Photography from the Classics - "Guess Who"

[url=http://][/url]#6 - 15.04.2009

Try to guess the author's name till Sunday night, the 26th April (maybe also the decade each pic was taken), when I'll reveal his/her name .

You may post your guess since now! Suggestion: if you are convinced you really guessed, please let the master's name 2nd letters , instead (the initials are too easy, as we realized in previous posts), for others to go on trying! Thanks.

I'll post 3 pics from each photographer to show different views from himself, and to make it easier to guess. After his/her name revelation, I'll post at least some more photos just for your extended pleasure, as well as a new Master work for a new turn in the game ;)

You may choose, also, to make some comments on the pics themselves, both in a "woophyan" way as you do in your comments [don't hesitate to criticize a Master, for bad or good;)], or in a more general point of view, if you like. Thanks and enjoy!

Oh, PLEASE GO BACK to the previous post to see the last ANSWER and some more pics of that Master!

---

#1. Jeanloup Sieff _ Two women watching a train pass by_1978

---

#2. Jeanloup Sieff _ Vallée de la mort, California, USA, 1977

---

#3. Jeanloup Sieff _ La robe trop étroite, Paris_1995

---

And the answer is: Jeanloup Sieff


Some quotes from the Master:

All aspects of photography interest me and I feel for the female body the same curiosity and the same love as for a landscape, a face or anything else which interests me. In any case, the nude is a form of landscape. There are no reasons for my photographs, nor any rules; all depends on the mood of the moment, on the mood of the model. - Jeanloup Sieff, Views on nudes by Bill Jay


Magazines were once produced by people who had something to say. People who had a point of view that you shared, or didn't share. Now magazines are produced by marketing people who only want to sell advertising pages. And the editorial part? Nobody cares. - Jeanloup Sieff

---

JEANLOUP SIEFF
(1933-2000)

Jeanloup Sieff was born in Paris to parents of Polish origin. He took up photography at the age of 14 upon receiving a plastic Photax camera for his birthday. In 1953 he went to the Vaugirard School of Photography in Paris to study literature, journalism and photography. A year later he concentrated on photography at the Vevey School in Switzerland. At first he wanted to be a film director but in 1954 he began working as a freelance reporter. A year later he was employed by Elle as a reporter and in 1956 started shooting fashion photography.
Sieff joined the Magnum Agency in 1958 during which time he took assignments in Greece, Turkey and Poland. He then moved to New York where he worked as a freelance photographer until 1966. He photographed fashion for many of the most influential magazines including Harper's Bazaar, Vogue and Esquire.
His reputation, however, lies mainly in his nudes, in which he frequently managed to convey a sense of the ethereal and of detachment for example 'Homage to Seurat' (1964) and 'The Flying Carpet' (1989). He also photographed a number of celebrities such as Jane Birkin, Yves Montand and Rudolf Nuryev. Sieff's work was not solely confined to figurative studies, as he also executed many highly distinctive landscapes.
Sieff has won a number of awards including the Chevalier des Arts et Lettres in Paris in 1981 and has had his work exhibited frequently around the world. Since 1966 he was based in Paris and continued to photograph a wide range of subjects.
In short, we can say that Jeanloup Sieff's work is unmistakable. The clean modern elegance of his images is combined with a cool sensuality influenced by the "new wave" film-makers of the 50s. A personal erotic vocabulary in his nudes and fashion photography is evident; long bare backs, delicate curves and lingerie. Sieff's landscapes are almost surreal with rocks and grasses isolated in desolate terrain's, in contrast to his portraits which convey real human warmth.
He won a number of prizes, including the Prix Niepce, the Chevalier des Arts et Lettres in Paris in 1981 and the Grand Prix National de la Photographie in 1992. Jeanloup Sieff died in Paris, September 20, 2000 at the age of 66. His daughter, Sonia Sieff, is also a known photographer.

Text organized by me, A.Miguel Oliveira, adapted from Photography-Now, Staley&Wise Gallery and Wikipedia.

---

Some extra photos:

#4: Jeanloup Sieff_Alfred Hitchcock posant pour la photo de mode avec Ina, Hollywood_1962

---

#5: Jeanloup Sieff_Harper's Bazaar, Palm Beach_1964

---

#6: Jeanloup Sieff_Londres_1967

---

#7: Jeanloup Sieff_Jardin des Modes, Paris_1961

---

#8: Jeanloup Sieff_Normandie_1988

---

#9: Jeanloup Sieff_Modefoto_1961

---

#10: Jeanloup Sieff_Scotland_1972

---

#11: Jeanloup Sieff_Portrait d'une dame assise_ 1972

---

Hope you enjoyed those 6 Masters!
I came to the conclusion that this Blog of mine hadn't the sucess (visits, I mean...;)) I could expect and the time it takes me to organize and build it up! This way, I'll stop it here and will try another kind of photographic blog just after the Woophy Meeting of Aveiro, next 23rd May 2009.
Thank you everyone who was interested in it, one way or another, and to Joris who tried to call members' attention to it even in the Forum and News.
See you around;)
Greetings to all, from Porto,
Miguel