Chris Cuffaro (born April 14, 1960) is an American photographer. Primarily known for his portraits of musicians, Cuffaro has photographed
Michael Hutchence
Michael Kelland John Hutchence (22 January 1960 – 22 November 1997) was an Australian musician, singer-songwriter and actor. Hutchence co-founded the rock band INXS, which sold over 75 million records worldwide and was inducted into th ...
,
Henry Rollins
Henry Lawrence Garfield (born February 13, 1961), known professionally as Henry Rollins, is an American singer, writer, spoken word artist, actor, and presenter. After performing in the short-lived hardcore punk band State of Alert in 1980, Rolli ...
,
George Michael
George Michael (born Georgios Kyriacos Panayiotou; 25 June 1963 – 25 December 2016) was an English singer and songwriter. He is considered one of the most significant cultural icons of the MTV generation and is one of the best-selling musici ...
,
George Harrison
George Harrison (25 February 1943 – 29 November 2001) was an English musician and singer-songwriter who achieved international fame as the lead guitarist of the Beatles. Sometimes called "the quiet Beatle", Harrison embraced Indian c ...
and
Jane's Addiction
Jane's Addiction is an American rock band from Los Angeles, formed in 1985. The band consists of vocalist Perry Farrell, guitarist Dave Navarro, drummer Stephen Perkins and bassist Eric Avery. Jane's Addiction was one of the first bands from t ...
, among others. He was closely associated with the Seattle rock scene of the early 1990s, and frequently photographed artists including
Nirvana
( , , ; sa, निर्वाण} ''nirvāṇa'' ; Pali: ''nibbāna''; Prakrit: ''ṇivvāṇa''; literally, "blown out", as in an oil lampRichard Gombrich, ''Theravada Buddhism: A Social History from Ancient Benāres to Modern Colombo.' ...
and
Pearl Jam
Pearl Jam is an American rock band formed in Seattle, Washington, in 1990. The band's lineup consists of founding members Jeff Ament (bass guitar), Stone Gossard (rhythm guitar), Mike McCready (lead guitar), and Eddie Vedder (lead vocals, guita ...
.
Cuffaro made several music videos. Most notably, he directed the first video for the Pearl Jam song "
Jeremy." Although Pearl Jam's label supported the effort - Cuffaro and
Eddie Vedder
Eddie Jerome Vedder (born Edward Louis Severson III; December 23, 1964) is an American singer, musician, and songwriter best known as the lead vocalist and one of four guitarists of the rock band Pearl Jam. He also appeared as a guest vocalist i ...
had become friends—the label ultimately shelved the black-and-white video, instead commissioning a more commercial video when "Jeremy" was released as a single in 1991.
Composed of 100 photographs, the first exhibition of Cuffaro's photography was held in Los Angeles in 1992. In 2011, his portraits of Michael Hutchence and
INXS
INXS (a word play, phonetic play on "in excess") were an Australian Rock music, rock band, formed as The Farriss Brothers in 1977 in Sydney, New South Wales. The band's founding members were bassist Garry Gary Beers, main composer and keyboar ...
were exhibited in London. Titled ''Michael Hutchence & INXS: Rare & Unseen by Chris Cuffaro,'' it was held at the Gallery Soho.
In 2014, work began on ''Cuffaro's Greatest Hits,''an exhibit based on Cuffaro's 30-year career as a photographer. The exhibitions will be accompanied by a documentary.
Exhibitions
* Ministry: Los Angeles, 1992: Cuffaro's first music photography exhibition was at Ministry Cafe on La Brea Ave. in Los Angeles.
* Greatest Hits: Los Angeles, 2017: Greatest Hits: Los Angeles was a retrospective celebrating the work of Cuffaro, held at
Tower Records
Tower Records is an international retail franchise and online music store that was formerly based in Sacramento, California, United States. From 1960 until 2006, Tower operated retail stores in the United States, which closed when Tower Records ...
on Sunset Blvd. in Hollywood, CA.
* Greatest Hits: Martini Ranch, 2017: took place at Mr. Musichead Gallery on Sunset Blvd. in Hollywood, and celebrated the 30th Anniversary of
James Cameron’s music video "Reach" for the band
Martini Ranch
Martini Ranch was an American new wave band conceived in 1982 by Andrew Todd Rosenthal. The band was composed of Rosenthal (vocals and guitar) and actor Bill Paxton (voices and samples), and featured a similar sound to late 1980s Devo. The Mart ...
