At first, the images were published without major incident. But everything changed when the young model in the photos became the world-famous star of Pretty Baby and The Blue Lagoon . Seeing her childhood image now tied to her celebrity, a 17-year-old Brooke Shields sought to regain control.
: Broad consent forms were signed, granting the photographer the rights to use and publish the images for commercial purposes.
The series is a controversial collection of photographs taken by fashion photographer Garry Gross garry gross the woman in the child better
He framed her at ten, lips parted like a secret she hadn't learned to keep.
after Garry Gross
Prince titled his appropriated piece deliberately borrowing the name of a famous 1923 photograph by Alfred Stieglitz that depicted the gelded groin of a workhorse. By placing the image of the sexualized child model under this title, Prince intended to critique the commercialization, sexualized advertising, and spiritual void of contemporary American media culture. Gross objected to the unauthorized use, resulting in an out-of-court settlement and a small payment from Prince. Institutional Controversies
In 1975, Garry Gross conceived a photographic concept exploring what he described as the "flirtatiousness" and "coquettishness" found in young children. To bring this artistic vision to life, he hired Brooke Shields—then a relatively unknown child model represented by the Ford Agency. At first, the images were published without major incident
By 1988, Brooke Shields was an adult (22 years old) and a Princeton graduate. She had come to despise the photographs. In a famous interview, she described feeling violated, recalling that Gross had posed her with a mouthful of dark lipstick and whispered directions that made her feel “like a thing.”
As Shields reached her late teens and achieved mainstream fame (notably after the 1978 film Pretty Baby ), she and her mother, Teri Shields, attempted to stop the further sale and use of these photographs. : Broad consent forms were signed, granting the