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| Mati and daughters |
A few years ago Lorenzo photographed a
mother and two daughters for his “generations” series. Even if the daughters
were in the summit of their beauty, it was the mother, who was in her mid
seventies, who stood out. She had this star quality that reminded everyone of
the actress Geraldine Chaplin. However, when she saw herself in the portrait,
she hated it and she said she didn’t know she looked so old. His daughter, who
had commissioned the portrait, displayed it in her apartment, nonetheless. It
was not until dozens of people had praised the photo that she started to
appreciate it.
This is not news for Lorenzo; we have
learned to accept that people feel uncomfortable when seeing their portraits
for the first time. We also know that they will eventually grow to love them.
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| Mati modelling for Lorenzo in Dior |
I recently listened to a radio interview
with the legendary photographer David Bailey, who is currently showing a
retrospective of his work at the National Portrait Gallery, and it gave me food
for thought. It did not surprise me to learn that the same happens to him. He
said that he loves it when someone who poses for him hates the portrait and
then, twenty years later, his wife phones saying: “Do you remember that photo
you took of my husband? It’s the best portrait he’s ever had. Could we have a
copy now?”
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| Michael Caine's famous portrait opens David Bailey's Exhibition in London |
Bailey tells us an anecdote about Picasso
and Gertrude Stein. When she saw her portrait, she said: “ I don’t look like
that!” and Picasso retorted: “You will”. A good portrait shows your real self,
the one that naturally emerges throughout the years.
In 1999 Bailey was photographing the
singer Marianne Faithful. She was in her underwear in the process of changing
clothes when he said: “Don’t move. This is the picture.” She was 53 and she looked 53, which is one of the things I
love about her. He told her that he wanted to show the world that she was “Marianne
Faithful” and didn’t give a monkey’s about what people thought. He took two
pictures. In one of them she was serious; in the other one she was laughing.
She hated the second one. It was not the fact that the photo showed her mature
body; in this sense both photos were identical. It was the grin, with a hint of
madness, which upset her. The second photo somehow announced the decadence of
the mind, something that terrifies all of us.
It’s easy to please a model: a little bit
of photo editing and you are as good as new. It requires boldness to show the
poser’s inner self. It also demands the gift to connect with the person that
hides behind the mask. Bailey said that doing a portrait is a mode of
communication. I cannot agree more. Lorenzo does exactly the same: he talks to
the model and clicks, and that’s the picture. He doesn’t need to think about
what he’s going to do, it just happens. He says it’s as if it was the
unconscious that took the picture.
It’s funny to think that men normally
accept this sort of exposure more than women. I wonder why. I am a bit like
Marianne Faithful. I have no problems with him photographing my body, but it
takes me a while to see my face as it is reflected by the camera. I always look
too anxious. Again, this is a reflection of my character: I worry too much. On
the other hand, when I look at the first portraits he took of me, I really like
what I see, and I have come to accept that this is what will happen to the
current ones, eventually.
In a world where digital cameras and photo
editing software have made photography accessible to everybody, where it’s so
easy to show who you would like to be, not who you are, we really need artists
who have the bravery and the talent to reveal people’s inner selves.
You can visit David Bailey’s Stardust at
the National Portrait Gallery until 1st June 2014.
You can listen to Tim Marlow interviewing David
Bailey for BBC radio at: http://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/b03phd4f/Getting_the_Picture_The_Camera_Has_Attitudes/
To see Picasso’s portrait of Gertrude Stein click
here
To see David Bailey’s portrait of Marianne Faithful,
click here
Photography: Lorenzohernandez www.photolorenzohernandez.com
UNA VERDAD INCÓMODA
ReplyDeleteHace unos años, Lorenzo fotografió a una madre y a sus dos hijas para la serie “generaciones”. Aunque las hijas estaban en el momento culminante de su belleza, era la madre, que tenía algo más de setenta años, la que destacaba. Poseía la magia de las estrellas de cine clásico y, de hecho, muchos de los que veían la foto la confundían con la actriz Geraldine Chaplin. Sin embargo, a la señora no le gustó nada el verse retratada; dijo que no se imaginaba que fuera tan vieja. Su hija, que había encargado el trabajo, la colgó en su apartamento de todas formas. Finalmente, tras escuchar los halagos de docenas de amigos, la señora empezó a apreciar la foto.
