Guy Bourdin - Photographer

[Tony Fersen]

ah yes, thank you, I'll try there !

 

[Northern Star]

I have no idea why I have messed around on the forum for so long and haven't even bothered checking out photographers who I have long admired Things are gonna change.

Although his work is being copied regularly right now his original work stands aloneB) Strking, provocative and blatantly sexy........a true innovator in his field. Thanks for all the pics everyone. *Subscribing*

 

[BerlinRocks]

Art
The Burden of Being Bourdin
By Marina Cashdan 05/08/2009 12:24 PM


The theme of model as muse will be thrown around a lot this month (Kate Moss in a gold lame toga creation already comes to mind). But the relationship between photographer and model is more than an excuse for a garden party; as dramatized by Antonioni's Blow Up, it's an historically complex dynamic, with the model not just the object of adoration and contemplation, but of camradery, projection, and anxiety. When it comes to the rather dark persona of late French photographer Guy Bourdin—who, among contemporaries Chris von Wagenheim, and Helmut Newton, propagated the neo-glam look of the late 1970s and 1980s—the relationship between photographer and model was notoriously neurotic and compulsive, and verging on abusive. Without a doubt, Bourdin struggled with personal demons. You need not look further than to his work, in which leggy, typically nude models had their heads cropped off; or they posed submissively, their faces hidden; or sort other violent thing afflicts them in the course of the editorial narrative.

Tomorrow Unseen: Guy Bourdin opens at The Wapping Project in London, with works lent by Phillips de Pury and Bourdin's son and heir, Samuel Bourdin, and curated in collaboration with Bourdin's frequent muse, Nicolle Meyer, who modeled in countless numbers of the photographer's French Vogue editorials and nearly all of his risqué Charles Jourdan shoe ads. We sat down with Meyer to talk about the complicated and dark life of Guy Bourdin, as well as the gentle side that those who were not his muse did not get to see.


MC: At what point in Bourdin's career did you start working with him?

NM: I worked with him from 1977 and 1980, and it was a very intense period where with did a lot of Charles Jourdan ads, Vogue editorials, [and a] Pentax calendar. I worked with him in what was considered the peak years of his career, where he produced a very intense body of work and iconic images within [that] body of work.

MC: What was your first encounter with Guy Bourdin?

NM: I was 17. I was a dancer and then I was with a little modeling agency in Paris- I'm American-French [and] I moved to Paris when I was 12-and they sent me to Guy on a go-see, but I hadn't much to show-I had one or two test shots. He was very nice, very gentle. He looked at my photo from my [agency] card and then I got a call about a Vogue editorial at the end of the week.


MC: He has a reputation for being abusive to his models. In your experience, is that a misrepresentation?

NM: He has a terrible reputation of being dark and pushing everyone to tears. But I don't know, my work relationship with him was not at all like that. The only time I saw him get very frustrated was when we took a two-month trip around the [United] States... but he never focused anger at me or put me in a position where I felt upset or uncomfortable.

MC: According to what I've read, it seems he felt very strongly that he wanted all of his work to be destroyed posthumously. That said, do you think this exhibition, or your book and exhibitions like the first retrospective at V&A in 2003, goes against his wishes?

NM: They say that but talking with his son Samuel, it seems that [Guy] was putting things together before he died an was potentially thinking of publishing something. It's controversial. Going through the archives when working on my book, Guy did save a lot of material, especially from the period when I worked with him-not just the commissioned ones, but the making of. So he did like them; he did keep them.

MC: Did you maintain a relationship with Bourdin after you stopped modeling?

NM: I stopped modeling very abruptly because I went into the music business. I joined a band called Fred Banana Combo-a punkish German New Wave [band]-and I didn't have anything to do with the fashion world. But for my last album cover in 1988, I called him out of the blue and he was super sweet, so he did the record cover. So, because I was older, that's when I had more of a [adult] relationship with him.

MC: The recent Met gala brought a lot of attention to the muse-artist relationship. What do you think creates that connection between artist and muse? Did you have a sense while you were working with him that you had a unique relationship with him?

NM: I couldn't say that I was acting as a muse while I was working with him. I knew there was a great work chemistry and that I really loved working with him, and I really trusted him implicitly. I think he picked up on that. You couldn't be prissy working with Guy, because he put you in situations-like hanging [from things] and other difficult positions-and he also did a lot of nudes at the time. I always find that everyone goes into that morbid side of [his work] but I think the work is really painterly and glamorous-those aspects are not touched on enough.

MC: Were you aware at that age of how iconic these images would become?

NM: My parents were fine art collectors, so I always grew up with strong images, so somehow I instinctively connected with what he was doing. I somehow felt it and he picked up on that.

