tech
'Prince laughed like a kid as I painted “Free” on his stomach’: Steve Parke’s best photograph
'The art director wanted it to read “1999”. But Prince wasn’t having that. So the next thing I knew, I was writing “Free” on him with my fingers in cold paint'
TL;DR
- Steve Parke aspired to work for Prince from a young age, photographing local bands in high school and college.
- He connected with Prince's band through Sheila E.'s guitarist, eventually showing his artwork to Prince.
- Parke became Prince's in-house art director and photographer at Paisley Park from 1988 to 1996.
- He describes a photoshoot for Notorious magazine where Prince chose to have the word 'Free' painted on his stomach instead of '1999'.
- Parke personally painted 'Free' on Prince's stomach, capturing a candid moment where Prince laughed due to the cold paint.