Richard Renaldi: Touching Strangers
"Touching Strangers," a monograph by the Chicago-born photographer Richard Renaldi, would have fit nicely as a capstone for Bussard's case studies, as it pushes the notion of street photography even further. Renaldi meets strangers on the street and asks them to touch or embrace one another; he then photographs these arrangements as group portraits.What makes Renaldi's photographs thrilling is that, even knowing his strategy, the viewer can't help fabricating a story about the subjects' relationship. We weave narratives around them - who they are, the unlikely tenderness that might exist between strangers. (Anna AltmanNew York Times, Book Review2014-06-01)...the collection has a captivating strangeness to it that reveals the sensitivity we have about each other's skin. (Allison MeierHyperallergic2014-04-25)Renaldi's bold and revealing new book is the culmination of 6 years worth of portraits showing complete strangers posing in intimate and awkwardly affectionate positions and offer a refreshing perspective on the question of modern detachment. (TIME LightBox2014-04-01)The project began in 2007 when Renaldi began approaching total strangers and asked to photograph them physically interacting with each other. The result was images that display the human tendency toward tenderness and affection than can be found even between complete strangers. (Canbra HodsdonJuxtapoz2014-03-06)Most photographers capture life as it is, but in these strangers, Richard Renaldi has captured something much more ethereal and elusive. He shows us humanity as it could be-as most of us wish it would be-and as it was, at least for those one fleeting moments in time. (Steve HartmanCBS News2013-08-02)Renaldi's unusual photographic formula reveals the unlikely ways the body and the heart can influence each other. (Priscilla FrankThe Huffington Post2013-07-16)The photographer Richard Renaldi is a matchmaker for tense times. (John LelandThe New York Times Lens Blog2013-07-05)Often posing his subjects in a way one might for family or couple photos, Renaldi attempts to capture an "implied narrative," bringing a new complexity to portrait-making and visual storytelling. (Erik TannerTIME Lightbox2011-10-04)