Published by Hatje Cantz. Text by Henri Cole, Monika Faber, Felix Hoffmann, Helmut Lang, Sven Michaelsen, Sarah Mower, Sophie Pechhacker, Martin Prinzhorn, Christian Reder, Esther Ruelfs, Elisabeth von Samsonow, Stefano Tonchi.
The work of Austrian photographer Elfie Semotan (born 1941) has revolutionized fashion and advertising photography since the 1960s. Semotan has mastered the art of photographic storytelling, producing images that resemble film stills, telling a story that goes beyond what can be seen, and creating relationships to icons or art history. Her portraits of prominent personalities from the fields of art, film and theater, such as Louise Bourgeois, Willem Dafoe, Elfriede Jelinek, Milla Jovovich, Maria Lassnig, Martin Kippenberger, Udo Kier, Jonathan Meese and Daniel Richter, and her collaboration and friendship with Helmut Lang have made her world-famous. Just as Lang’s minimalistic design had a defining influence on international fashion, Semotan’s advertising and fashion photos for international magazines such as Elle, Harper’s Bazaar, Interview, The New Yorker and Vogue have established a new photographic aesthetic. This retrospective volume is the first to honor the entire oeuvre of this multitalented photographer.
Published by Walther König, Köln. Text by Elfie Semotan. Interview by Helmut Lang.
This compact, elegantly produced photobook compiles Elfie Semotan’s (born 1941) Polaroids of “stand-ins”--people who double for supermodels in preparatory shots for fashion photoshoots. Without the obligation to pose or command the camera, these stand-ins generally express low-key moods at odds with the occasion, from boredom to melancholy.
Published by Walther König, Köln. Edited by Hans-Peter Wipplinger. Text by Monika Faber, Stephanie Damianitsch, Hans-Peter Wipplinger.
This volume compiles works in fashion, nudes and portraiture by the internationally esteemed Austrian photographer Elfie Semotan (born 1941). Throughout her career, Semotan has maintained a close dialogue with artists, approaching photography with a painterly eye. "I envy painters for their ability to create their reality," she says. "It has always fascinated me to try to translate this into photography, where you have to very deliberately aim at achieving these kinds of ‘snapshots of utter perfection.’" This volume includes her New York street scenes, fashion shoots for Helmut Lang and various fashion magazines, the French Girl in New York series, her collaboration with Vanessa Beecroft and portraits of artists such as Louise Bourgeois, Martin Kippenberger, Jonathan Meese, Jack Whitten, Raymond Pettibon, Jason Rhoades, Joan Semmel and Christopher Wool.
Elfie Semotan: Stand-ins
Elfie Semotan