Galella Paparazzi Gift To MoMa

We just had a nice note from Ron Galella. Ron is doing great taking photos, working on numerous book projects and doing photo exhibitions all over the world.

The most incredible news is that Ron’s work has been accepted by The Museum Of Modern Art in New York! This is wonderful news that MoMa has recognized that Paparazzi is a form of art and more importantly that it is the work of Ron, the godfather of this incredible business.

We can not tell you how hard Ron worked to achieve this accolade and he deserves every once of his success and celebrity. We have know Ron for thirty plus years and we remember him standing out on the street for hours in the freezing cold while he was performing his craft. For Ron, it was not just about selling a photo to People Magazine or the National Enquirer, it was his passion. He would have done it all for free.

Back then, many of he celebrities understood Ron’s work, but most of the celebrity Public Relations flack never had a clue. They did not care about anyone’s passion or love for their work as a photographer. What did the PR know about art or culture?

The flack just did not understand why Ron worked the way that he did. So since many of the uncultured PR did not get it, they used their energy into keeping Ron out of events. Kind of like if you were going to tell Matisse that he would have to stand outside of Villa Le Reve and he would have to paint from outside the villa!

Looking back, the unrelenting PR might have been a blessing for Ron who would still do his coverage, but many times from the outside. Do not feel sorry for Ron standing outside of an event. We can not tell you how many times he covered from the outside and People Magazine would end up using his photos for the story. Why would People Mag use Ron’s photos instead of those from the inside? Because his photographs were not posed and Ron understood what the magazines wanted.

So thirty years later Ron is at MoMa and he is the toast of the town around the world. Those PR agents who made trouble for Ron lost their retainers years ago and have nothing to show for their craft.

Today, thankfully, most of the PR agents have an understanding how important Paparazzi is today and it is finally becoming an an art form.

This photo you see here we took in 1979 backstage at a Leif Garrett concert in Houston. Ron always loved that 300 2.8 lens!