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Picturing Prince: An Intimate Portrait
Featuring a mix of never-seen-before and rare photographs of Prince, alongside written vignettes about working at Paisley Park with the icon, Steve Parke's book is essential for Prince fans
PICTURING PRINCE sees the late icon's former art director, STEVE PARKE, revealing stunning intimate photographs of the singer from his time working at Paisley Park. At least half of the images in the book are exclusively published here for the first time; most other images in the book are rare to the public eye.
Alongside these remarkable images are fifty engaging, poignant and often funny written vignettes by Parke, which reveal the very human man behind the reclusive superstar: from shooting hoops to renting out movie theatres at 4am; from midnight requests for camels to meaningful conversations that shed light on Prince as a man and artist.
STEVE PARKE started working with Prince in 1988, after a mutual friend showed Prince some of Steve's photorealistic paintings. He designed everything from album covers and merchandise to sets for Prince's tours and videos. Somewhere in all of this, he became Paisley Park's official art director. He began photographing Prince at the request of the star himself, and continued to do so for the next several years. The images in this book are the arresting result of this collaboration.
Biographical Notes
STEVE PARKE is photo editor for Faerie Magazine. He worked as art director for Prince at Paisley Park for fourteen years. As a photographer, his clients have included Prince, David Bowie, Bon Jovi, Bob Dylan, Sheila E., AC/DC and more. He lives in Baltimore, USA.
PICTURING PRINCE sees the late icon's former art director, STEVE PARKE, revealing stunning intimate photographs of the singer from his time working at Paisley Park. At least half of the images in the book are exclusively published here for the first time; most other images in the book are rare to the public eye.
Alongside these remarkable images are fifty engaging, poignant and often funny written vignettes by Parke, which reveal the very human man behind the reclusive superstar: from shooting hoops to renting out movie theatres at 4am; from midnight requests for camels to meaningful conversations that shed light on Prince as a man and artist.
STEVE PARKE started working with Prince in 1988, after a mutual friend showed Prince some of Steve's photorealistic paintings. He designed everything from album covers and merchandise to sets for Prince's tours and videos. Somewhere in all of this, he became Paisley Park's official art director. He began photographing Prince at the request of the star himself, and continued to do so for the next several years. The images in this book are the arresting result of this collaboration.
Biographical Notes
STEVE PARKE is photo editor for Faerie Magazine. He worked as art director for Prince at Paisley Park for fourteen years. As a photographer, his clients have included Prince, David Bowie, Bon Jovi, Bob Dylan, Sheila E., AC/DC and more. He lives in Baltimore, USA.
224 pages, Hardcover
Published April 6, 2017
52 people are currently reading
149 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 24 of 24 reviews
August 4, 2022
A wonderful tribute that all Prince fans will appreciate. The vignettes are touching and the photos stunning. Prince was not only handsome, he was a beautiful man and these intimate portraits prove that.
April 22, 2018
A must-read for any Prince fan. A stunning collection of photos and stories from Steve Parke, who worked for Prince for 13 years and clearly cared for him deeply.
October 25, 2017
Beautiful photos, wonderful stories! I’m always excited to see Prince from a different perspective than what we as admirers see. Seeing things from Steve’s eyes made it more special since all of us who have been into Prince since the early days are all familiar with Parke’s work! Thank you Steve!
September 27, 2017
This book was a really nice glimpse at Prince as a person and not, simply Prince with a capital P. Steve's conversational tone in sharing his stories made it seem personal and like I was reading something just for me. A few of the stories made me think about Prince in a completely different way, which is a good thing. If you're a fan of Prince, you'll be a fan of this book.
January 9, 2018
Beautiful rare and known photos of Prince. I just miss this musical genius. The author and photographer did an excellent job!
January 12, 2018
I wasn't sure about this book to begin with, when just glancing through the pictures which felt filtered or manipulated, but it only took a few pages for me to be completely hooked. Steve Parke provides such detailed and vivid memories of his time with Prince, the photos just seemed to compliment them.
I loved this glimpse into life at Paisley Park and also Steve's friendship with Prince, which seemed so personal and yet he still revered him as a music idol too. He presented this juxtaposition and the surreal feeling of working for/with him really well in the moments he chose to share with us, the reader.
I had higher hopes for Sheila E's foreword, hoping to catch a glimpse of her time with Prince, but it was very devoid of anything personal, just a summation of how the world felt about his passing.
The only thing I would have liked was an index of the photos with dates & album/location reference. The index in this book seemed very odd to me and not at all fitting with the rest of it.
Having also read 'Prince: A Private View' by Afshin Shahidi just before this one, I see how they compliment each other, with Steve's time being before Afshin's.
I loved this glimpse into life at Paisley Park and also Steve's friendship with Prince, which seemed so personal and yet he still revered him as a music idol too. He presented this juxtaposition and the surreal feeling of working for/with him really well in the moments he chose to share with us, the reader.
