Juergen Teller: Notes about My Work

Teller’s tongue-in-cheek response to the reception of his 2021 W magazine celebrity portfolio.

“I never really think of anyone as models, even the models,” Juergen Teller (born 1964) has said. It was with these beliefs in mind that Teller approached his photographs for the 2021 Best Performances issue of W magazine. Notes about My Work is Teller’s response to the feedback on this controversial portfolio.
Best Performances is an annual issue of W, showcasing movie stars. In Los Angeles Teller photographed 28 actors, from Michelle Pfeiffer and George Clooney to Steven Yeun and Otmara Marrero, all posing with cars. W was delighted with the result, yet online reactions were mixed. Teller was praised as “a perfect choice” for his “aversion to excess glamour,” but also subject to much misinterpretion of his tone and methods. This book presents Teller’s selection of screenshots of some of these “notes about his work”—a mirror onto social media.