William Klein

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William Klein @ Cinémathèque française

William Klein (born April 19, 1928 in New York ) is an American painter , film director and photographer . He lives and works in Paris .

As a photographer, he has published a number of books on big cities: New York, Rome , Moscow , Tokyo and finally Paris, where he has lived since 1948 and which he loves for its cosmopolitan, multi-ethnic character. He has influenced artists such as Helmut Newton , Frank Horvat , David Bailey and Jeanloup Sieff .

biography

William Klein is the son of immigrant Jews. He first studied sociology and then did his military service. On July 13, 1947, he visited Paris for the first time (as GI ) and fell in love with "the most beautiful girl in Paris". A little later he entered the studio of André Lhote (like Henri Cartier-Bresson ), later in the studio of Fernand Léger . He lived in La Garenne-Colombes and married Jeanne Florin.

At the beginning of the 1950s, Klein exhibited abstract geometric paintings. At the same time he kept a kind of photographic diary. Chris Marker helped him get it published by Au Seuil , the book was awarded the Prix ​​Nadar . Fellini invited him to become his assistant. In the early 1960s he shot several episodes for the program Cinq Colonnes à la une , including Les Français et la politique (The French and Politics), which was censored. Klein worked as a fashion photographer for Vogue until 1965 . His fashion photographs "revolutionize" the genre: His models no longer had their hands on their hips and their feet no longer took the position of the classical ballet dancer. At that time, there was an air of scandal about Klein's work.

In addition to photography, he began making short films at an early age. With Louis Malle he worked on Zazie dans le métro . His career as a filmmaker has been shaped primarily by his political commitment , in particular for the benefit of Afro-Americans , whose struggles he seeks to support with portraits of personalities such as Muhammad Ali , Little Richard and Eldridge Cleaver .

In 1983 and 2005 the Center Pompidou in Paris dedicated an exhibition to him. In 2004 an exhibition "Paris + Klein" took place in the Martin-Gropius-Bau in Berlin. In 2019 (until September 22nd) a comprehensive retrospective took place in Madrid.

plant

Documentaries

  • 1958: Broadway by Light
  • 1962: Les troubles de la circulation
  • 1962: Le business et la mode
  • 1962: Les français et la politique
  • 1963: Gare de Lyon
  • 1964: Aux grands magasins
  • 1967: Far from Vietnam ( Loin du Viêt Nam )
  • 1969: Muhammad Ali, the Greatest ( Muhammad Ali, the Greatest )
  • 1969: Le Festival Panafricain d'Alger
  • 1970: Eldridge Cleaver
  • 1977: Hollywood, California: A Loser's Opera
  • 1978: May '68 in the Latin Quarter ( Grands soirs & petits matins )
  • 1980: The Little Richard Story
  • 1982: The French
  • 1983: Contacts
  • 1984: Ralentis
  • 1984: Mode en France
  • 1992: Babilée '91
  • 1994: In and Out of Fashion
  • 1999: The Messiah ( Le Messie )

Feature films

  • 1966: who are you, Polly Magoo? ( Qui êtes-vous, Polly Maggoo? )
  • 1969: Mr. Freedom
  • 1974: L'anniversaire de Charlotte  : medium-length film about the Super 8 festival in Paris
  • 1977: Le Couple témoin

Famous photographic work

  • The photo Gun 1, New York (1955).
  • The photo of Sainte famille à moto (Rome, 1956).
  • The work Cineposter , Tokyo 1961.
  • Working for Vogue with models on the streets of New York in 1963.
  • The cover for the album Love on the Beat (1964) by Serge Gainsbourg .
  • The work Club Allegro Fortissimo (1990).
  • Autoportrait (1995) (combination of photography and painting)

bibliography

  • New York (1956)
  • Life is good and good for you in New York: Trance Witness Revels (1958)
    • German edition: New York 1954.55. Braus, Heidelberg 1995
  • Rome (1958)
  • Moscou (1964)
  • Tokyo (1964)
  • Mister Freedom (1970)
  • Close up (1989)
  • Torino '90 (1990)
  • Fashion in & out (1994)
  • New York 1954–55 reprint - éd. Marval (1995)
  • William Klein Films - éd. Marval (1998)
  • Paris + Small - éd. Marval (2002)
  • MMV Romani (2005)
  • William Klein, rétrospective - éd. Marval (2005) - more than 300 photos and 384 pages

Quote

“ Prendre une photo, c'est une excuse pour être badaud. Je me donne l'impression de faire quelque chose donc j'ai moins mauvaise conscience "
( Eng. "Taking a picture is an excuse to be a gawker. I make myself feel like doing something and therefore have a less guilty conscience.")

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ^ New York Photo Review - The Church of the Street, William Klein + Brooklyn , by Ed Barnas, accessed January 13, 2016
personal data
SURNAME Little William
BRIEF DESCRIPTION American painter, film director, and photographer
DATE OF BIRTH April 19, 1928
PLACE OF BIRTH new York