Mangini Studios by Terry Brown & Gordon Stettinius

ABOUT THE BOOK

For a period spanning eight years or so, Gordon Stettinius, a photographer and a man of average appearance, sporadically visited the Mangini Studio in Richmond, Virginia, to have his portrait taken. Terry Brown, a fine art photographer as well as a commercial portraitist, happened, at that time, to be Mangini’s principal studio photographer.  The first of the styled portraits Brown recorded came about as the result of Stettinius’ disquieting need to experiment with the proud but oft-maligned hairstyle known to some as the permanent wave.

Not long after this initial effort, Stettinius began to sense a sea change in people’s general attitude toward him. After a little social experimentation around town and an abundance of hard-core introspection, the conclusion he drew was indisputable. His friends, he felt certain, had begun to crave his attention.  His loved ones, it seemed, were loving him even more than before. And, more impressive yet, colleagues even had begun to defer to his opinions and wishes on matters of every description.  In the fall of that year, his love life even turned around for the better.

To date, Brown and Stettinius have produced over fifty of these studio portraits.  Taken individually, the images run from believable to the slightly ridiculous. Taken collectively, one has to wonder if these two might have found something more productive to do with their time.

ABOUT TERRY BROWN

Terry Brown, is a commercial photographer and fine artist, out of Richmond, Virginia.  She was part of the artist collaborative FEAST and has been shown widely as a member of that collective and as a fine artist.  Her work is in the collection of the Virginia Museum of Fine Art and the Santa Barbara Museum of Art as well as many private collections.

ABOUT GORDON STETTINIUS

Gordon Stettinius has been exhibited nationally and internationally as a photographer over the last twenty-five years and his work can be found in numerous private and public collections. Stettinius is represented by Robin Rice Gallery in New York and Page Bond Gallery in Richmond, Virginia. Stettinius is also an emeritus member of 1708 Gallery and an adjunct professor at Virginia Commonwealth University.

In 2010, Gordon founded Candela Books, a publishing company, and, to date, they have produced six fine art photography books. In 2011, Gordon founded a fine art photography gallery dedicated to featuring the work of nationally respected photographers. Candela Books + Gallery now inhabits a renovated 3,800 square foot building in the downtown arts district of Richmond, Virginia and is one of the leading advocates for fine art photography in the mid-Atlantic region.