David Hamilton

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David Hamilton, 2011.

David Hamilton (born April 15, 1933 in London , † November 25, 2016 in Paris ) was a British art photographer and filmmaker .

Hamilton initially worked in an architecture firm in London, where his artistic work began. When he was 20 he moved to Paris and worked there as a graphic designer . After a short return to Great Britain, he settled permanently in France. In the mid-1960s, Hamilton began to build up a part-time existence as an art photographer. By the late 1960s, he had developed his own distinctive style, which many critics describe as kitschy, pornographic or latently pedophile . His work includes 16 photo volumes, five films, various articles in photo magazines and a large number of exhibitions. In contrast to other photographers, he refused to photograph his subjects true to life.

life and career

Childhood and youth

David Hamilton was born to Louise Leat. The father, about whom nothing further is known, left the family shortly after David's birth. Hamilton's first reminder is that he heard the declaration of war on Germany (September 3, 1939) on the radio in 1939. Hamilton, like hundreds of thousands of other children from major British cities, was evacuated to the countryside in 1939 or 1940 . He was housed in the farm house of a castle near the village of Fifehead Magdalen in the county of Dorset. Five years later he returned to London, where he witnessed attacks by German V1 cruise missiles in 1945 . From then on he lived with his mother in Kennington .

Shortly after David's return, his mother remarried. Hamilton portrays his stepfather as a nice man with whom he had little to do with. As a teenager he tried to maintain the freedom he lived in the country, which was expressed in his love for cycling . His pride and joy was a racing bike that he had bought in a shop and with which Apo Lazarides had once ridden the Tour de France . Together with friends he joined the Delaune Racing Club and was able to leave London again and again by bike. They often attended cycling races, which enabled Hamilton to see his idols such as Fausto Coppi or Reg Harris live. At this time he met his friend Terry, with whom he had an almost lifelong friendship. Both played cards in school, wagered the money they won with bookmakers and dog races, and were quite successful in doing so. Hamilton was able to pay off the expensive bike and dress up with inexpensive, but high-quality clothing. He attributed the penchant for luxury that he developed during this time to his uncle William Leat, a jeweler.

Hamilton left school when he was 15. He began an apprenticeship with the department store supplier Barrats , where he was trained as a carpenter . On the side, he attended evening classes. He was intellectually superior to his colleagues, wore fine clothing even to work and thus obviously made an impression. He was quickly transferred from the joinery to the planning office. Here he came into contact with photography for the first time. He asked a friend to photograph the facades of London department stores. He used the photos as a source of inspiration for designing his own facades. This further consolidated his position in the company. By his own admission, Hamilton was already earning quite well at the age of 18. It was at this time that he and his friend Terry made their first hitchhike to Paris. At the age of 20, he moved from his parents' apartment into his own attic apartment .

First steps in fashion

He made his second trip to Paris with his first girlfriend, with whom he also lived at times. The two trips to Paris made such an impression on the young Brit that he moved to the French capital shortly afterwards. There he lived very modestly for the first year. He found a job after introducing himself to the company "Siegel" with old furnishing designs. In the following years he changed positions frequently; everywhere he was responsible for the drawings of business furnishings. The young American Bill Perry, who ran an architecture firm with a Frenchman where Hamilton worked, became Hamilton's mentor.

Hamilton began painting on the side. He was allowed to exhibit one of his pictures in a young talent exhibition at the Biennale . But he quickly realized that he was not suitable for a career as a painter. So he stayed in the architecture office, where he was involved in a project for the Shah of Persia . This brought him closer to typography and layout questions for the first time . At a vernissage he met Peter Knapp , the artistic director of Elle magazine , who shortly thereafter (1957 or 1958) gave him a position as the magazine's layout designer. In early 1960, those responsible for the British magazine Queen noticed Hamilton's work and recruited him as the artistic director of their magazine. So he returned to London. Under his artistic direction, the magazine became one of the mainspring of the " Swinging Sixties ". Young artists also got their first chance here; so Hamilton published one of the first pictures of the young David Hockney in the magazine .

