Anton Corbijn

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Anton Corbijn (pronounced [kɔrˈbɛin]) (born May 20, 1955) is a photographer from Strijen in the Netherlands. He is also well known for directing music videos, including Depeche Mode's "Personal Jesus" (1989) and Nirvana's "Heart-Shaped Box" (1993).

He is widely acknowledged by the music industry, mainly for being the creative director of the visual output of prominent bands like U2 and Depeche Mode, having handled the principal promotion and sleeve photography for both for more than a decade.

Contents 1 Career 2 References 3 Style 4 Entertainers Corbijn has photographed 5 Music video filmography 6 Books by Corbijn 7 External links

[edit] Career

Corbijn began taking photographs during a live concert in 1972. In 1979 he moved to London, England and became a regular shooter for the New Musical Express. His first assignment was Bill Haley, but he became best known for his work with such Post-Punk bands as Joy Division and Public Image Ltd. Later, he began to divide his time between America and England, shooting editorially for Spin, Details, Vogue, and Rolling Stone Magazine.

Corbijn decided to move into directing music videos, more or less accidentally. Palais Schaumberg asked him to do one, which he reluctantly accepted. After seeing Video, Propaganda insisted that Corbijn would direct Dr. Mabuse. After that, David Sylvian, Echo & The Bunnymen and Golden Earring asked for his services. Also the renowned industrial EBM act Front 242 was presented Corbijn's artwork and accepted shooting a video with him, it resulted in a very strange version of "Headhunter" due to Corbijn's rather crippled knowledge of the English language at the time^[1]. Nevertheless a milestone in Corbijn's career.

In 1994, after directing various music videos, Corbijn directed a short film about Captain Beefheart for the BBC called Some Yoyo Stuff".

In 2005, Palm Pictures released a DVD collection of Corbijn's music video output as part of the Director's Label series. As well as a 56-page booklet, the DVD also includes outtakes, shorts and documentaries as well as commentaries on various videos from the artists themselves.

Corbijn is due to direct the feature film Control: The Ian Curtis Film, about the life of Joy Division frontman Ian Curtis, in 2006. The film is based on Deborah Curtis's book Touching From A Distance about her late husband and the new bio Torn Apart by longtime Mancunians Lindsay Reade (Tony Wilson's ex-wife) and Mick Middles.

[edit] References

1. ^ An egg or a head ? Anton Corbijn did not really know.

[edit] Style

Corbijn tends to eschew traditional glamour photography, instead favoring a rawer look, often in black-and-white. His subjects appear to be calm and far removed from everyday life. His photographs show raw emotion. His patented and influential style of black and white imagery with stark contrasts on grainy film (sometimes referred to as "overcooked") has been imitated and copied in such extent that it has become a rock cliché and a vital part of the visual language in the 1990s.^{[citation needed]}

[edit] Entertainers Corbijn has photographed

Adam Ant Aimee Mann Annie Lennox Anthony Kiedis Bauhaus Beck Bee Gees Billy Idol Björk Bob Dylan Bono Boy George Brian Eno Brainstorm Bruce Cockburn Bruce Springsteen Bryan Ferry Cabaret Voltaire (band) Cameron Diaz Captain Beefheart Christy Turlington Clint Eastwood Coldplay The Cramps Danny DeVito David Bowie David Byrne David Gahan David Grohl Debbie Harry Dennis Hopper Depeche Mode Dwight Yoakam Eagle-Eye Cherry Easy-E Echo & The Bunnymen Elvis Costello Foo Fighters Frank Sinatra Frank Tovey Frankie Goes to Hollywood Front 242 Glenn Danzig Glenn Close Grace Jones Helena Christensen Henry Rollins Herbert Grönemeyer Herman Brood

Ian Curtis Ian McCulloch Iggy Pop The Immaculate Consumptive Isabella Rossellini Isaac Hayes James Brown Jeff Buckley Jerry Lee Lewis Jeffrey Lee Pierce (Gun Club) Jimmy Page Jodie Foster John Lee Hooker Johnny Cash Johnny Depp Johnny Rotten Jon Bon Jovi Joseph Arthur Joy Division Julian Cope Lou Reed Luciano Pavarotti Kate Bush Keith Richards Kraftwerk Kurt Cobain Kylie Minogue LL Cool J Lene Marlin Lenny Kravitz Madness Mansun Massive Attack Marianne Faithfull Martin Gore Martin Scorsese Metallica Michael Franti Michael Schumacher Michael Stipe Mick Jagger Miles Davis Morrissey Naomi Campbell Neil Young Nick Cave Nicolas Cage Nirvana P. J. Harvey

Palais Schaumburg Paul Oakenfold Per Gessle Pet Shop Boys Pete Townsend Peter Gabriel Peter Hammill Peter Murphy Propaganda Quentin Tarantino R.E.M. Robert Deniro Robert Plant Rolling Stones Roy Orbison Rutger Hauer Saybia Sean Penn Simple Minds Sinéad O'Connor Siouxsie Sioux Skin Skunk Anansie Son of a plumber Sophie Zelmani Steely Dan Stephen Dorff Steven Spielberg Stevie Wonder Sting Takeshi Kitano The Killers Therapy? Travis Trent Reznor Tom Jones Tom Waits Tricky U2 Van Morrison Vanessa Paradis Wilco Willem Dafoe William Gibson William S. Burroughs Xmal Deutschland Zucchero ZZ Top

