Artwork description:

Untitled (Hip Hop Honeys #45), 2013
Signed, numbered, and dated (archival label, verso)
Digital C-Type Print
30 x 30 in, Edition of 4 + 2 APs, $3500
20 x 20 in, Edition of 10 + 2 APs, $2500
Please note that prices increase as editions sell.

Women have been an essential part of decades’ worth of rap videos yet rarely get the spotlight. The works in the series Hip Hop Honeys attempts to shift attention to these women, giving them at last the well-deserved attention.

For three years, photographer Brian Finke went behind the scenes on hip-hop video shoots for musicians, including Jay-Z, Busta’ Rhymes, and Kanye West, getting to know and photographing the actors and professional models on set, often consulting with them when choosing the best takes from each shoot.

Hop-Hop Honeys—an industry term for this role—is in keeping with Finke’s fascination of photographing people at work. Here, he employs his signature hyper-saturated aesthetic, documenting the models in their everyday work “uniforms,” capturing the imaginative hair, makeup, and styling that give the videos their distinction. But also, behind the glamour and moments of high-octane action are long, often boring hours on set. These long hours of waiting around enabled Finke to expertly capture the range of emotions that he seeks out to photograph—from excitement to tedium and focus to flirtation—“to observe and photograph the scene taking place.”

Materials used:

C-print

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