No era la primera vez que esto le ocurría a Lorenzo, ni será la última. Hemos aprendido a aceptar que la gente se siente incómoda cuando ven sus retratos por primera vez. También sabemos que con el tiempo terminarán amándolos.
Hace poco escuché en la radio una entrevista con el legendario fotógrafo David Bailey, quien está exhibiendo una retrospectiva de toda su obra en la National Portrait Gallery, y me dio mucho que pensar. No me sorprendió enterarme de que a él le pasa lo mismo. El maestro dijo que le encanta cuando alguien posa para él y odia la foto y, pasados veinte años, su esposa llama diciendo: “Te acuerdas de ese retrato que le hiciste a mi marido? Es el mejor que le han hecho en su vida. Podrías darme una copia?”
Bailey cuenta una anécdota protagonizada por Picasso y Gertrude Stein. Cuando la escritora y mecenas vio su retrato dijo: “Yo no me parezco a eso”, a lo que Picasso respondió “Pero lo harás algún día”. Un buen retrato muestra tu ser real, el que emerge con el paso de los años.
En 1999 Bailey estaba realizando una sesión con la cantante Marianne Faithful. Ella estaba en ropa interior cambiándose de vestido cuando el fotógrafo le dijo: “No te muevas. Esta es la foto”. En aquella época ella tenía 53 años y los aparentaba, que es una de las cosas que me encantan de ella. Bailey le dijo que quería mostrarle al mundo que ella era “Marianne Faithful” y que le importaba un pito lo que dijera la gente. Hizo dos fotos: en una estaba seria y en la otra se estaba riendo a carcajadas. Ella odió la segunda, no porque mostrara su cuerpo maduro; era la mueca de la carcajada, con un toque de locura, lo que le hacía sentirse incómoda. La segunda foto en cierto modo anunciaba la decadencia de la mente, algo que nos aterroriza a todos.
ReplyDeleteEs fácil satisfacer al modelo: unos cuantos retoques en el ordenador y como nuevo. Lo que requiere valor es mostrar el interior del que posa. También requiere el don de conectar con la persona que se esconde tras la máscara. Bailey dijo que hacer un retrato es una forma de comunicación. No podría estar más de acuerdo. Lorenzo hace exactamente lo mismo: habla con él modelo, dispara, y ya está. No necesita pensar en lo que va a hacer, simplemente ocurre. Es como si su inconsciente hubiera hecho la foto.
Es curioso que los hombres aceptan esta exposición más que las mujeres. Me pregunto por qué. Yo soy un poco como Marianne Faithful: que Lorenzo fotografíe mi cuerpo no es un problema, pero me cuesta mirar a mi cara tal y como la refleja la cámara. Siempre parezco agobiada. En realidad, es un reflejo de mi carácter: tiendo a preocuparme demasiado. Por otra parte, cuando miro a los primeros retratos que me hizo, me encanta lo que veo. Finalmente he aceptado que esto es lo que ocurrirá con los actuales.
En un mundo donde las cámaras digitales y los programas de retoque han hecho la fotografía accesible a todo el mundo, donde es tan fácil mostrar cómo te gustaría ser, no cómo eres, realmente es necesario que haya artistas que tengan el talento y el valor de revelar el interior de las personas.
Podéis visitar la exposición “Bailey’s Stardust” en la National Portrait Gallery hasta el 1 de junio de 2014.
Aquí podéis ver el retrato que Picasso hizo de Gertrude Stein:
http://circulodepoesia.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/03/Gertrude-Stein-por-Picasso.jpg
Aquí podéis ver el retrato que David Bailey hizo de Marianne Faithful: http://www.thetimes.co.uk/tto/multimedia/archive/00504/NPGbatch2094_a_a_504992b.jpg
It is absolutely true what you say!!! After ten years the picture that you most hated, the one your mother used to show everybody...it is now different...and you like it so much! The image of ourselves it is always at least 10 years late. "What we would like to be" interfers with selfimage and feelings about ourselves and our lives.
ReplyDeleteIt is absolutely true what you say!!! After ten years the picture that you most hated, the one your mother used to show everybody...it is now different...and you like it so much! The image of ourselves it is always at least 10 years late. "What we would like to be" interfers with selfimage and feelings about ourselves and our lives.
ReplyDelete