MC: Were you aware of his reputation before you worked with him and if so, was that intimidating as just a teenage girl?

NM: When I met him, I didn't know about his notoriety. I was enthusiastic. I think he also liked my young face-something that was fresh and uninfluenced.

MC: Were your parents concerned when seeing the images?

NM: Of course, my mother filtered out the nude shots from my dad... but they were supportive.

- Interview -

 

[hfgl]

Thank you for posting.

 

[tigerrouge]

And an article from Nicolle in The Telegraph:

Nicolle Meyer: muse of Guy Bourdin

Nicolle Meyer shares her experiences as muse to the avant-garde photographer Guy Bourdin.

06 May 2009

“This is Nicolle...the phantom of Guy Bourdin. Nicolle was an integral part of his vision. She was his canvas. She comes and goes, appears and disappears - always different but always the same. She gave Mr. Bourdin the freedom to dream and think”, writes Lanvin’s designer Alber Elbaz in the introduction of my book “Guy Bourdin: A Message For You”. Alber’s words perfectly sum up the role of the model as muse. When I started modelling for the avant-garde photographer Guy Bourdin in 1977, I had no idea I would be considered his.

I posed for Guy between 1977-1980. This coincided with the disco years and the glamorization of excess in society. Guy synthesized all that surrounded him, taking everything in and sending images back with a high octane, preternatural, über-glamorous look. He invited me to partake in this beautiful yet bizarre dream world. Whether straddling a glowing light bulb in my lap, dripping nail polish “blood” from my lips, or twisting my dancer’s body in physically demanding poses, I was happy to be a player in his fantasies. I loved the theatrics, his quest for perfection, his resourcefulness in achieving each image. Even though I was only 17-years-old when I started working with him - and a complete novice at that - I intuitively understood what his demands were and trusted him implicitly. Acting out the unconventional never fazed me.

The synergy between model, photographer and designer can be seen in the groundbreaking campaigns Guy produced with French couturier Charles Jourdan, in which I appeared thirty times. The campaigns were controversial due to their explicit content but highly successful (the Bourdin/Jourdan collaboration lasted for 14 years). One of my favourites was an image where I’m squatting in black tights and stilettos, which Guy had slipped into the window of those now obsolete hotel message reminder envelopes. I became “A Message For You” courtesy of the Fontainebleau Hotel. The image was so smart, humorous and surreal.

Of course notions of beauty change and morph with time. Guy’s take on beauty was a very particular one. His oft-cryptic pictorial narratives revolutionised and pushed the limits of commercial photography. He blurred the line between fashion photography and fine art photography, influencing the works of photographers today like Mert Alas & Marcus Piggott and David LaChapelle. I’m privileged to have posed for such an inspiring man and, through his geni, printed in the elfast Telegraphus and creativity, played a part in our ever evolving visual culture.

• Unseen Guy Bourdin, The Wapping Project, Wapping Hydraulic Power Station, London E1; 020 7680 2080

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/fashion/5284104/Nicolle-Meyer-muse-of-Guy-Bourdin.html

 

[Warrenista]

Nora Ariffin - la égérie du Guy Bourdin

Compared to Nicolle Meyer and Louise Despointes (who left Guy for Serge Lutens), Nora Ariffin, is a lesser known muse to Guy Bourdin.

Nora arrived in Paris in 1986. After a go-see with Guy, she was booked for three photo-shoots in Florida (Miami and Palm Beach) and Saint Martin (Caribbean). These editorials appeared in Vogue Paris Fevrier 87, Mai 87 and Juin/Juillet 87. Nora also appeared in an editorial by Guy called 'Dis-moi si cette nuit-là, à Venise' in Vogue Paris Decembre 87 / Janvier 88.

When Guy's contract with Vogue Paris ended, Nora continued working with Guy for other magazines including Harper's Bazaar, PHOTO, Cosmopolitan, Vital etc. In 1990, Nora left Paris for New York.

Images of Nora can be found in Guy's books 'Exhibit A' and '67 Polaroids'. One of the most memorable and powerful images of Nora (by Guy) is... Nora in a gold swimsuit, leaning against the trunk/boot of a car - originally appeared in Vogue Paris Mai 87. This photograph is currently on sale at the 'Unseen Guy Bourdin' exhibition at the Wapping Project in London for GBP 20,000 plus 15% tax.