The Parisian department store "Printemps", whose artistic director was Hamilton

Now that Hamilton was earning very well again, he could give in to his luxurious inclinations. Although he only lived in a small apartment, he furnished it in part with designer furniture by Mies van der Rohe (“The Barcelona Chair”), Herman Miller (“Barber Chair”) and others. During this time, he also had plans to marry model Paula Noble . But then Hamilton fell out with the editor of Queen, Sir Jocelyn Stevens , about the placement of a certain photo in the magazine and left it on the spot. He went back to Paris and worked there briefly at the advertising agency “ Havas ” before becoming artistic director of the “ Printemps ” department store . Here he was responsible for outdoor advertising. With other artistic directors of fashion houses and fashion magazines, Hamilton shaped the visual style of the time. Photographers like Gene Laurent and Irving Penn were promoted in this environment by Hamilton, among others, and he now began photography himself.

Hamilton as a freelance artist

Hamilton made his first attempts with a newly acquired simple camera. First he photographed still lifes and street views. In the course of his work at "Printemps" he then took his first pictures of people. They were pictures of Swedish female models posing for department store advertisements. In Montparnasse he rented a 40-square-meter studio that Petula Clark had previously used. He often had prominent guests there, including Omar Sharif , Charles Matton , Matti Klawine , Saul Steinberg , Sean Flynn and Celemen Hawkins . On Mondays he organized open days and gave "black parties" - the studio was then equipped in black, the guests came in black clothes and there was black food. He borrowed this idea from the novel Against the Grain by Joris-Karl Huysmans .

Beach party at Ramatuelle, where Hamilton owned a house

At that time, in 1962, he began to explore the Saint-Tropez area. The casual relationship with one's own body, for example on beaches where people sunbathed naked, was a new experience for the Briton that changed his attitude. His enthusiasm for nature and the local beaches led him to buy a 12th century house in Ramatuelle . Here he took the first professional fashion photos of his career with three Swedish photo models. His house became a kind of studio and slowly the typical "Hamilton style" emerged.

Ruth La Ferla described Hamilton's fashion photography and its long-term effects decades later in an article in the New York Times :

“David Hamilton, the British photographer, made a name in the 1970's with his misty depictions of young women drifting through traffic dressed in nothing but their skivvies. Those pictures sent a message, both lurid and demure, of decadence decorously drenched in lace. A similar mood has reemerged this spring, expressed through lacy lingerie flaunting itself as streetworthy style. "

“David Hamilton, the British photographer, made a name for himself in the 1970s with his misty images of young women meandering through traffic in nothing but their underwear. These images had a message, both ghostly and brittle, of the decline demurely wrapped in lace. A similar mood emerged again this spring and found its expression in lace underwear, which presents itself as roadworthy. "

In 1965 he was fired from the department store because he was less and less interested in the work there and his artistic ideas increasingly ran counter to the requirements of the advertising industry. In addition, Hamilton was seen as arrogant by his superiors and colleagues, an impression reinforced by his bespoke suits and the Aston Martin DB2, which he acquired around the time . Hamilton also liked to surround himself with celebrities and upper class people . There are pictures of him with Esther Williams , Susannah York , Gunter Sachs , Ernst Fuchs , Rachel Hunter , Charlotte Rampling , Leni Riefenstahl , Sam Spiegel , Douglas Fairbanks , Eddie Barclay , Silvana Mangano and Pier Paolo Pasolini or around Prince Dado Ruspoli and Charles-Antoine de Ligne , by Mariano de Tour de Montèse and Corazon Aquino , the Countess Boza as well as the Sultan of Brunei and the royal family of Denmark.

