The news of Shawn Mortensen’s death saddens me deeply. He was not just a fearless and brilliant photographer, he was a great human being. Shawn was also responsible for one of the most powerful images in VIBE’s history, the photograph of Tupac Shakur wearing a straitjacket that ran as the cover of the magazine’s February 1994 issue. Naturally, that shot was included when George Pitts and I put together the coffee table book VX: 10 Years of VIBE Photography. In 2003 Shawn and I did a book signing at a gallery in Hollywood to coincide with the taping of the first VIBE Awards. The turnout was bigger than anyone expected. There was a searchlight parked in front of the gallery like the Bat Signal, the DJ was killing it, and the free white wine was flowing. Shawn wore a pinstriped suit and happily tagged up his page of the book over and over for every person who lined up to buy one, no two of them alike. I still have mine. Later he gleefully defaced the oversize blow up of the cover, putting words in 50 Cent’s mouth. Talk about fearless.
Anyway, five years later, I interviewed him for VIBE’s 15th anniversary issue in June of 2008. He was on top of the world. Our conversation reveals the qualities that made his photography so memorable and made him such a good friend. He will be sorely missed.
Go to page 2 below the cover to read the entire interview
Shawn Mortensen's memorable image of Tupac Shakur on the cover of the February 1994 issue of VIBE
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