Eric Kroll Portrait Photography

Silver gelatin print The present work is hand signed with the artist's copyright, dated 1983, and titled on the back. It is numbered 3 of an edition of only 10. On October 3, 1983, Madonna headlined a memorial concert in honor of Michael Stewart, a graffiti artist in the midst of the AIDS crisis who became a victim of police brutality. Madonna was only 24 years old in 1983, but had already signed her first record deal and was on the cusp of superstardom. In 1984, the year after Madonna appeared in Kroll's shoot, she would release chart hits Like A Virgin, Material Girl and Crazy For You, cementing her place as an international star. This photograph was taken by renowned photographer and editor Eric Kroll backstage at Danceteria - a gritty and popular after hours club and concert venue on West 21st Street in Manhattan, operating out of the first three floors in an old industrial 12-story building. The visible text "ACCUTUNKTIONA TO THE POINT!" and "UNK" are actual, gritty wall graffiti from the venue, adding to the candid nature of the shot. Eric Kroll is a notable photographer, best known for his many fetish subjects, and for documenting America’s seediest spots and denizens, sharing a certain aesthetic with fellow photographers Larry Clark and Richard Kern...