Then Hamilton began to work as a freelance artist together with his old companion Michel Paquet, with whom Hamilton had already worked during his time at Elle and in London, as artistic director and photographer. A well-known work from this time was, for example, a series of swimwear shots in Agadir with the then very well-known model Kira . The German magazine Twen published the first nudes . This was followed by publications in French Realities and in Photo magazine . Hamilton quickly gathered material for a first illustrated book. In 1971 Dreams Of A Young Girl was published by the English publisher Collins. The volume was inspired by the song Suzanne by Leonard Cohen , whose lines of text also served as captions, and provided with a text by Alain Robbe-Grillet . The books Les Demoiselles d'Hamilton ( Hamilton's Girl , 1972), La Danse ( The Dance , 1972), Private Collection (1976) and Memories of Bilitis (1977) followed in quick succession . All volumes were quickly sold out in their first editions and repeatedly reprinted, whereby the print quality of later editions was often weaker. It is estimated that Hamilton's first ten books sold about 100,000 copies each, adding up to well over a million books. There were major exhibitions, especially in Japan. Many of his paintings were also bought here.

With the success came further offers. Hamilton was to become the director of the film " Emmanuelle ", which, however, like many offers for advertising contracts, he refused. The exception was the advertising work for the perfume "Nina" by Robert Ricci . He shot several commercials for this. In 1976 he was finally persuaded to make a film that was supposed to capture the mood of his pictures. “ Bilitis ” was also a success thanks to the work of cameraman Bernard Daillencourt and film editor Henri Colpi , who actively supported the young director.

In the late 1980s he met a young woman named Gertrude on a Mediterranean beach, who not only became his model, but also his wife for a few years. She worked on the design of some of his illustrated books and described the connection between Hamilton and his models and his way of working and commented on what she believed to be unjustified criticism of her husband's work. Until the beginning of the 1990s, Hamilton produced other films and especially illustrated books, had exhibitions in many countries around the world and published his pictures in magazines. Since then it has become more and more quiet around him. He retired to his property in Ramatuelle and rarely appeared in public. Since the 1990s, his nudes have been questioned by many critics, which offended Hamilton. He seldom tried to justify himself, as in the anniversary volume His best pictures (1992), to which he contributed a biographical essay, reflections on his work and a description of the motifs for his work.

Allegations of abuse and death

In an article published in the October 2016 book La Consolation ( The consolation ) described the well-known television presenter Flavie Flament without mentioning a name that she had been raped in the 1980s by a famous photographer. In an interview with L'Obs on November 18, 2016, she became more specific and stated that Hamilton raped her when she was 13. Three other women then contacted L'Obs and reported similar experiences. Hamilton harshly denied the allegations and announced legal action. On November 26, 2016, 83-year-old Hamilton was found dead in his Paris apartment.

Hamilton as an artist

photography

Raphael's Three Graces , they were photographically recreated by Hamilton

The use of the soft focus is characteristic of Hamilton's photography . For Hamilton, his way of photography was “painted photography”. Hamilton's choice of motifs is broad. He photographed landscapes, especially beaches as well as tropical and Mediterranean views, but also the Alps or New Zealand , still lifes, flowers and other plants, cityscapes such as Venice or St. Tropez, works of art and people, especially portraits. He had a particular preference for ballet. Many of his pictures play in this milieu. He also photographed well-known artists from this field such as Rudolf Chametowitsch Nurejew and Robert Denver . He often recreated well-known works of art from world history in his photographs. He paid homages to works of art by Charles Matton, Giorgio Morandi , Edgar Degas , Caravaggio , Jean Siméon Chardin , Paul Gauguin , Balthus or Raffael ( The Three Graces ). But Hamilton is best known for his pictures of young, pubescent girls, often in the form of files, but also in light clothing or as portraits.

Hamilton himself has stated several times which girls he preferred to photograph and which features his models should have. You should be tall and slim, have an even face, high cheekbones, high eyebrows and, if possible, a snub nose. They should also have a long neck, a wide mouth, a high forehead, wide eyes, preferably blue, and long legs. He preferred blonde and red-haired girls because, in his opinion, they have a particularly delicate skin type and their skin and eyes are translucent. Such types, in Hamilton's opinion, show off best in his style of pastel photography, which is why he almost never photographed dark-haired girls. These stood out from the pastel-colored surroundings. Especially with blonde girls, you would notice the hair, especially that of the eyebrows, less intensely than with other hair types. According to his own admission, Hamilton wanted to capture the beauty and fascination of the “young nymphs” in his pictures, their confusion during the “sudden onset of sensuality” during puberty . In addition, Hamilton chose quieter, more thoughtful girls rather than models who are just as dreamy as Hamilton liked to portray it in his pictures. In his opinion, beauty is not determined by character or accessories such as make-up, but solely by natural appearance.

