Steven Klein's client roster reads like a who's who of entertainment. Madonna, Brad Pitt, Angelina Jolie, David Beckham just to name a few. Far from safe and far from ordinary are his shots. Five portraits new shots are to be shown at the National Portrait Gallery in London for an exhibit called 'Face of Fashion'. (See advertisement image below) The Times Online in the UK has this really awesome article about Steven's work and his creative process in creating his photographs.
One of Steven's greatest inspirations was Diane Arbus. I am a recent fan of Arbus' work although her work has been around for many years. My boyfriend's mother (HI CACKS!) introduced me to her work and we have gone to a few galleries in the city and seen many of her truly spectacular portraits. Diane Arbus is best known for her stunning black and white portraits. Her work often focused on outsiders, such as transvestites, those with a handicap, prostitutes or just ordinary people in their own natural settings. It's her ability to capture such realness without an ounce of it feeling contrived that makes her a genius. Klein says of Arbus' work - "I loved her simplicity, her empathy for the subject. She gave everyone dignity and photographed them in their place while lifting them out of that place, too."
Klein studied art in various forms through his youth and education but said he "...didn’t want to be on my own so I was forced into being a photographer." His painting background weighs heavy in his current work. "I wasn’t influenced by seeing too much. For my work to-day, I accept my photographs look like paintings, but I don’t reference or duplicate other paintings when I make them. The painting is in me.”
In the shot above, Kevin Federline, Britney’s ex-husband, is shot with his throat slashed. Klein explains that "a portrait is a representation of a person and a slash across a throat is the equivalent of a brushstroke. It’s like a classical painting. The slash, the make-up, is a mask that reveals who the person is. For me, the break in the skin shows that all portraits are lies. To see through the skin is to see someone’s reality.” The article states that the violence of the picture is made more intriguing when you consider what happened to Federline next: dumped by Spears and fast-tracked to public enemy number one.
Some of his work that you may have seen include Madonna's S&M fueled photography for the promotion of her Confessions Tour (below), Justin Timberlake's bloodied yet erotic pictures shot a few years back with the images burned by flames (below), the Jolie/Pitt spread showing the duo as a slightly off kilter American family of the 1950s (below) or Tom Ford's robotic/hyper sexual spread (below). One of my favorite spreads is one he did with David Beckham (below). Klein said of the shot "Like Brad he’s completely at ease with his masculinity, his femininity, his sexuality. With being looked at. Men work on their bodies. They want to be looked at. At one point he said, ‘Maybe I should put on some black nail polish’.”
I'm constantly in awe of his work. Even though his famous subjects add a dimension of shock and intrigue, it's the entire photograph - the lighting - the setting - the story that says so much more. Check out Steven's official site here. I'd say look out for his work but his work is already in front of your face. His work is everywhere and rightfully so. It's brilliant.
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