Intriguing, revolutionary and undoubtedly one of the most influential fashion photographers of the twentieth century, Guy Bourdin was a groundbreaking image-maker, whose work has achieved a cultlike following. His striking use of color, suggestive narratives and surrealist aesthetics established a visual language entirely his own. Though best known for his color images, Bourdin launched his career in black and white in the early 1950s. Untouched explores this largely unseen work and gives insight into the early development of his photographic eye. The carefully constructed images, initially conceived as an exhibition series, reveal his artistic motivation years before he began working on assignments for French Vogue and Photo Femina. In both concept and composition, these photographs display his fascination with striking graphic layouts and narrative cinematic portraiture. Capturing people he encountered on the streets of Paris, Bourdin trained his eye to transcend the realism of the medium, developing a unique perspective through unconventional manipulations of the picture plane.
Guy Bourdin was born in Paris in 1928. His career as a fashion photographer spans over three decades. Bourdin shot largely for French Vogue as well as Harper's Bazaar, Chanel, Issey Miyake, Versace, Charles Jourdan and Emanuel Ungaro. Today Bourdin's work is held in prestigious museum including the Victoria and Albert Museum, Jeu de Paume, the Guggenheim and the National Museum of China. Bourdin died in 1991.
Featured image is reproduced from Guy Bourdin: Untouched.
PRAISE AND REVIEWS
The New York Times, Styles Section
Matthew Schneier
The uncompromising fashion photography of latter-day interiors like Juergen Teller and Terry Richardson owes a debt to this approach – which may be why Bourdin's work feels startingly contemporary. It hasn't aged. If anything, it's better than much of what followed it.
Photograph Magazine
Vince Aletti
... a superbly designed book of recently rediscovered black-and-white pictures made between 1949 and 1955, is the first to delve into Bourdin's formative years, and it's fascinating.
PDN
Vince Aletti
...a superbly designed book of recently rediscovered black-and-white pictures made between 1949 and 1955, is the first to delve into Bourdin’s formative years, and it’s fascinating.
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“Better 5 minutes of happiness than a lifetime of conformity,” Guy Bourdin wrote on the back of this 1955 self-portrait. It is one of many early black-and-white photographs that laid dormant in an unassuming box of negative envelopes for more than half a century before Bourdin scholar Shelly Verthime and the artist’s son, Samuel, randomly unearthed them in 2011. These Untouched photographs are collected in an exquisite new book from Steidl Dangin. continue to blog
FORMAT: Hbk, 9.75 x 12 in. / 300 pgs / 250 color / 200 BW. LIST PRICE: U.S. $65.00 LIST PRICE: CANADA $87 ISBN: 9783869309347 PUBLISHER: Steidl AVAILABLE: 9/26/2017 DISTRIBUTION: D.A.P. RETAILER DISC: TRADE PUBLISHING STATUS: Active AVAILABILITY: In stock TERRITORY: NA ONLY
Intriguing, revolutionary and undoubtedly one of the most influential fashion photographers of the twentieth century, Guy Bourdin was a groundbreaking image-maker, whose work has achieved a cultlike following. His striking use of color, suggestive narratives and surrealist aesthetics established a visual language entirely his own. Though best known for his color images, Bourdin launched his career in black and white in the early 1950s. Untouched explores this largely unseen work and gives insight into the early development of his photographic eye. The carefully constructed images, initially conceived as an exhibition series, reveal his artistic motivation years before he began working on assignments for French Vogue and Photo Femina. In both concept and composition, these photographs display his fascination with striking graphic layouts and narrative cinematic portraiture. Capturing people he encountered on the streets of Paris, Bourdin trained his eye to transcend the realism of the medium, developing a unique perspective through unconventional manipulations of the picture plane.
Guy Bourdin was born in Paris in 1928. His career as a fashion photographer spans over three decades. Bourdin shot largely for French Vogue as well as Harper's Bazaar, Chanel, Issey Miyake, Versace, Charles Jourdan and Emanuel Ungaro. Today Bourdin's work is held in prestigious museum including the Victoria and Albert Museum, Jeu de Paume, the Guggenheim and the National Museum of China. Bourdin died in 1991.