Photo tours took Hamilton and his models to many exotic locations. He spent the summer months in Europe for many years, where he mainly photographed in France, especially in the area around St. Tropez and Ramatuelle , but also on the North Sea (e.g. on Sylt ), on Lake Geneva or in Italy (including on Capri ) Took pictures. In the winter months he often traveled with his models to the South Seas , for example to Tahiti , Guam and Hawaii or the Bahamas , the Maldives , Florida and New Zealand . In Tahiti, contrary to his usual practice, he recreated pictures of Gauguin with local girls who had darker skin and black hair. Most of his models remained nameless or were listed by their first name in Hamilton's books.

However, a few of "his" girls also became individually tangible and known. His first important muse became Mona Kristensen . Hamilton lived with her for a few years. She also starred in Hamilton's first film "Bilitis". In general, some of the actresses were known from his films, most of whom he recruited from his photo models. Anja Schüte and Emmanuelle Béart , for example, took their first steps in the film sector at Hamilton, Patti D'Arbanville and Schüte as photo models. Other well-known "Hamilton girls" were Dawn Dunlap and Monica Broeke .

Hamilton's pictures are free from all worldly pain, suffering and ugliness. They symbolize purity, naturalness and harmony. His style shaped many other artists such as the controversial photographer Glenn Holland . Hamilton is now regarded as the epitome of the soft focus in photography.

According to Hamilton, none of his pictures were taken with artificial light, which in his opinion is not needed in southern countries either. He also did without reflectors and filters . Throughout his career he used only one brand of film, Ektachrome 200 ASA , a roll film that was not widely used . He made no technical effort and described himself as an amateur photography.

Movie

Hamilton's first film, Bilitis , was shot in the immediate vicinity of his homeland, Ramatuelle. Catherine Breillat was involved in the script . He placed more emphasis on the equipment of the films than on a sophisticated plot. Outfitter Eric Simon was particularly important, who gave the sets a light and luxurious look. Music was also of particular importance to his films. Here the soundtrack of his first film Bilitis , composed by Francis Lai , was particularly successful. Sentimental music sold 700,000 times. Hamilton himself was less satisfied with his second film The Story of Laura M , which he regarded as aesthetically successful, but considered unsuccessful in terms of content. The film was a failure. Tender cousins from the following year fared differently . The film began to bore Hamilton while it was being made, especially since here, unlike Hamilton's usual practice, the male protagonist played the leading role. Although Hamilton didn't like the film itself, it again became a hit. Contractual ties required another film in 1983. However, since there was not even a script to start shooting, Erste Sehnsucht also flopped due to a poor production. Hamilton's last film production, A Summer in St. Tropez from 1984, was a film produced directly for the video market with no real plot. It was most like Hamilton's photographs.

criticism

Especially in Hamilton's early years as a nude photographer, his photographs were seldom received critically. Around the same time, pornography was gradually legalized in the western world , so that Hamilton's rather harmless pictures were hardly perceived as outstanding in their motifs or in their permissiveness. Even child pornography , for example by companies like Color Climax Corporation from Denmark, was distributed in a semi-legal manner. Critics described Hamilton's pictures as kitschy or accused Hamilton of a certain unreal alienation from the world. The critics said there was no such life that he portrayed in his pictures, which he denied. He pointed out to lead that very life. Later there were allegations that Hamilton produced soft pornography. He was also accused, especially in the USA and Great Britain, that his work was latently pedophile . His idea of ​​“perfect femininity” has also been criticized. In Europe, criticism of Hamilton is rather reserved. In addition, it is not uncommon for the critics to have problems with terminology. In his Lexicon of Erotic Films, Ronald M. Hahn attests to all Hamilton films that they are only for pederasts .

