Issue link: http://papercitymagazine.uberflip.com/i/1225773
DOUGLAS FRIEDMAN BY REBECCA SHERMAN I 'm looking at a photograph of Douglas Friedman taken at a Palm Beach gallery reception, camera slung around his neck, shirtsleeves rolled up revealing his tattooed forearms, brushy mustache barely concealing a grin, a cocktail in both hands. He's pulling it off like a rock star. Unlike a lot of photographers who prefer to stay behind the lens, Friedman is as charismatic in front of the camera as the people he has photographed: Hillary Clinton laughing TAKES AIM THE FASCINATOR, OTHERWISE KNOWN AS PHOTOGRAPHER DOUGLAS FRIEDMAN, LEFT NEW YORK FOR MARFA, WHERE HE BUILT FRIEDMAN RANCH AND LAUNCHED A SPECTACULAR RUG COLLECTION WITH KYLE BUNTING. PHOTOGRAPHY COURTESY KYLE BUNTING on the cover of New York magazine; Nate Berkus in a tux, bowtie déshabillé, slicing limes in his kitchen; Mark Anthony slouched on the cover of Billboard in a soaking-wet T-shirt, taking a drag off a cigarette. But Friedman's interiors photography is what really catapulted him into the stratosphere, having shot the homes of Facebook founder Kevin Systrom, designers Christian Liaigre and Kelly Wearster, and many other stars. So, when Paris, London, New York, L.A., and Miami are your oyster — if you're Douglas Friedman — you ditch it all for one of the least overtly glamorous places on Earth: Marfa, Te x a s . N i n e years ago the photographer traded his New York pad for the dusty terrain of West Texas, where he's built a modernist compound. New York exile Donald Judd did the same in 1971, turning Marfa into the world's most remote and minimalist art mecca. From New York City, it takes two flights and three hours by car to get to Friedman's ranch located at the end of a dirt road. In February, Architectural Digest devoted 12 pages to the ranch, where the views are endless, and the terrain ruggedly beautiful. And in a match made in Marfa, Friedman designed the vivid, pieced-cowhide rugs for Friedman ranch, which were made by Kyle Bunting at his Austin studio. They formed the basis for a new collection, Atlas, that Friedman and Bunting launched last month. Bunting has teamed with designers before, but this is Friedman's first venture beyond photography — and it's a standout. Using Italian hides and expert craftsmanship, Bunting interpreted the globe- trotting photographer's vision of place in six rug styles and in colors reminiscent of the high mountain desert. Atlas, through Kyle Bunting, kylebunting.com. Douglas Friedman, Kyle Bunting Atlas cowhide rugs by Douglas Friedman for Kyle Bunting