsh

Billy Holiday is Karsh


Ralph Eugene Meatyard

 Is there a prize? Ralph Eugene Meatyard is Nick Cave.

 I’d say Ralph Eugene Meatyard is Hasil Adkins.




Arthur Tress

Arthur Tress? Arthur Brown



Lewis Baltz

Lewis Baltz.......Philip Glass (early).

lot of competition for Glass. Uta Barth?

Gursky is Glass

 Gursky / barbie girl by aqua (I think it was played on art zoo while his work was shown and I can't disasociate the two)




Radiohead?

 Jeff Wall is Radiohead

 I was thinking Trent Parke


John Myers

John Myers is Jarvis Cocker


Christopher Anderson 

Christopher Anderson has to be David Bowie - nearly every project is different from the last!


Don McCullin

Don McCullin - The Beatles.


Elliot Erwitt

Elliott Erwitt- Madness


Matt Black 

Matt Black - Godspeed You! Black Emperor




Who is Milli Vanilli

Andreas Serrano?



Who’s Tom Wood?

My music knowledge just wouldn’t do him justice.

...the Libertines?

Like it. I was thinking more 70s but yes that’s good, like it.


Bryan Adams

Bryan Adams is...Bryan Adams! (Do with this what you wish)


Sebastiao Salgado 

Salgado- Brahms


Antoine d'Agata

Antoine d'Agata is Trent Reznor

 not a chance. More like baby metal.


Bruce Davidson

Bruce Davidson / Bob Dylan



Philip Jones Griffiths

Philip Jones Griffiths- The Doors


David Hurn

 David Hurn - Manic Street Preachers



Laurie Simmons

 Laurie Simmons is Talking Heads not Cindy Sherman lol


Vanessa Winship 

Vanessa Winship - Janis Joplin?

 oh yes!


Peter Hujar

 Peter Hujar - Lou Reed


Sally Mann

Sally Mann - Joni Mitchell

 I was thinking patti smith also


David LaChapelle

David LaChapelle is Prince, channelling Grace Jones and Boy George.



Stephen Shore

Stephen Shore / Jack Kerouac. Ok, ok, I know he's a writer, but it feels so right and I always wonder when I read Kerouac, if Shore was inspired by him at all, for his road trips.



Anton Corbin 

Anton Corbin/joy division

Krass Clement is Joy Division



Walker Evans

Walker Evans is? Tempted to say Mozart?


Who is Kraftwerk?

Thomas Demand

Good call.

 Thomas Demand is Paperlace




Martin Parr

Martin Parr is The Beatles

 You mean the Beatles spng hopladee hoplada on repeat?

 I mean they started off good but then as time goes on you realise how “establishment” they are.

Martin Parr - David Byrne

Martin Parr - U2

 Martin Parr as the Elton John of the photoworld is for me the most obvious one.

Elton John? No mate just no! An insult to Elton

 Elton is certainly as bitchy in private as Martin Parr’s photographs.

You're all wrong. He's somewhere  between Ivor Cutler and the Wurzels....