182. Richard Corman
b. 1954
Madonna, June 17, 1983 Sixty-six Polaroid prints, fourteen mounted. Each 3 1/4 x 3 1/4 in. (8.3 x 8.3 cm) Each signed and dated on the verso or the mount. Accompanied by the signed book Madonna 66 (NJG Publishing, 2016) and the original flm treatment for Cinde Rella - A Rock Fable. Estimate $60,000-80,000 Provenance Directly from the artist Literature Corman, Madonna 66 Actual size
On June 17, 1983, Richard Corman photographed Madonna for the flm treatment of Cinde Rella – A Rock Fable. The proposed flm was slated to star Madonna as Cinderella in a “gentle spoof” of the original fairy tale; rather than a glass slipper, it would be her voice that revealed her identity to Prince Charming, and the classic ‘happily-everafer’ ending was adapted to include a music contract. At the time, Corman was a budding photographer, having worked as a studio assistant to Richard Avedon. Madonna, on the verge of stardom, was also known for her work as a backup dancer and artist’s model, including for the photographer Lee Friedlander. While the flm was unrealized, the narrative of Cinde Rella unfolded in Madonna’s own career. Just one month following this photoshoot, her self-titled debut album was released. Including the Billboard hits Lucky Star, Borderline, and Holiday, the album would ultimately be certifed 5 times platinum for having sold 5 million albums worldwide. Madonna’s career was launched. Said Corman of Madonna at the time, “her charisma was multi-dimensional. Her physical beauty, her
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fashion, her hair and makeup, her humor, her playful sexiness and her accessibility” (Richard Corman, Madonna 66, 2016, n.p.). Corman, like Andy Warhol and others before him, favored the Polaroid process for the “simplicity” and immediacy that the medium ofered. Due to the instantaneous and playful qualities that are inherent to Polaroids, the resulting prints, each unique, capture Madonna’s club-kid-cool style as a rising star. Seen behind her is a 1980s East Village backdrop that attracted other creative luminaries, including Keith Haring, Jean-Michel Basquiat, and Kenny Scharf, all of whom could be found on any given night at the legendary Club 57 on St. Mark’s Place. The Polaroids on ofer were believed lost for thirty years and have only recently been rediscovered by the artist. As the prints were stored during this time, the color and clarity remains strong. Additionally, the fourteen mounted prints were used as an illustrated accompaniment to the original flm treatment for Cinde Rella.
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