Guy Bourdin

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Guy Louis Bourdin (December 2, 1928 in Paris – March 29, 1991 in Paris), born Guy Louis Banarès, was a French fashion photographer.

Life and career

Guy Louis Banarès was born December 2, 1928, at 7 Rue Popincourt, Paris.[1] He was abandoned by his mother the following year,[2] and was adopted by Maurice Désiré Bourdin, who brought him up with the help of his mother Marguerite Legay.[3]

During his military service in Dakar (1948–1949), he received his first photography training as a cadet in the French Air Force.[1]

In 1950 he returned to Paris, where he met Man Ray, and became his protégé. Bourdin made his first exhibition of drawings and paintings at Galerie, Rue de la Bourgogne, Paris.[1] His first photographic exhibition was in 1953.[4] Bourdin exhibited under the pseudonym Edwin Hallan in his early career.[3]

His first fashion shots were published in the February issue of Vogue Paris in 1955. He continued to work for the magazine until 1987.[1]

Bourdin married Solange Marie Louise Gèze in 1961, who gave birth to his only child, Samuel in 1967. His wife died of a heart condition in Normandy in 1971.

An editor of Vogue magazine introduced Bourdin to shoe designer Charles Jourdan, who became his patron, and Bourdin shot Jourdan's ad campaigns between 1967 and 1981. His quirky anthropomorphic compositions, intricate mise en scene ads were greatly recognized and always greatly anticipated by the media.[1]

In 1985, Bourdin turned down the Grand Prix National de la Photographie, awarded by the French Ministry of Culture, but his name is retained on the list of award winners.[1]

Bourdin was one of the best known photographers of fashion and advertising of the second half of the 20th century. He shared Helmut Newton's taste for controversy and stylization, but Bourdin's formal daring and the narrative power of his images exceeded the bounds of conventional advertising photography. Shattering expectations and questioning boundaries, he set the stage for a new kind of fashion photography.[1] Bourdin worked for Vogue and Harper's Bazaar, and shot ad campaigns for Chanel, Issey Miyake, Emanuel Ungaro, Gianni Versace, Loewe, Pentax and Bloomingdale's.[4]

Since his death, Guy Bourdin has been hailed as one of the greatest fashion photographers of all time, and his son Samuel Bourdin released a book with the finest prints of his father's work, called "Exhibit A" in 2001 (co-edited with Fernando Delgado). His first retrospective exhibition was held at the Victoria & Albert Museum in London 2003, and then toured the National gallery of Victoria in Melbourne, and Jeu de Paume in Paris.[1]

Style and themes

Bourdin was the first photographer to create a complex narrative, then snatch a moment — sensual, provocative, shocking, exotic, surrealistic, sometimes sinister — and simply associate it with a fashion item. The narratives were strange and mysterious, sometimes full of violence, sexuality, and surrealism. Bourdin was influenced by his mentor Man Ray, photographer Edward Weston, the surrealist painters Magritte and Balthus, and film maker Luis Buñuel. Even though much less well known to the public than his colleague Helmut Newton (also working for Vogue), Bourdin possibly has been more influential on the younger generations of fashion photographers.[5]

Personal life

Guy Bourdin was a short man with a whiny voice, and had a reputation of being incredibly demanding. Dark rumours surrounded him: his mother abandoning him as an infant, the suicides of his wife and two of his girlfriends, and the cruelty in which he treated his models.[6]

Since his death

Bourdin was not a natural self-promoter, and did not collect his work or make any attempt to preserve them; in fact he refused several offers of exhibitions, rejected ideas for books, and wanted his work destroyed after his death (but since he didn’t keep so much of his work for himself, fortunately most of it was saved).[2] The first major book devoted to his work was Exhibit A (mentioned above), released ten years after his death.[1]

Madonna's 2003 music video for Hollywood was greatly influenced by the photography of Bourdin, so much so that a lawsuit was brought on against her by Bourdin's son for copyright infringement.[7]

