Jump to ratings and reviews
Rate this book

Terryworld

Rate this book
Edgy and intriguing, this collection is compiled by fashion photographer Terry Richardson who has also photographed porn stars, transsexuals, hillbillies, friends, pets, and celebrities, as well as himself. His work projects a world where taboos are null and void, and fashion finds sex a perfect fit. 3-8228-2255-8$59.99 / Taschen America LLC

288 pages, Hardcover

First published December 1, 2004

3 people are currently reading
224 people want to read

About the author

Terry Richardson

82 books38 followers
Richardson has shot campaigns for Marc Jacobs, Aldo, Supreme, Tom Ford, and Yves Saint Laurent among others. He has also done magazine editorials for publications such as Rolling Stone, GQ, Vogue, Vanity Fair, i-D, and Vice.
There are several repeating themes in Richardson's work, notably that of putting high-profile celebrities in mundane situations and photographing them using traditionally pedestrian methods, such as the use of an instant camera.
His work also explores ideas of sexuality, with many of the pieces featured in his books Kibosh and Terryworld depicting full-frontal nudity and both simulated and unsimulated sexual acts.
Initially, many of Richardson's subjects would be shot before a white background but he eventually expanded to other backdrops. He is also well known for posing with his subjects, often trading his trademark glasses with them so they may "pretend to be him" and vice versa.

Ratings & Reviews

What do you think?
Rate this book

Friends & Following

Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!

Community Reviews

5 stars
102 (37%)
4 stars
86 (31%)
3 stars
54 (19%)
2 stars
20 (7%)
1 star
11 (4%)
Displaying 1 - 20 of 20 reviews
Profile Image for Louise Wylie.
35 reviews1 follower
August 13, 2012
Say what you will about his photography skills or choice of subjects, he's obviously doing something right.

Some might argue that his photos are disgusting and obscene, and while I'm not necessary arguing against that viewpoint, I actually feel that many of his photos of women are empowering. The women are not victims, they are not forced into having their photo taken; it's almost as if Richardson gives them the freedom and confidence to let loose, to be imperfect and yet completely beautiful.

Yes, there are probably way too many photos of his balls, but there's plenty of other stuff to offend you as well.
36 reviews26 followers
February 23, 2007
His nickname is T-Bone and he takes pictures. Nothing I say in this review can prepare you for what lies inside any better than that.
Profile Image for brian.
63 reviews13 followers
May 24, 2008
i don't really know what to make of him, but my gut tells me he's a hack who's been hit repeatedly with the lucky stick.
Profile Image for Charlie.
10 reviews5 followers
January 4, 2009
Terry Richardson is a great photographer, but man there are way too many pictures of his cock and balls.
Profile Image for Sifuego.
12 reviews16 followers
October 17, 2015
cocks en tits. Great gift to any alien or any other form of Extraterrestrial to explain him where the internet is all about.
540 reviews3 followers
November 14, 2022
If you want to try and understand milennial culture, I think you have to consider Terry Richardson. His work dominated pop culture during the 2000s and 2010s. His American Apparel ads defined a kind of Brooklyn hipster aesthetic that colonized the country through the pages of magazines like Spin, back when magazines were still a thing. His unique style of celebrity photograph is instantly recognizable, and when you picture some of the most famous celebrities of that era, it's his hipster, intentionally amateurish and luridly colorful photographs you are probably thinking of. Richardson was everywhere--at the forefront of new journalism with Vice; shooting cover art for Miley Cyrus' gangsta appropriation phase; following Lady Gaga backstage; and even shooting a video for Beyonce!

Terryworld, a compilation of his work published in 2006, showcases Richardson's interest in sex, his own cock, and female models and celebrities as objectified targets for his own lustful consumption. Of course, what we now know is that Richardson was a mega-creep who committed a series of sex crimes against his female subjects, probably some of whom are included in this book. What read as "playful," "subversive" or transgressive then now clearly gives the ick and with justifiable reason.

Paradoxically, I think this almost makes Richardson a better example of milennial pop cultural attitudes. We were the culture that ignored teenage rape victims in favor of Trapped in the Closet; our eagerness to blow up Bush-era attempts at a re-imposition of 1950s conservative values triggered all manner of retrospectively naive attitudes. We were so quick to show how enlightened we were in terms of sexuality that (like the boomers before us) we sped past issues of consent, objectification and the institutionalized role of the male gaze. To critique violent male-centered porn was to give in to the Bushies; to be troubled by increasingly sexualized expectations of female celebrities was to deny the alleged lessons of contemporary feminism as filtered through the dirty sock that is American pop culture; and giving R. Kelly his due process and ignoring a video of him assaulting a 15 y.o. girl was your civic duty as a dutiful consumer of American mass media. We all wanted the freedom to consume the kind of art where our most famous photographer jerks off on a model's chest and to have that art be mainstream; what we didn't want is to be asked any questions about power dynamics, consent, or rape culture.

This book is therefore a vital document of the era, one that has some compelling and legitimately great photography in it, but its also the gender politics equivalent of a Leni Riefenstahl film.
Profile Image for Ville Verkkapuro.
Author 2 books198 followers
March 4, 2019
Got this in 2013.
Something very intriguing, yet disgusting, in this book. I've "read" it bunch of times, usually with a friend over a glass of wine. The pacing is hilarious at times.
Obviously a lot of sex and nudity.
Photographic equivalent of the movies of Larry Clark and Harmony Korine. I've yet to find a novel that has the same feel.
Profile Image for Paul Skinner.
1 review
October 12, 2022
Modern day take on celebrity and sexuality similar to the photography of Larry Clarke and Ban Goldin
Profile Image for J.M. Kettle.
8 reviews1 follower
December 16, 2024
One of the most provocative photo books ever produced. Intense, sexual, overwhelming.
Profile Image for Dang Ole' Dan Can Dangle.
125 reviews61 followers
August 3, 2016
Terry Richardson captures sex in all its forms. From young to old, from male to female to transsexual, from hetero to homo, from black to white, from unknown to celebrity, from arousing to repulsive, from violent to humorous, from beautiful to ragged, from revved up to worn out, from objectifying to personalizing, from kissing to fucking, from nudist to crossdresser, from rib cage to fat rolls, from masturbation to gang bang, from man to beast; the lens of Terry Richardson do not discriminate. At the same time blurring the differences between these very things. Can beauty be ragged, or the ragged be beautiful? Can arousal repulse, or repulsion arouse? Humor be violent, violence be humorous? The answer of course is yes, and these collected photos do well to exemplify that.

Plus, Sasha Grey and Janelle Fishman are in it, in what is for both of them some of their finest work.
Profile Image for Max Brallier.
Author 93 books683 followers
November 29, 2010
It's definitely not for everyone - but I find his work fascinating.
28 reviews1 follower
March 28, 2012
This book is an excellent addition to the shelves of any lover of pop art and indie fashion. packed with cheeky and funny photos, it is always inspirational to flick through.
Profile Image for Janka.
9 reviews1 follower
August 1, 2012
sick book just like Terry! IN LOVE FOREVER with this man. if you don't like porn don't buy it.
Profile Image for JOEY.
26 reviews3 followers
May 16, 2013
Nasty yet compelling.
Displaying 1 - 20 of 20 reviews

Can't find what you're looking for?

Get help and learn more about the design.