RIP

I met Shawn Mortensen in late October, 2007, in Portland, when a colleague at Neverstop and I casted the fall launch of Nike Sportswear. I didn’t know his work, and couldn’t really understand why there was this apparent buzz around him. He was also very enthusiastic, and laid back, not a sign of pessimism– this made me very nervous* as I’d been used to working with more “intense” people, particularly photographers. In retrospect, I appreciated how free and easy he was.

Back in New York I was eating a La Esquina, and found myself totally captivated by the photo exhibit on the wall– it was a series of images of Zapatistas(see photo). Upon further inspection, I found it was Mortensen’s work. I also discovered that I’d been spelling his name wrong, so I had never been able to research him properly! Thus, discovering his portfolio came as quite a shock to me, and I realized how fortunate I was to have worked with him.

Last night I read that he’d passed. He leaves us with a great legacy of portraiture, especially from the core of a lot of great scenes from what seems to be the last semblance of the recent “underground” past of our most popular fixtures of “street” culture in its last flickers of authenticity.

Sincerest condolences to his loved ones.

*Its often difficult to believe in people’s kindness without strings attached. Its a rare person that breaks this worry

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