FEATURE:
Madonna’s Eponymous Debut Album at Forty
IN THIS PHOTO: Madonna on New York’s Lower East Side in June 1983/ALL PHOTOS: Richard Corman
An Icon Back in Focus: Will We Get a Reissue of Richard Corman’s Madonna NYC 83?
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ON 27th July…
the world will celebrate forty years of Madonna’s eponymous debut album. A seismic moment in Pop history, on that day, she will be performing at the BOK Center in Tulsa, Oklahoma as part of Celebration Tour. As we are heading slowly towards, it reminded me of an important anniversary that happens then. Photographer Richard Corman took a series of shots of the rising popstar in New York in June of that year. A month before her debut came out, she was definitely known and getting attention - though it would be a few months before her third single, Holiday, firmly put her in the spotlight. The photos he took occur during a fascinating time. With her name and sound on the music map, this was before her debut came out and took her to the next level. Whereas future photoshoots very much framed her as a superstar, icon or someone who had this fame, Corman’s June ’83 photos are very natural. There is elegance and a certain sense of stardom, but there is also something quite intimate, modest, and down to earth about the photos. Aged twenty-four, this was a woman who was already very confident of her direction and talent. Whilst Madonna has come through a number of transformations when it comes to her look and style, I think her 1983 aesthetic and photos are among the most enduring and memorable of them all. Richard Corman realty brought something special from her in N.Y.C.
Back in 2013, a book was announced that collated shots from that June 1983. A ninety-six-page book was published - but it seems to have gone out of print now. There are used copies I think that cost quite a bit, but as we are nearing forty years since those shots were taken, surely it is time to reissue a book that chronicles such an important photoshoot of this exciting Pop artists already exuding this combination of girl-next-door and megastar. It must have been wonderful for Corman to get the opportunity to shoot with Madonna. It was also very lucky of those in N.Y.C. who were in some of the photos! Little did they know that the Bay City, Michigan-born artist was soon going to become an international icon:
“This book represents a period in time, circa early 80's where fearlessness, creativity and a relentless attitude to transform ones style moved forward at all costs. Failure was never an option as it only inspired those individuals to create more and drive themselves harder. Madonna represented this sensibility like no one else; she was and remains an original whose self-determination moved her into an arena that today still maintains relevance unlike anyone else. Photographer, Richard Corman met Madonna on a whim in 1983 and created a brief but bountiful collection of images that truly represented a diverse portrait of Madonna and NYC that remains timeless and significant in 2013. MADONNA NYC 83 is not only homage to Madonna and the 80's, but also a collage of energy, exuberance, humour, fashion, sexiness and performance that continues to inspire!”.
There is a lot of celebration this year. Madonna is working on new material and will tour from the summer. But most of the focus away from the tour concerns her debut album. Its fortieth anniversary is an important moment, so people after going to be hungry for releases such as an expanded edition of Madonna or reissues of books and that mark that time. I think the Richard Corman N.Y.C. shoot of ’83 is one of the most important of her career. I would like to own the book and look through these shots of Madonna on the Lower East Side. There are so many captivating shots, having them in a physical format that you can revisit is what so many fans would want. It also stands as this documentation and representation of a time when she was just breaking through. I love seeing the backdrops and scenery in the photos. I have never been to the Lower East Side…but seeing it in 1983 gives me that pang and need to go there one day! As Madonna is getting a lot of criticism in the press and general judgment (which is nothing new!), it would be a timely reminder that here is someone who was influential, important, and incredible forty years ago. The same person they feel the need to take to task and objective all these years later! Photographed in June 1983, it was a time when she was readying her debut album for the world. What an exciting time it must have been capturing this young artist…
ABOUT to explode.