A documentary program, Dreamgirls: The photographs of Guy Bourdin, was shown for the BBC in 1991. Fashion photographers like Helmut Newton and Jean-Baptiste Mondino talked about how Bourdin managed to shoot fashion photography in his own unique way .[8]

Contemporary photographers such as Mert Alas and Marcus Piggott, Jean Baptiste Mondino, Nick Knight and David LaChapelle have admitted to being great admirers of his work.[9]

Selected Exhibitions

  • 1950 First exhibition of drawings and paintings at Galerie, Rue de la Bourgogne, Paris, France
  • 1952 Exhibition of photographs at Galerie 29, The catalogue includes an introduction by Man Ray. 29 rue de Seine, Paris. France
  • 1953 Exhibition of photographs under the pseudonym Edwin Hallan at Galerie Huit, 8 rue St. Julien-le-Pauvre, Paris, France
  • 1954 Exhibition of drawings at Galerie de Beaune, 5 rue de Beaune, Paris, France
  • 1954 Contributes photographs to the C.S. Association UK touring exhibitions, in 1954-55 and 1955–57, both shown at the Whitechapel Art Gallery, London, England
  • 1955 First fashion photographs are published in French Vogue in February issue
  • 1955 Exhibition of drawings at Galerie des Amis des Arts, 26 cours Mirabeau, Paris, France
  • 1955 Exhibition of paintings at Galerie Charpentier, Paris, France
  • 1956 Exhibition of drawings at Galerie de Seine, 24 rue de Seine, Paris, France
  • 1957 Exhibition of paintings and drawings at the Peter Deitsch Gallery, 51 East 73rd Street, New York, US
  • 1957 Contributes photographs to group exhibition entitled Vogue at the international Photography Biennale, Venice, Italy
  • 1957 First Charles Jourdan shoes advertising campaign
  • 1957 First editorial fashion photographs for Harper's Bazaar and Photo
  • 1969 Contributes photographs to a group exhibition "L'insolite et la mode" at Galerie Delpire, 13 rue de l'Abbaye, Paris, France
  • 1972 First editorial fashion photographs for Italian Vogue
  • 1973 Advertising campaign for MAFIA advertising agency, Paris
  • 1974 First editorial fashion photographs for British Vogue
  • 1975 Advertising campaign for Issey Miyake
  • 1976 Lingerie catalogue Sighs and Whispers for Bloomingdale's department store, New York
  • 1976 Advertising campaigns including for Baila, by Gianfranco Ferré and Complice & Callaghan, by Gianni Versace, and Loewe
  • 1977 First editorial fashion photographs for Vogue Hommes and 20 Ans
  • 1977 Contributes photographs to touring exhibition entitled The History of Fashion Photography shown at USA venues including the International Museum of Photography, George Eastman House, Rochester, New York, and San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, IS
  • 1978 Advertising campaign for Claude Montana
  • 1978 Contributes photographs to the art fair Photokina 78, Cologne, Germany
  • 1978 Calendars for Issey Miyake and Yashica
  • 1980 Calendar for Pentax
  • 1981 Final advertising campaign for Charles Jourdan
  • 1981 First editorial fashion photographs for Linea italiana
  • 1982 Advertising campaigns for Gianfranco Ferré, Lancetti, and Roland Pierre
  • 1982 Contributes photographs to group exhibition entitled Color as Form at the international Museum of Photography, George Eastman House, New York, US
  • 1985 Advertising campaign for Emanuel Ungaro
  • 1985 Refuses the Grand Prix National de la Photographie awarded by the French Ministry of Culture
  • 1986 Contributes photographs to the art fair Photokina 86, Cologne, Germany
  • 1987 Terminates his contract with French Vogue
  • 1987 First editorial fashion photographs for The Best
  • 1987 Advertising campaign for Révillon, and Chanel
  • 1988 Receives the Infinity Award (for his 1987 Chanel advertising campaign) from the International Center of Photography, New York, presented by Annie Leibovitz.
  • 1988 Contributes photographs to the Triennale International de la Photographie, Paris, France
  • 1991 Dies in Paris on 29 March, aged 62
  • 2003 "The Retrospective", Victoria & Albert Museum, London, England
  • 2004 "The Retrospective", National Gallery Victoria, Melbourne, Australia
  • 2004 "The Retrospective", Jeu de Paume, Paris, France
  • 2004 "The Retrospective", FOAM, Amsterdam, Netherlands
  • 2005 "The Retrospective", NRW, Düsseldorf, Germany
  • 2005 "The Retrospective", National Art Museum of China, Beijing, China
  • 2006 "The Retrospective", Shanghai Art Museum, Shanghai, China
  • 2006 "The Retrospective", Tokyo Met Museum of Photography, Japan
  • 2006 "The Retrospective", Daimaru Umeda Museum, Osaka, Japan
  • 2006 "A Message For You", Phillips de Pury, NYC, US
  • 2006 "A Message For You", Peggy Guggenheim, Venice, Italy
  • 2006 "A Message For You", HSBC Foundation, Paris, France
  • 2007 "A Message For You", Hollywood Centre, HK, China
  • 2008 "A Message For You", Today’s Art Museum, Beijing, China
  • 2008 "The Retrospective", KunstHausWein, Vienna, Austria
  • 2008 "The Retrospective", FotoMuseum, Antwerp, Belgium
  • 2009 "The Retrospective", Moscow House of Photograph, Moscow, Russia
  • 2009 "The Retrospective", MUBE, São Paulo, Brazil
  • 2009 "A Message For You", Gallery Carla Sozzani, Milan, Italy
  • 2009 "A Message For You", Photography Festival, Cannes, France
  • 2009 "Ses films", Le Bon Marche, Paris, France
  • 2010 "A Message For You", Canal Isabel II, Madrid, Spain
  • 2010 "Ses films", 10 Corso Como, Seoul, South Korea
  • 2010 "In Between", French Consulate, NYC, US
  • 2011 "The Retrospective", Museu de Arte Contemporânea, Porto Alegre, Brazil
  • 2013 "GUY BOURDIN RETROSPEKTIVE", Deichtorhallen, Hamburg, Germany