Towards the end of the 1990s, Christian organizations in the USA increased their resistance against artists such as Hamilton, Sally Mann , Jacques Bourboulon and Jock Sturges , including with protests in front of bookshops. Mann as well as Bourboulon and Sturges, along with Hamilton probably the most prominent representatives of the photographers confronted with the allegation of child pornography, tread completely different paths than Hamilton in terms of technology and motifs, but they all have in common that they also show nudes of children and teenagers .

The protest attracted more attention when in the fall of 1997 supporters of Randall Terry, an activist of the Christian movement against abortion, filed criminal charges against the American bookstore chain Barnes & Noble in the states of Alabama , New York and Tennessee . The allegations were generally fornication or the accessibility of child pornography books for minors. In those places where the indictment was brought, such as in Brentwood, New York State , the trial was dropped. On May 19, 1998, “Barnes & Noble” was obliged in Brentwood to make the books inaccessible to minors and to put opaque covers on them. In general, the termination of the proceedings was expected or welcomed from the point of view of the constitutionally guaranteed fundamental rights, even if the books were viewed with disgust. For example, Sarah Boxer, a commentator for the New York Times, wrote :

'The Age of Innocence' is the essence of icky. The author could certainly be considered a dirty old man. [...] 'The Age of Innocence' is full of photographs of girls in bed, looking dreamy and spent, with their fingers in their mouths or in their underpants. All look willing, and almost all have exactly the same small breasts.

“'The Age of Innocence' is the essence of bad taste. The author could certainly be assessed as an old dirt finch. […] 'The Age of Innocence' is full of photographs of girls in bed who look dreamy and tired with their fingers in their mouths or in their panties. Everyone seems willing and almost all of them have exactly the same small breasts. "

Sarah Boxer justified her reluctance not only with the pictures, but also with the accompanying text by David Hamilton:

“In the final pages of the book, Mr. Hamilton writes, fantasizing: 'In her daydreams she thinks about this man who will one day come to her in answer to her questions. Perhaps he is a prince, a knight on a white stallion, a man in military uniform… She is lovely, our nymph, and her potential is infinite. Heaven grant her the man who is worthy of her, and who comes to her bringing sex with tenderness. She has her virginity and her innocence; she will, if she is fortunate, trade them in due course for experience and love. '”

“In the closing pages of the book, Mr. Hamilton fantasizes: 'In her daydreams she ponders the man who will one day come to her in response to her questions. Maybe he is a prince, a knight on a white stallion, a man in military uniform [...] She is lovely, our nymph, and her possibilities are endless. Heaven give her the man who is worthy of her and who brings her sex with tenderness. She has her virginity and her innocence; if she is lucky, she will exchange it for experience and love. '"

David Hamilton in December 2012

There have been no further consequences from the accusations or the actions of the critics to this day. In 2005, a Surrey police representative claimed that Hamilton's books were now illegal in the UK, but they were not. Chris Warmoll attested Hamilton in The Guardian in June 2005 that his pictures had long been one of the most controversial examples in the discussion of whether such pictures were art or pornography. Glenn Holland, Hamilton's press spokesman, stated that every year in the USA and Great Britain it was more difficult to distribute Hamilton's books without any problems. The internet bookstore WHSmith removed Hamilton's book The Age of Innocence from its range in 2005 due to continued criticism. In individual cases, the criticism seems objectively unjustified. The leading actress in the film “Bilitis”, Patti D'Arbanville , was in her mid- twenties at the time of shooting.

Photo volumes (selection)

Filmography

A film announced for 1992 Bilitis II - My Love was not made.

literature

  • Philippe Gautier, Marc Tagger: interviews and texts. In: David Hamilton. His best pictures. Marion von Schröder Verlag, Munich 1999, ISBN 3-547-73833-4 .
  • Jörn Glasenapp : German Post-War Photography: A History of Mentalities in Pictures. Wilhelm Fink Verlag, Paderborn 2008, ISBN 978-3-7705-4617-6 , pp. 284-308.