.
* Greatest Hits: George Michael, 2018: held at Black Eye Gallery in Sydney, Australia. The exhibition included images from 1987 for the
FAITH
Faith, derived from Latin ''fides'' and Old French ''feid'', is confidence or trust in a person, thing, or In the context of religion, one can define faith as "belief in God or in the doctrines or teachings of religion".
Religious people often ...
video through 1988 for the FAITH Tour. Cuffaro shot the publicity shoot for the label and still photography for George’s music videos including ''
Faith
Faith, derived from Latin ''fides'' and Old French ''feid'', is confidence or trust in a person, thing, or In the context of religion, one can define faith as "belief in God or in the doctrines or teachings of religion".
Religious people often ...
'', ''Monkey'', ''
One More Try,
Father Figure
A father figure is usually an older man, normally one with power, authority, or strength, with whom one can identify on a deeply psychological level and who generates emotions generally felt towards one's father. Despite the literal term "father ...
'' and ''
Kissing a Fool
''Kissing a Fool'' is a 1998 American romantic comedy film directed by Doug Ellin. It primarily stars David Schwimmer, Jason Lee, Mili Avital, Kari Wührer, and Vanessa Angel. Schwimmer was one of the executive producers.
Plot
Max (David Schwim ...
''.
* Greatest Hits: Grunge, 2019: at Blender Gallery in Sydney, Australia. The exhibition included images of
Pearl Jam
Pearl Jam is an American rock band formed in Seattle, Washington, in 1990. The band's lineup consists of founding members Jeff Ament (bass guitar), Stone Gossard (rhythm guitar), Mike McCready (lead guitar), and Eddie Vedder (lead vocals, guita ...
,
Nirvana
( , , ; sa, निर्वाण} ''nirvāṇa'' ; Pali: ''nibbāna''; Prakrit: ''ṇivvāṇa''; literally, "blown out", as in an oil lampRichard Gombrich, ''Theravada Buddhism: A Social History from Ancient Benāres to Modern Colombo.' ...
,
Soundgarden
Soundgarden was an American rock band formed in Seattle, Washington, in 1984 by singer and drummer Chris Cornell, lead guitarist Kim Thayil (both of whom are the only members to appear in every incarnation of the band), and bassist Hiro Yamamo ...
,
Alice In Chains
Alice in Chains (often abbreviated as AIC) is an American rock band from Seattle, Washington, formed in 1987 by guitarist and vocalist Jerry Cantrell and drummer Sean Kinney, who later recruited bassist Mike Starr and lead vocalist Layne ...
,
Mudhoney
Mudhoney is an American rock band formed in Seattle, Washington, in 1988, following the demise of Green River. Its members are singer and rhythm guitarist Mark Arm, lead guitarist Steve Turner, bassist Guy Maddison and drummer Dan Peters. Orig ...
and
Chris Cornell
Christopher John Cornell (né Boyle; July 20, 1964 – May 18, 2017) was an American singer and musician best known as the lead vocalist, rhythm guitarist, and primary lyricist and songwriter for the rock bands Soundgarden and Audioslave. H ...
.
* Greatest Hits: Pearl Jam, 2019: took place at Mr Musichead Gallery in Los Angeles, California, and showed images of
Pearl Jam
Pearl Jam is an American rock band formed in Seattle, Washington, in 1990. The band's lineup consists of founding members Jeff Ament (bass guitar), Stone Gossard (rhythm guitar), Mike McCready (lead guitar), and Eddie Vedder (lead vocals, guita ...
from 1991 to 1992.
* Greatest Hits: Michael Hutchence, 2019: took place at Blender Gallery in
Sydney
Sydney ( ) is the capital city of the state of New South Wales, and the most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Sydney Harbour and extends about towards the Blue Mountain ...
, Australia. The exhibition includes images of Hutchence taken in 1993 for ''Detour'' magazine.
References
External links
Cuffaro Hits (Official Site)Cuffaro Photo (Official Site)Cuffaro Plus (Official Site)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Cuffaro, Chris
1960 births
Living people
People from San Jose, California