Ryan James Caruthers is Stacked
Gorgeous light, custom shelves, and the very best of Steven Meisel's work for Vogue Italia
In each guest edition of Stacked, I invite someone I’m curious about to share a little of what they’re curious about in the form of books, magazines, and print material.
Today, I’m pleased to bring you Ryan James Caruthers. Ryan is funny, charming, looks like a Lemaire model got lost off the runway, and has too many talents to count! But better than all that, he’s got a pure heart. I was so happy to catch up with him for weak martinis a few weeks back and celebrate some exciting news! Follow him for more soon. I’ll be here taking recos for the best (i.e. strong) martini in Los Angeles so we can properly celebrate—please HIT ME UP.
Read on for more from Ryan and if you enjoy this series, share it with a friend. CHEERS
J: Where are you based? What do you do and what does that look like day to day?
R: I’m based in Los Angeles—I live in an apartment at the very top of a hill with my partner and our two dogs in Elysian Valley. I’m a photographer and art director, and I also recently founded Galerie Sycamore—an object gallery with a focus on early-twentieth-century design.
I wear many hats, so my day-to-day can change a lot, but usually my weeks are split between shoots, art direction work, sourcing new pieces for the gallery, and planning for future shoots.
Do libraries, books, or research have any role in your process or projects?
My partner and I are avid book collectors. We have a dedicated library in our home, and we built the shelves specifically to hold our oversized archive. We’ve even cataloged every book we own in a document by author, medium, and genre of work—mostly because we started accidentally buying duplicates (whoopsie daisy, yoo-hoo).
Our library spans many genres, so depending on the project, I really have a lot of great resources to go through. It’s always a treat finding references in unexpected places. Working across disciplines has always been part of my practice; I find the cross-pollination is what makes a project feel fully inspired.
Are there any essential books that have shaped or informed your work? What is it about them?
Seeing Steven Meisel’s work from Vogue Italia in the late ‘90s really changed the way I thought about fashion image-making. It was kind of an ‘a-ha!’ moment, realizing that an editorial was not always just about the clothes—that fashion images could also be art. I have (in my opinion) all the best issues from this period.
I’m also a big fan of books on Claude & Francois-Xavier Lalanne, Herbert List, Carrie Mae Weems, Noguchi, Ruhlmann, and Dunand. I find my work is constantly being informed by different mediums of art.
A book you return to again and again?
Karl Lagerfeld’s Casa Malaparte is always on my mind. Those ghostly images just whisper so beautifully, and I oddly connect with the book on some spiritual level.
What is your favorite bookstore in the world?
Arcana is my favorite in LA. I typically gravitate toward out-of-print books... I love the rare book room at The Strand in NYC.
What sorts of things attract you in a reference image?
It really depends on the medium... but I tend to be more interested in photographs that carry emotional weight and beauty rather than images that rely on shock factor... or visuals that feel trendy. I am always after an evergreen image or reference—longevity is key!
Pick any book from a stack nearest you. What does the last line say?
“Be it as if I were with you. Be not too certain but I am now with you.” Excerpt from the poem ‘Full of Life, Now’ by Walt Whitman.
Read or watch anything interesting lately? Tell me about it.
I sadly can’t say I’ve been reading much lately—but my favorite of all time is Yukio Mishima’s Confessions of a Mask. I recommend it to anyone who will listen. I’ve been watching The Pitt; somehow my anxious brain loves it—“Baby Jane Doe!”
Big thank you to Ryan and as always, thank you for reading,
Jenn