Ethan James Green

JACKET, TOP AND PANTS: PRADA. BELT: SUZI ROHER. STYLING: ELIN SVAHN. HAIR: TOMO JIDAI FOR MOROCCAN OIL/STREETERS. MAKEUP: SALLY BRANKA/LGA MANAGEMENT. MANICURE: GINA EDWARDS FOR DIOR VERNIS/KATE RYAN.  PRODUCTION: BO ZHANG. DIGITAL TECHNICIAN: ERICA CAPABIANCA.  

“The next great artists need to have a connection to create positive change. There isn’t really anything else worth talking about.” —Ethan James Green

AGE: 26.

OCCUPATION: I am a portrait photographer documenting the current downtown kids. I’ve always wanted to make some sort of a positive impact with what I do; I just never knew how or where to start. After working for David Armstrong, I fell in love with the work he did of his friends in the ’70s and ’80s. They were still living in his pictures, and I wished so badly these people were still walking the streets of New York. I then decided to quit photographing models, made business cards, and hit the street looking for subjects who shared this originality. I was extremely lucky, as one of the first people I approached was Hari Nef.

WHAT ARE THE GREATEST CHALLENGES FOR YOUR GENERATION? It’s so easy to sit on the sidelines and be cynical today. Society’s biggest problem today is the same as it has been throughout history—becoming united. I think the next great artists need to have a connection to create positive change. There isn’t really anything else worth talking about.

WHAT IS YOUR GREATEST ACCOMPLISHMENT? I am most proud of my ongoing portrait series. I have had the chance to photograph so many talented and intelligent people who are making New York what it once was again—people keep saying something important is happening. These kids are the new icons.

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