Photographs of 3 Iconic Artists across the decades
Art takes on many forms, but today we have a look at art within art, as iconic photographers capture renowned artists within the frames of their own creativity.
Just after World War II, Magnum Photos emerged as a new type of agency, a collective led by photographers who considered themselves to be both artists and witnesses to world events. A new book, Magnum Artists, shows the creative collaborations that have blossomed between the agency’s photographers and their creative contemporaries over the decades.
“All sorts of people have photographed artists over the years, but Magnum photographers brought a gravitas and seriousness of intent that went beyond the usual assignment.”
Simon Bainbridge, Editorial Director of the British Journal of Photography
USA. New York City. 1989. Jeff KOONS with his porcelain sculpture of Michael Jackson in a SoHo freight elevator.
Jeffrey L. Koons is an American artist recognized for his work dealing with popular culture and his sculptures depicting everyday objects, including balloon animals – produced in stainless steel with mirror-finish surfaces.
JAPAN. Tokyo. 2016. Artist and writer Yayoi Kusama in her Shinjuku studio.
Throughout her career Yayoi Kusama has worked in a wide variety of media, including painting, collage, scat sculpture, performance art, and environmental installations, most of which exhibit her thematic interest in psychedelic colors, repetition and pattern. Kusama is also a published novelist and poet, and has created notable work in film and fashion design.
USA. California. 1956. Photographer Robert FRANK in the home of Wayne Miller while shooting for his book “The Americans.”
Robert Frank was a Swiss photographer and documentary filmmaker, who became an American binational. His most notable work, the 1958 book titled The Americans, earned Frank comparisons to a modern-day de Tocqueville for his fresh and nuanced outsider’s view of American society. His visually raw and personally expressive style made him one of the most influential photographers of the 20th century.