Audition for a Commission, Part Two Chris Tardio’s experience of being photographed by Rodney Smith transcends her wildest dreams.
Charles Day: We left our meeting with Rodney thinking maybe this will happen. I may have even said to him, could we do it in the UK, at least I have family there. He finally agreed, “yeah, I’m sure I could find somewhere in the UK that would work.”
The day before the shoot Rodney goes off by himself to scout. He called quite late and said, “I saw five different locations and the one I think will be really interesting is two hours outside of London. If you’re up for it, we have to leave at 5:30 am.”
We arrived at Packwood House, a 500 year-old ancestral home, and the grounds are just extraordinary. But even more extraordinary are the topiaries, so immense that it takes a whole year to trim them before the gardeners start all over again. Based on the precision of Rodney’s shots, we imagine that he must have spent the entire night blocking stuff out, but nothing could be further from the truth.
Chris Tardio: Watching his creative process was remarkable. So instinctual. He goes into a brand new environment and walks the grounds imagining different ideas. He starts to investigate something and then says, “no, this is not the right place”. And then he walks some number of feet away and says, “yes, I can see this”.
And suddenly I’m in a magical place with a magical spirit directing me and photographing me in magical clothes that I’d never wear in my life. It was surreal in the best possible way, because it was a fantasy day. I never knew what was going to happen next.
It was one of the great moments of my life, no question about it.
Earlier in my career I worked with Oprah on a Richard Avedon shoot and an Annie Leibovitz shoot, obviously creative geniuses in their own right. Clearly they were in command of their sets. But there was a sweetness and a kindness and a gentleness about how Rodney worked that was different from Avedon and Leibovitz, particularly his connection to his team and to his subjects.
Great art comes from a collaboration between subject and visionary, which I never realized until I was the one being photographed. I think it’s absolutely true to say that photograph captured a different part of me.
This commission was never about having a hero shot for our dining room. It was never about that. It was about the experience of being in Rodney’s world. Because Rodney’s world is a place that is fascinating and mystical and mythical and intellectual. And you just want to be part of that.
If you missed Part 1 or care to re-read it, click here
