Anton Corbijn: Werk by Anton Corbijn

by Anton Corbijn

The faces that Anton Corbijn photographs are familiar to anyone with a passing knowledge of popular culture. Rock stars and divas, actors and supermodels, Corbijn’s subjects are not only accustomed to being photographed, their images have reached iconic status. But something happens when a celebrity faces Corbijn’s camera. It isn’t that this groundbreaking photographer imbues his subjects with some artificially imposed mythology. Rather, he allows each person’s own mythology to speak for and against whether it’s the famous photo of David Bowie descending Christ-like from a cross; Luciano Pavarotti with the scowl and wild eyes of a heavy metal rocker; Courtney Love emerging from the ocean like Venus on a wave; or Christy Turlington crouching vulnerably on a treacherous bridge. Corbijn’s easy relationship with the famous—from Michael Stipe and Bono to Salman Rushdie and Danny DeVito—offers him access to decidedly un-glamorous attitudes and poses not often seen in celebrity photos. Yet Corbijn never denies the star power of his subjects. Dazzling and alluring, imaginative and provocative, Corbijn’s pictures are a paean to the artistic skills and visions that have made his subjects as famous as they are beloved.

Genres: Photography

Paperback

First published January 1, 2000

About the author

Anton Corbijn is a Dutch photographer, filmmaker, and video artist. He is best known for his black-and-white portraits of artists shot with slow shutter speeds to allow for the subtle movements and gestures of his subjects. “I feel the imperfection is much closer to how life is than perfection,” the artist has said.

Born Anton Johannes Gerrit Corbijn van Willenswaard on May 20, 1955 in Strijen, Netherlands, Corbijn began shooting local bands at the age 17, before moving to London to work for NME magazine as a staff photographer. He has directed over 80 music videos for a number of musicians, including Nirvana, U2, Depeche Mode, and Joy Division. In 2015, the artist was the subject of the exhibition “Anton Corbijn 1-2-3-4” at the Fotomuseum Den Haag, which included over 300 of his most iconic images. Living and working in The Hague, Netherlands, Corbijn is currently focused on feature-length films.

Reviews

[Gijs Limonard · Rating 5 out of 5]

Exploring the classics in photography; feast your eyes on these works of art; not all masterpieces but plenty to go around to get you inspired. Many of these collections are long out of print; check out the Internet Archive (https://archive.org); many of the timeless classics are made freely available or after signing up, free to (digitally) borrow.