Web links

Commons : David Hamilton  - Collection of Images, Videos and Audio Files

References and comments

  1. ↑ Henry Samue: British photographer David Hamilton dies in Paris. In: The Daily Telegraph , November 25, 2016, accessed November 26, 2016.
  2. ^ Gautier, Tagger: David Hamilton. His best pictures. P. 5.
  3. ^ Gautier, Tagger: David Hamilton. His best pictures. P. 7.
  4. ^ Gautier, Tagger: David Hamilton. His best pictures. P. 9.
  5. ↑ Ruth La Ferla: Front Row . In: The New York Times , March 18, 2003.
  6. ↑ a b Gautier, Tagger: David Hamilton. His best pictures. P. 208.
  7. ↑ a b c Gautier, Tagger: David Hamilton. His best pictures. P. 230.
  8. ↑ a b c Gautier, Tagger: David Hamilton. His best pictures. P. 242.
  9. ^ A b Biography 2. David Hamilton's website, archived from the original on October 7, 2010 ; accessed on November 26, 2016 (English).
  10. ^ Gautier, Tagger: David Hamilton. His best pictures. P. 315.
  11. ↑ a b Gautier, Tagger: David Hamilton. His best pictures. P. 256.
  12. ^ Gautier, Tagger: David Hamilton. His best pictures. Pp. 268 and 281.
  13. ^ Pauline Ragué: Flavie Flament confirme que David Hamilton est bien l'homme qui l'a violée. The Huffington Post , November 18, 2016; archived from the original on November 26, 2016 ; Retrieved November 26, 2016 (French).
  14. ↑ Mort de David Hamilton. Flavie Flament: "Il nous condamne à nouveau au silence"
  15. ↑ Jürg Altwegg : End of the closed season for David Hamilton. Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung , November 23, 2016, accessed on November 26, 2016 .
  16. ↑ UK photographer David Hamilton dies, aged 83. BBC News , November 26, 2016, accessed November 26, 2016 .
  17. ↑ a b David Hamilton - Driven by Eros . In: Photoscala , March 14, 2007, accessed November 26, 2016.
  18. ↑ a b c d e The man, the park and the women. In: Stuttgarter Nachrichten
  19. ^ Gautier, Tagger: David Hamilton. His best pictures. P. 294.
  20. ↑ a b Gautier, Tagger: David Hamilton. His best pictures. P. 282.
  21. ↑ a b Andreas Fischer: First longing. Cineastentreff , August 20, 2006, archived from the original on August 8, 2011 ; Retrieved November 26, 2016 .
  22. ↑ Ronald M. Hahn : The Heyne Lexicon of the erotic film. Over 1600 films from 1933 to the present day (= Heyne Filmbibliothek , 224). Heyne, Munich 1995, ISBN 3-453-09010-1 .
  23. ↑ In doing so, however, he fails to recognize that Hamilton, as a photographer and filmmaker of girls, cannot be a pederast (pederasty = "boyish love").
  24. ↑ Article Obscenity Charge Against Barnes & Noble from the November 24, 1997 issue of the New York Times .
  25. ↑ Article A Dixie Book Burning from the February 23, 1998 issue of the New York Times .
  26. ↑ Article Obscenity Case Is Settled in the May 19, 1998 issue of the New York Times
  27. ^ A b Sarah Boxer: Critic's Notebook; Arresting Images of Innocence (or Perhaps Guilt). Comment in The New York Times , March 4, 1998.
  28. ^ British Journal of Photography , September 2005.
  29. ↑ a b c Chris Warmoll: Hamilton's naked girl shots ruled 'indecent'. The Guardian , June 23, 2005, accessed November 26, 2016.
This version was added to the list of articles worth reading on June 14, 2007 .
personal data
SURNAME Hamilton, David
BRIEF DESCRIPTION British art photographer
DATE OF BIRTH April 15, 1933
PLACE OF BIRTH London
DATE OF DEATH November 25, 2016
Place of death Paris