[edit] Music video filmography

• "Hockey," Palais Schaumburg (1983)
• "Beat Box," Art of Noise (1984)
• "Dr. Mabuse," Propaganda (1984)
• "Red Guitar," David Sylvian (1984)
• "Seven Seas," Echo & the Bunnymen (1984)
• "The Ink in the Well," David Sylvian (1984)
• "Pride (In the Name of Love)" (third version), U2 (1984)
• "Bring on the Dancing Horses," Echo & the Bunnymen (1985)
• "Quiet Eyes," Golden Earring (1986)
• "A Question of Time," Depeche Mode (1986)
• "Bedbugs and Ballyhoo," Echo & the Bunnymen (1987)
• "Strangelove," Depeche Mode (1987)
• "Pimpf," Depeche Mode (1987)
• "The Game," Echo & the Bunnymen (1987)
• "Never Let Me Down Again," Depeche Mode (1987)
• "Lips Like Sugar" (first version), Echo & the Bunnymen (1987)
• "Behind the Wheel," Depeche Mode (1987)
• "Welcome to Paradise," Front 242
• "My Secret Place," Joni Mitchell with Peter Gabriel (1988)
• "Blueprint," Rainbirds (1988)
• "Atmosphere," Joy Division (1988)
• "Headhunter," Front 242 (1988)
• "Faith and Healing," Ian McCulloch (1989)
• "Sea of Time," Rainbirds (1989)
• "White City of Light," Rainbirds (1989)
• "Personal Jesus," Depeche Mode (1989)
• "Killer Wolf," Danzig (1990)
• "Enjoy the Silence" (first version), Depeche Mode (1990)
• "Policy of Truth," Depeche Mode (1990)
• "World in My Eyes," Depeche Mode (1990)
• "May This Be Your Last Sorrow," Banderas (1990)
• "Clean," Depeche Mode (1991)
• "Marie," Herbert Grönemeyer (1991)
• "Two Faces," Rainbirds (1991)
• "Tragedy (For You)," Front 242 (1991)
• "Halo," Depeche Mode (1991)
• "Front By Front," Front 242 (1992)
• "Hail Hail Rock 'n' Roll," Garland Jeffreys (1992)
• "Lover Lover Lover," Ian McCulloch (1992)
• "One" (original version), U2 (1992)
• "Straight To You," Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds (1992)
• "Dirty Black Summer," Danzig (1992)
• "Do I Have to Say the Words?", Bryan Adams (1992)
• "I Feel You," Depeche Mode (1993)
• "Walking In My Shoes," Depeche Mode (1993)
• "Condemnation" (first version), Depeche Mode (1993)
• "Heart-Shaped Box," Nirvana (1993), winner MTV Video Music Award for Best Alternative Video
• "Delia's Gone," Johnny Cash (1994)
• "Mockingbirds," Grant Lee Buffalo (1994)
• "In Your Room," Depeche Mode (1994)
• "Liar," Henry Rollins (1994)
• "Love & Tears," Naomi Campbell (1994)
• "Have You Ever Really Loved A Woman?", Bryan Adams (1995)
• "My Friends (song) (first version)," Red Hot Chili Peppers (1995)
• "Hero of the Day," Metallica (1996)
• "Mama Said," Metallica (1996)
• "Barrel of a Gun," Depeche Mode (1997)
• "It's No Good," Depeche Mode (1997)
• "Useless," Depeche Mode (1997)
• "Please" (first version), U2 (1997)
• "Bleibt Alles Anders," Herbert Grönemeyer (1998)
• "Fanatisch," Herbert Grönemeyer (1998)
• "Goddess on a Hiway" (second version), Mercury Rev (1998)
• "Salvation," Roxette (1999)
• "Opus 40" (first version), Mercury Rev (1999)
• "Stars," Roxette (1999)
• "Chemical" (first version), Joseph Arthur (2000)
• "In The Sun," Joseph Arthur (2000)
• "Invalid Litter Dept.," At the Drive-In (2001)
• "Freelove" (second version), Depeche Mode (2001)
• "Mensch," Herbert Grönemeyer (2002)
• "Electrical Storm", U2 (2002)
• "Re-Offender," Travis (2003)
• "Zum Meer," Herbert Grönemeyer (2003)
• "All These Things That I've Done" (second version) The Killers (2005)
• "Talk", Coldplay (2005)
• "Suffer Well," Depeche Mode (2005)

[edit] Books by Corbijn

• Famouz (1989)
• Strangers (1990)
• Allegro (1991)
• Grönemeyer, Photographien von Anton Corbijn (1993)
• Star Trak (1996)
• 33 Still Lives (1999)
• Stripping Girls (2000, with Marlene Dumas)
• Werk (2000)
• A. Somebody, Strijen, Holland (2002)
• Everybody Hurts (2003)
• U2 & I (2005)

[edit] External links

• Official Site
• Anton Corbijn biography
• Anton Corbijn biography, exhibitions, most known photos
• IMDB Entry
• Director videography
• Hellenic Violation > Anton Corbijn
• Control - 2006 Ian Curtis Movie Dir Anton Corbijn
• Director's Label info
• CNN interview with Anton Corbijn