I had higher hopes for Sheila E's foreword, hoping to catch a glimpse of her time with Prince, but it was very devoid of anything personal, just a summation of how the world felt about his passing.
The only thing I would have liked was an index of the photos with dates & album/location reference. The index in this book seemed very odd to me and not at all fitting with the rest of it.
Having also read 'Prince: A Private View' by Afshin Shahidi just before this one, I see how they compliment each other, with Steve's time being before Afshin's.
September 29, 2020
Read this when it was first published, and was touched by the stories Parke's seamlessly folded into the text on working for Prince at Paisley Park. Steve shows how he and Prince bonded over their nerdy love of music, art, and brainstorming into the wee hours. The way Parke's writes about his decade with Prince is not fawning, not bitter, not delusional, like so many others who have written about PRN; instead, these are literal and written snapshots of living in the moment with a great artist, with all its angles: humor, sadness, and occasional diva behavior. Out of the many memoirs I've read, this is the only one that feels natural and 100% honest. Thanks, Steve! PS-the pic of Mayte and Prince in Spain with the bottle cut out is supernaturally good.
October 29, 2022
What a wonderful portrait of Prince by someone who worked so close with him for so many years. I smiled (and cried) throughout the whole book when reading it. Steve captured Prince perfectly, not only in the photos he took of him but also the interaction between them, Prince’s way of thinking, how he saw the world and what he thought of certain things: not only the Prince you always saw on stage, but also Prince as a human being, with feelings, the same feelings you and me have. I found it exhilarating to read it: the moments they shared, the stories and jokes behind the photos and videos. Thank you for sharing this with us. I loved every minute of it, it is definitely a must read if you are a fan of Prince.
October 8, 2017
Prince’s former art director and photographer has crafted a book that is a must-have for any Prince fan. Steve Parke’s photos and firsthand stories bring this book to life. The pictures seem to jump off the pages. Everything about this book is beautiful, starting with the cover. The reader is blessed with a behind-the-scenes look at an icon. Parke worked with Prince for over a decade, so he has a lot of stories to share, some humorous and some sad. I have visited Paisley Park, so it was very interesting to see photos and learn a bit more from someone who was there with Prince. This book is one that is likely to be treasured for years to come.
November 21, 2017
It's taken me forever to get my hands on this book - everyone else at my library had requested it before me. It's truly extraordinary - you get used to these tour memoirs, backstage photos accompanied by accounts of band drama and girlfriend hijinks - but Steve took his pictures largely at Paisley Park, where he worked long hours in a little office creating everything from stage backdrops to album covers to airbrushing an eye on Prince's bass. He describes late-night work sessions, sharing music, and getting to eavesdrop on studio performances - altogether a welcome non-frantic look at a supernova superstar.
August 10, 2019
Steve used to be an employee at Paisley Park. He has a special relationship with Prince, it shows Prince's human qualities. Also, the book has some really unique photograph of Prince. Some I liked and others not so much, but I enjoyed the book. This was a free Kindle book on Amazon.com. Give it a try, enjoy!
November 25, 2018
Quick read with nice photos.
Interesting to see the progression of digital camera / photoshop abilities.
Wonderful to read snippets of memories of working alongside Prince without any dirt and controversy.
Interesting to see the progression of digital camera / photoshop abilities.
Wonderful to read snippets of memories of working alongside Prince without any dirt and controversy.
June 2, 2017
Although the hard copy is still not available in the US, the ebook was an excellent treat. Beautiful photos and entertaining anecdotes.
September 17, 2017
A must-have for any hardcore Prince fan, full of beautiful photos and fun stories that shed a little more light on the ever-mysterious icon.
December 26, 2017
The anecdotes are a great compliment to the photos! Definitely shares some new sides of Prince. I loved it.
June 8, 2018
I enjoyed the private pictures and short stories about Prince from a co-worker/friend's perspective. They confirm what God told me about the "inner Prince".
September 10, 2018
A very personal and intimate look at a man that I will always mourn not having the chance to meet..
October 28, 2018
Beautifully packaged book. Amazing photos. Wonderful anecdotes.
February 1, 2019
Great little coffee table book filled with anecdotes and stories about the greatest musician ever to have lived.
August 7, 2019
Amazing!
Always good to hear from someone who actually got to know Prince in some form. Thank you Steve Parke for sharing your story.
Always good to hear from someone who actually got to know Prince in some form. Thank you Steve Parke for sharing your story.
September 10, 2019
A must for every Prince fan
December 2, 2020
Review
This was a really fascinating book. I have always been a Prince fan. The photos were great and it was nice to hear a first hand account.
This was a really fascinating book. I have always been a Prince fan. The photos were great and it was nice to hear a first hand account.
June 18, 2021
Great stories and wonderful photos by Steve Parke on the amazing Prince.
August 14, 2023
What’s not to love about pictures and stories of Prince? What a beautiful man and soul.
Displaying 1 - 24 of 24 reviews