Bruce Weber (photographer)
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Bruce Weber (born March 29, 1946 in Greensburg, Pennsylvania) is an American fashion photographer and occasional filmmaker.[1] He is most widely known for his ad campaigns for Calvin Klein, Ralph Lauren,[2] Pirelli, Abercrombie & Fitch, Revlon, and Gianni Versace, as well as his work for Vogue, GQ, Vanity Fair, Elle, Life, Interview, and Rolling Stone magazines.
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[edit] Life and work
Weber's fashion photography first appeared in the late 1970s in GQ magazine, where he had frequent cover photos. Nan Bush, his longtime companion and agent, was able to secure a contract with Federated Department Stores to shoot the 1978 Bloomingdales mail catalog. He came to the attention of the general public[citation needed] in the late 1980s and early 1990s with his advertising images for Calvin Klein. His straightforward black and white shots, featuring an unclothed heterosexual couple on a swing facing each other, two clothed men in bed, and model Marcus Schenkenberg barely holding jeans in front of himself in a shower, catapulted him into the national spotlight.[citation needed] His photograph of Calvin Klein of Olympic athlete Tom Hintnaus in white briefs is an iconic image.[vague] He photographed the winter 2006 Ralph Lauren Collection.
After doing photo shoots for and of famous people (many of whom were featured in Andy Warhol's Interview magazine), Weber made short films of teenage boxers (Broken Noses),[1],[1] his beloved pet dogs, and later, a longer film titled Chop Suey. Weber directed Let's Get Lost a documentary about jazz trumpeter Chet Baker.
Weber's photographs are occasionally in color; however, most are in black and white or toned shades.[1] They are gathered in limited edition books, including A House is Not a Home and Bear Pond, an early work which shows, among other models, Eric Nies from MTV's The Real World series.
Weber began collaborating with crooner Chris Isaak in the mid-1980s. In 1986, he photographed Isaak for his second album, Chris Isaak. In 1988, he photographed a shirtless Isaak in bed for a fashion spread in Rolling Stone.[3] Isaak appeared in Let's Get Lost and Weber has directed a music video for Isaak.
He photographed Harry Connick, Jr. for his 1991 album Blue Light, Red Light.
In 1993, he photographed singer-songwriter Jackson Browne for his 1993 album I'm Alive.
He is married to Nan Bush, with whom he sometimes collaborates.
[edit] Music videos
In 1990 Weber directed the music video for the Pet Shop Boys single "Being Boring". He filmed a wild party with a diverse group of people. The video was filmed in one day by two film crews in a house on Long Island. Content including male and female nudity prevented the video from being played on MTV in the United States.[4] In 1996 he directed the video for the Pet Shop Boys single "Se a vida é (That's the Way Life Is)" on location in a Wet 'n' Wild, a water park near Orlando, Florida.[5] In 2002, Weber again directed a Pet Shop Boys video, for the song "I Get Along" from the album Release. Weber filmed this video on location at his own Little Bear studio in New York City.[citation needed] Weber also directed the music video for the Chris Isaak song "Blue Spanish Sky".[6]
[edit] Fashion label
Weber created the fashion label Weberbilt in 2003; his first line, "eat, swim, sex, sleep", went on sale in boutiques in London and Miami Beach, Florida in 2004.[7]
[edit] Videography
[edit] Films
- Beauty Brothers (1987, 12:26 min, b&w/color)
- Broken Noses (1987, 75 min, b&w/color)
- Let's Get Lost (1988, 1:59:25 min, b&w)
- Backyard Movie (1991, 8:55 min, b&w)
- Gentle Giants (1994, 14:35 min, b&w/color)
- The Teddy Boys of the Edwardian Drape Society (1996, 3:45 min, b&w)
- Chop Suey (2000, 94 min, b&w/color)
- A Letter to True (2004, 78 min, b&w/color)
- Wine and Cupcakes (2007, 12:10 min, color)
[edit] Music videos
- Pet Shop Boys: "Being Boring" (1990)
- Chris Isaak: "Blue Spanish Sky" (1991)
- Pet Shop Boys: "Se a vida é (That's the way life is)" (1996)
- Pet Shop Boys: "I Get Along" (2002)
[edit] References
- ^ a b c d Maslin, Janet (March 24, 1989) Review/Film Festival; The History of a Musician's Disintegration New York Times
- ^ McNulty, Bernadette (24 May 2008) Chet Baker: 'There aren't a lot of people like Chet left' Telegraph
- ^ [1]
- ^ "10 years of Being Boring". http://www.10yearsofbeingboring.com/video/information. Retrieved 2010-05-14.
- ^ "Other videos". http://www.10yearsofbeingboring.com/video/other. Retrieved 2010-05-14.
- ^ "Bruce Weber Profile at IMDB". IMDB.com. http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0916510/. Retrieved 2010-05-14.
- ^ bruceweber.com - Click on the link for Weberbilt
[edit] External links
- Official site
- Bruce Weber at the Internet Movie Database
- "Bruce Weber". Photography. Victoria and Albert Museum. http://www.vam.ac.uk/vastatic/microsites/photography/photographerframe.php?photographerid=ph057.
- Wine And Cupcakes - a 2007 short film by Bruce Weber.
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