Before They Were Famous

In Before They Were Famous, multidisciplinary artist David Drebin gathers his best shots of world-famous celebrities, before they hit the big time — whether Charlize Theron before her Oscar win or Steve Jobs before the first iPod. Limited to 1,200 copies, the book is a delightful and fascinating collection of pre-digital era Polaroids, contact sheets, and many of Drebin’s most famous images before they were sold out — Central Park, Girl in the Red Dress, or I love you with Girl. 

We see famous faces every day: campaign shoots, pro­motional pictures, and paparazzi photos plaster the pages of print and digital media. But how did these well­ known personalities present in front of the camera before they made it big, becoming the highly ­recognised celebrities of today? In Before They Were Famous, David Drebin has rummaged through his archive to curate some of his best pictures of today’s most familiar faces. Whether Charlize Theron before her Oscar win, John Legend before he stormed the charts, or Steve Jobs just before the introduction of the legendary first iPod, David Drebin photo­graphed them all on their path to fame.

With this captivating line up, the New York City­ based mul­tidisciplinary artist not only offers an intimate and original look at now world­ famous celebrities, but also shares his own career beginnings presenting images before they were sold out. These limited edition photographs were all created before Drebin, too, became famous, providing a unique and rare document of his own creative journey. Alongside the portraits, the book also shows original works, from femmes fatales to landscapes, which would come to define his practice and are today sold as limited edition photographs in the finest galleries worldwide.

Text in English and German.