 

[Volume_3]

Another interview with Nicolle Meyer

Everyone is pondering how a model becomes a fashion muse, prompted by the mass of attention on the ‘Model as Muse’ exhibition which has just opened at the Met in New York. The fashion muse at work is more than just a supermodel wearing a designers’ togs and being a brand ambassador. Muses like Nicolle Meyer who worked intensely with Guy Bourdin beween 1977 and 1980 listen, comply and thus earn the respect of a visionary photographer. The notoriously difficult Bourdin was known to be very demanding with his models and Meyer was a fresh-faced 17 year old who gave Bourdin the freedom to push the boundaries because she was didn’t put up a fight. Since her working experience with Bourdin, she has gone on to write ‘Bourdin: Message for You’ and is happy to be in her own words “a Guy Bourdin ambassador, spreading the images”. So that mission brings Meyer here to London to open “Unseen Guy Bourdin”, an exhibition of 32 images (some never seen by the public before) at The Wapping Project. She reminisces with Dazed Digital over working with Bourdin.

Dazed Digital: Describe your first encounter with Bourdin?
Nicolle Meyer: I was a very young girl. I really hadn't started my modelling career yet. I went to see Guy Bourdin, not knowing who he was. He was very sweet, very gentle. He asked to see my ID card and sjdde .h that week I was booked for Vogue. Working with him from the beginning, he was kind of testing me to see how I would react. In some of the shoots I couldn't really use in my book, because you couldn't see my head and you would just see an arm or a leg or I'd be doused in water. As soon as he saw that I was really enjoying working with him and didn't put up any resistance, I slowly became unveiled in the shots.

DD: What was it about you that attracted you to Bourdin do you think, for him to work with you so consistently for three years?
Nicolle Meyer: It is considered a long time! I think one of the several factors, in the beginning, when he first saw me, I stood for the kind of woman he was looking for - a kind of child woman. The other thing was that he saw that I was very willing. You couldn't be complicated if you worked for him. You needed to be open to every suggestion. I was never fazed by anything he asked me to do. If I had to hang with my back dangling on a beam suspended from a wall for an hour, I wouldn't put up a fight. I kind of liked doing all this work even if it was difficult. That led to a good relationship and he felt free with me to try out whatever he wanted.

DD: Did you ever mind that your face was obscured for the most part and that you weren’t the main focus in the shot?
Nicolle Meyer: I didn't mind at all. When I was doing the shoot I wasn't aware how they were going to be cropped or turn out. We did a lot of studio work in the Marais, Paris. I just loved going there. You knocked on the door and stepped into another world. He locked the doors and you were in Guy's environment and it was very theatrical. There were sets being built and you spent a long time in make-up. I kind of liked the whole process. I was also very fascinated by his creativity to finding a solution to doing a certain image because it was pre-digital. His shots were not really straightforward shots. They involved a lot of technical aspects. There's one where I'm leaning back with the chair also tipped back too. It's a simple idea that's very surreal and there's no way you could have done it in a simple way.

DD: Were there any moments where you did question his processes?
Nicolle Meyer: We did a lot of nudes together and it could easily have been a situation where the guy was lecherous or it was awkward or it could have gone over into the vulgar side. I felt very much at ease with him. I always think there was something very paternal about it which sounds very odd given I did some very odd photos with him that I wouldn't do with my dad! There was something very protective about him. I didn't see that side that he's actually quite was known for, that he pushed his models to the brink and was incredibly difficult to work with. He probably wasn’t like that with me because there was no need.

DD: What would you say is your most memorable experience of working with Bourdin?
Nicolle Meyer: The whole experience of working with him is kind of like a collage that makes one whole Guy memory. If I tried to break it down, the one I loved the most because it was so stunning, and was like being in a film, was the one where we went to Karl Lagerfeld's chateau outside Paris. It was for French Vogue and I'm tied to a stake like Saint Sebastien or Christ, stripped to my nipples with blood running down. I was with another model Audrey who was kneeling down.
It was so amazing how he would stand back and it was like he was painting a painting, tweaking certain things and getting it just right for the shot. That memory is very strong just because it was so visual.

DD: What do you think makes Bourdin's work still relevant today?
Nicolle Meyer: There's such amazing narrative and real beauty to his images. Those things are timeless for me. He was a master in technique but he was also very painterly. The images stand on their own and continue to intrigue people. I see the inspiration he has on other photographers and artists. If you look at fashion magazines today, I don't want to say people plagiarise, but you see Guy's influences very strongly.

from dazeddigital.com

I am a huge fan of his work, and im quite excited to see these unseen shots. If i only i could go to the exhibition :/

 

[iluvjeisa]

Interesting stuff - Warrenista can you state the source of your images?

 

[Warrenista]

Nora Ariffin - l'égérie de Guy Bourdin

Thanks Iluvjeisa.

Sources: ebay and Vogue Paris Mai 1987 (own scans).

 

[Warrenista]

Harper's Bazaar Italia 1989 - Guy Bourdin

Hello!

