Dennis Morris (photographer)

portrait of photographer Dennis Morris

Dennis Morris is a British photographer best known for his images of Bob Marley and the Sex Pistols.^[1][2] In 1979, he created the logo for the company Public Image Limited and the innovative Metal Box album packaging.^[3] He then became Art Director of Island Records^[4] and designed album covers for the likes of Linton Kwesi Johnson, Marianne Faithfull (Broken English) and Bob Marley.

In mid-1979 he replaced Don Letts as vocalist of Basement 5, the avant-garde punk rock reggae band. He created their logo, image, photography and graphics and gained a recording contract with Island Records; their albums (Basement 5 - 1965 to 1980 and Basement in Dub) were produced by Martin Hannett.^[5] He has held exhibitions worldwide (Sydney Opera House, Laforet Museum, Tokyo,^[6] Contact Toronto and in galleries in London, New York, Paris, San Francisco, Stuttgart ...). In June 2005, the Spectrum London gallery had a show of photographs by Morris documenting the daily lives, ceremonies and rituals of the Mowanjum Community Aborigine community.^[7] The gallery was blessed by Aboriginal tribe leader, Francis Firebrace, wearing body paint and tribal dress.^[7] He was commissioned to show a new body of work at the Today Art Museum in Beijing in 2008 to coincide with the Olympic Cultural programme.^[8] A large installation of his punk images (part of the “I am a cliché, Echoes of the Punk Aesthetic” exhibition curated by Emma Lavigne) was shown at the 41st Rencontres d’Arles (France) during the summer of 2010.^[9] His photographs have become highly collectable, including one body of work (Southall – a home from home) bought by English Heritage, on permanent display at Gunnersbury Park Museum in London.

In 2013, he collaborated with Shepard Fairey on a new body of work titled S.I.D (Superman Is Dead) and culminating with an exhibition at Subliminal Projects (LA- USA).^[10] http://www.rollingstone.com/music/pictures/15-photos-of-shepard-faireys-superman-is-dead-exhibit-opening-20131216

In April 2014, he exhibited, to critical acclaim, a large collection of his Bob Marley photographs at the Known Gallery in Los Angeles.^{[11] [12]}

Growing Up Black a collection of his photographs from the Black community in Hackney is part of the permanent collection of the Hackney Museum.^[13] The Victoria and Albert Museum, London, has acquired some photographs from the Growing Up Black collection.^[14] http://www.vam.ac.uk/content/articles/s/staying-power-dennis-morris/ His photographs have appeared in publications including Rolling Stone, Time##, People magazine, V magazine, GQ##, I-D, Vogue and the Sunday Times.

His work has been used in books such as: Lipstick Traces: A Secret History of the 20th Century, by Greil Marcus, published by Harvard University Press; Century, by Bruce Bernard, published by Phaidon Press; Punk by Steven Colgrave and Chris Sullivan; Rolling Stone: The Complete Covers 1967-1997. He has been the subject of documentaries and TV programmes in the UK and America.

Books

• (1999) Bob Marley: A Rebel Life: A Photobiography, 1973-1980. Plexus Publishing. ISBN 0-85965-268-8.
• (1998) Destroy: Sex Pistols 1977. Creation Books. ISBN 1-84068-058-X.
• (1999) "Southall - a Home from Home". Olympus. ISBN 1-84068-054-7
• (2011) "A Bitta PIL" - Parco Publishing. ISBN 978-4-89194-890-0
• (2012) "Growing Up Black" - Autograph ABP - ISBN 978-1-899282-14-2
• (2012) "This is the one: a photo essay on the rise of the Stone Roses" - WSI - ISBN 978-0-9572471-0-9
• (2014) "The Bollocks: a photo essay of the Sex Pistols". Zero + Publishing. ISBN 978-1-937222-40-6

Album sleeves photography and design

• (1978) XTC: White Music photography ^[15]
• (1978) Public Image Ltd: Public Image: First Issue photography and concept design. ^[16]
• (1979) Marianne Faithfull: Broken English photography and concept design ^[17]
• (1980) Linton Kwesi Johnson: LKJ in Dub concept design ^[18]
• (1985) Simply Red: "Money's Too Tight (to Mention)" photography and concept design ^[19]

Exhibitions

• 2008: Timeless, Mori Tower Gallery, Tokyo, Japan.^[20]
• 2008: 8 Visions, one Dream, Today Art Museum, Beijing, China.^[21]
• 2009: Growing Up Black, Hackney Museum, London, UK.^[22]
• 2009: Marianne Faithfull: unseen images from the Broken English session, Snap Galleries, London, UK.^[23]
• 2010: Les Rencontres d'Arles festival, France.
• 2011: A Bitta PIL, PARCO Factory, Tokyo, Japan.^[24]
• 2012: No, collaboration with Tim Noble and Sue Webster, Vinyl Factory, London, UK.^[25]
• 2013: SID (Superman Is Dead) collaboration with Shepard Fairey, Subliminal Projects, Los Angeles, USA.^[26]
• 2014: Bob Marley: Giant, Known Gallery, Los Angeles, USA.^[27]
• 2014: The Bollocks, Known Gallery, Los Angeles, USA.^[28]
• 2015: Staying Power, V&A Museum, London, UK (group show) ^[29]

References

External links

• Dennis Morris Official Website
• "UK contemporary exhibition opens in Beijing". CCTV.com. 6 July 2008. Retrieved 2008-07-25.