Books

A Message For You Steidl Dangin - 2006, ISBN 3-86521-197-6

Exhibit A: Guy Bourdin Jonathan Cape Ltd - 2003, ISBN 978-0224062046

Guy Bourdin HNA Books - 2003, ISBN 978-0810966055

Guy Bourdin Phaidon Press Ltd - 2006, ISBN 978-0714843032

Guy Bourdin: In Between Steidl - 2010, ISBN 978-3869300337

Guy Bourdin: Polaroids Editions Xavier Barral - 2010, ISBN 978-2915173567

Guy Bourdin (Stern Fotographie Portfolio) Stern; Bilingual edition - 2010, ISBN 978-3652000024

Guy Bourdin (Re-Issue) Phaidon Press Ltd - 2011, ISBN 978-0714862583

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 1.6 1.7 1.8 Gilles de Bure, Guy Bourdin, Actes Sud, coll. « Photo poche », 2008, broché, 66 p. (ISBN 2-7427-6539-5)
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 http://www.studio-international.co.uk/photo/bourdin.asp
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 http://www.guybourdin.org/bio/
  4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 Gingeras, Alison. Guy Bourdin. Phaidon, 2006.
  5. ↑ "Guy Bourdin influenced a generation of photographers with sadistic images drawn from his own appetite for sexual perversion." Wood, Gaby (2003-04-13). "Death becomes her". Culture (The Observer). Retrieved 2009-05-21. 
  6. ↑ Blahnik, Manolo (2003-04-08). "The naked and the dead". Style section (The Daily Telegraph). Retrieved 2009-05-21. 
  7. ↑ Madonna Accused Of Picture Piracy - The Smoking Gun
  8. ↑ http://guybourdin.net/other_pages/video.html
  9. ↑ - New York Times Magazine - Now Hanging Guy Bourdin

External links

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