Back in 1985, Guzman’s primary responsibility was to act as the creative director for Constance Hansen & Russell Peacock and, if necessary, take responsibility for any aesthetic miscalculations. That these two (working together) photographers had chosen an imagined persona to represent them was not only a nod to the prevailing view that there could only be one eye behind a camera but was also the realization that, for this to work, there needed to be an individual entity that symbolized a shared idea. And, even though there were two eyes looking through the camera, the voice was always to be Guzman.
Constance Hansen was born in NYC. She received a BFA from Pratt Institute. Upon graduating from Pratt Institute, she taught photography at Arts High School in Newark NJ and in 1981, after assisting still life photographer Cy Gross, she opened her own studio in NYC. Russell Peacock was born in the UK and moved to the US at the age of 9. He attended RIT and RISD where he studied photography.
After meeting in 1984, they soon began working together under the name; “Guzman”. Some of their earliest work could be seen in The Village Voice and Interview Magazine including photographs of the bands Love & Rockets and The Tom Tom Club. In 1986 they photographed Debbie Harry for her Rockbird album cover. This was followed with covers for Janet Jackson and Sting. In 1992 they were commissioned by Spin magazine to photograph Kurt Cobain and Courtney Love at there Los Angeles home that became known as the “Family Values” shoot. Other Rock and Hip Hop artists they have photographed; some of which include: Dr Dre, Salt n Pepa, En Vogue, Dinosaur Jr, Sheryl Crowe, Ozzy Osbourne, Missy Elliott, La Monte Young, Yo La Tengo, k.d. lang, Luther Vandross, Alicia Keys, Erykah Badu, Robert Plant & Jimmy Page, Meshell Ndegeocello, Hole, Soundgarden, Ice T, Henry Rollins, Snoop Dogg, Lenny Kravitz, Liz Phair, Neville Brothers, Wu Tang, Iggy Pop and Luscious Jackson. Some Actors photographed include: Rachel Weisz, Ben Kingsley, Vincent D’Onofrio, Tracy Morgan, Ethan Hawke, Susan Sarandon, Julianne Moore, Harry Belafonte, Jamie Foxx and Willem Dafoe. Some artists photographed include: Mickalene Thomas, Carlos Vega, Ellen Jong, Laurie Simmons, Carl D’Alvia, Portia Munson, Lucy Sante, Jerry Saltz, Tschabalala Self, Melora Kuhn, Reginald Madison and Lyle Ashton Harris.
They have also been commissioned advertising campaigns including: Nike (Kelly Award), Puma, Adidas, Evian, Perrier, Tag Heuer, Kookai (Golden Lion Award), Absolut, Samsung, Pepsi, Air France, Virgin Airlines, France Telecom, Loreal, Lancome, Givenchy and Louis Vuitton.