I'm desperately looking for photos of Nora Ariffin by Guy Bourdin in an issue of Harper's Bazaar Italia (published in 1989). I was told that there were three models (two girls, one of them was Nora and one male model) in this editorial.

Can anyone help.... please?

Also.... does anyone know when Harper's Bazaar Italia ceased publishing... shame really, it's such a great magazine!

 

[Gloria01]

^Thanks a lot!

 

[Warrenista]

Sources: Bourdin scans

Thank you so much Iluvjeisa for the scans!

Sources: Vogue Paris Mai 1987 (by I luvjeisa) and own scans at http://nora-ariffin.com/page28/page20/page20.html

 

[awwwwfuq]

wow he was really way ahead of his time.

 

[tigerrouge]

There's a Guy Bourdin feature in the new issue of French Photo - no 461, Gisele cover - and these are some small grabs of it in case anyone is interested in the content (journaux.fr

 

[Nixon058]

pure genius.

 

[iluvjeisa]

From style.com:

Legendary Paris department store Le Bon Marché Rive Gauche is currently playing host to Guy Bourdin, Ses Films, an installation of 15 clips from films Bourdin shot from the 1960’s through the 1980’s. According to Shelly Verthime, who curated the show with Bourdin’s son Samuel, the films operate as both a time capsule and a window onto Bourdin’s creative process. “Making these films, I believe, was part of his obsessive search for the perfect image,” Verthime explains. “You see him experimenting with different angles, different lighting. What we see in those famous photos is the end result of this process, involving so many tiny adjustments.”
...
"The reason I wanted to work with the Bourdin estate to begin with was because I found his work timeless. That’s the word, really. He was such a visionary, and for me, he had the three elements of the real artist: the mind, the heart, and the eye. It was never about taking pretty pictures of beautiful models. He would go to museums with a magnifying glass to study the masters. He’d spend 40 hours working to perfect one shot. We are now producing a documentary about Bourdin and doing all these interviews with people he worked with, like Nicole Meyer and Grace Coddington. They all say that working with Guy Bourdin, there was a sense of purpose. The feeling was they weren’t just creating last season’s fashion coverage. They were creating art. There was a longevity to what he was doing, and you could even sense it on set. Like, the Charles Jourdan campaigns, that you mentioned, there’s a mise-en-scène, a story, a before feeling and an after feeling looking at the picture. He was a film director, in stills."

The full story here:http://www.style.com/stylefile/2009/10/talking-bourdin-and-film-with-shelly-verthime/

I would say that he was definitely one of the 5 greatest artists of the 20th century. Including absolutely everything. It really came as a shock to me when I opened up a vintage Vogue Paris and realized that here was where a significant portion of great art of the 20th century resided. I had been wondering where the Turners, van Goghs and da Vincis of the 20th century were....those obsessed with beauty, ugliness and the range of tangible human emotion, not just concepts (I don't see why it should be elaborated upon after Duchamp's work really).

Call me pretentious, but I didn't expect to find it in a glossy. Those days of wonder on my part are long gone of course It doesn't happen often because in the framework of today's glossies, it's not encouraged. But when it does, oh when it does.

 

[Northern Star]

1988 Lagerfeld Fragrance Ad.



(my own scan)

 

[BBBBB]

Hi, I was wondering if anyone has seen the new Bourdin book "In Between", and if it´s any good....?
I´m not that impressed by the publishers choice of spreads online:
http://www.steidlville.com/books/1079-In-Between.html

Surely this could be great, but just as well it could go the other way... Are there many Vogue Paris editorials selected? Is it mainly fashion, beauty or shoes? (I´ve yet to see it in a shop.) Thanks!

 

[fritmayo]

Call me pretentious, but I didn't expect to find it in a glossy. Those days of wonder on my part are long gone of course It doesn't happen often because in the framework of today's glossies, it's not encouraged. But when it does, oh when it does.

it actualy changes just during Bourdin Career, as you probably know that the end of his career he was unfortunately not very welcome anymore in the magazines.
He was against the growing AD and stylist teams around photographer controlling everything, and nowadays having more input in the final photos than the photographer himself. He was rather noisy about that, and he has been clearly puted out of the magazines for that.
It is the last of the really creativ fashion photographer of the century, the only one who with time passing will be recognize in same category as people as Avedon, penn...

The current "top" photographers, Testino, Meisel..., have not even 10% of the talent of those, but they reached their level in perfectly managing what Bourdin hated, in selling their soul to FD AD and all those people who took a too big part nowadays...

 

[KKnardi]

^I understand your point of view, I would also like to see more art like that of Guy Bourdin in our current magazines. But magazines has to sell...