The Journey is the Destination: The Ryan McGinley Purple Book

The Ryan McGinley Purple Book

"This book is a behind the-scenes look into the making of my photos over the last ten years. I've always loved watching the DVD special features and commentary of my favourite movies to set how it was all done, I guess this Is sort of like my own directors commentary or my making-of. All the stuff you don’t get to see. All the people who help make the pictures happen.

This is a scrapbook from all the cross-country trips i’ve taken. Thousands of miles on the odometer, cutting back and forth across America. Taking a new route every time. Traveling in the name of photography, this is all the stuff you don’t get to see. All the people who help me make the pictures happen. This is my team, my family album, all of the models i’ve loved over the years. These are models who take risks for art. When I look at these photos, I think about all the adventures we’ve had. So many adventures. All the experiments, accidents and mistakes. Learning from trial and error. There’s no instruction manual on how to do this, no recipe, it’s a puzzle. We had to figure all this shit out along the way. Inventing it as we go along. It’s these in-between moments that mean the most to me. They are so close to my heart.

I remember all the long hikes to beautiful, remote locations. The quick renegade shoots on a farmers field. All the summer houses where friends let us stay and shoot on their property. The warm summer nights and the damp, muddy caves. Always having a boombox blasting  rock n roll while I shoot because I want my photographs to look like the Rolling Stones sound.

I remember pulling over to the side of the road to shoot during epic sunsets. Posting lookouts with walkie-talkies so we wouldn’t get caught on private property. Making sure we always stopped at White Sands, New Mexico, on each trip because its my favourite place in the U.S. We called ourselves road warriors. Sleeping on garage floors, driving for hours on end. Navigating by GPS, our best friend and worst enemy. We ate over campfires, hand rolling cigarettes. I made peanut butter and jelly sandwiches each morning for everyone. We gave each other home made tattoos to commemorate each trip.

I’ve learned the art of shopping at Walmart for fifteen people on a tight budget. How to fit three people in a double bed at a Super 8 Motel. How to identify poison ivy (I'm still not so good at that). All the equipment. Extension cords, extension ladders. Cave gear, helmets, headlamps, and jumpsuits. Racing to see how fast we could assemble the trampoline (twenty minutes if you are experienced). Getting deals on buying boxes of fireworks in bulk. The generators, reflectors, pelican cases, dry bags. Unpacking hundreds of rolls of film each week.

Smoke machines, snow machines spotlights, sunscreen and bug spray. Trampolines and airbags to make my models fly. The waterjugs, the ATVS, tripods, rubber boots, and first aid kits. Sleeping bags and tents. A thousand veggie footlongs from subway and a thousand arguments over whether or not we should eat Taco Bell. My favourite gas station Kum & Go (haha).

Life is just more exciting with a camera in hand. Taking pictures feels right, more right than anything else in life. I have to respect the honour the insanity of it all. Photography is where we live. I’m going if you’re going. This is the road trip. This is how we do it. Join the circus and run away from home. The journey is the destination."

Produced as a supplement alongside Purple Fashion Magazine issue 19, Spring/Summer 2013. 

Condition: Very Good