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@ punctum
2023-07-29 19:42:42
If for Henri Cartier-Bresson the essence of photography was the decisive moment, for William Klein the defining factor is commitment. This assertion, made by Raphaëlle Stopin, curator of the 'William Klein. Manifesto' exhibition, couldn't be more accurate. At 91 years old and with multiple facets to his name - photographer, painter, filmmaker, publicist, writer, and activist - Klein has left an indelible mark on the landscape of art and photography with his irreverent commitment and radical approach.
Born in New York in 1928, Klein transformed mid-20th-century photography, creating an aesthetic language that evokes the rawness and emotions of a post-war society still to be rebuilt. Through his lens, we see a vibrant, dirty, mestizo, and ever-evolving New York. His unconventional approach, which mixed with the subjects he portrayed, broke with the standards of photography of his time, resulting in images that the white, Anglo-Saxon elite of the era found distasteful. However, his honest and committed vision ended up paving a new path in photography.
Klein began his creative journey in painting, where he already displayed a unique, free, and transgressive language. His entry into the world of photography happened fortuitously, by photographing his own paintings, and it was in 1956 when his vision exploded onto the scene, with the publication of 'Life is Good & Good for You in New York: Trance Witness Revels'. This work, the fruit of his immersion in the wild side of New York life, became a revolutionary manifesto that subverted the traditional principles of photography.
Klein's photographs were never just images. They were bold statements of freedom and experimentation, going against the conventions of his time. It was with his legendary book about New York that he became a disruptive figure in photography. Despite being published in France, Italy, and Japan, this book took 40 years to be published in the United States, a fact that evidences the rejection his raw and uninhibited gaze of the city caused.
But Klein was never content with just being a photographer. His enormous cultural baggage, inspired by figures such as Masaccio, Piero della Francesca, and the Bauhaus, propelled him to explore other forms of expression. In his work, we see the fusion of photography with painting, the 'painted contacts', where he applies paint to contact sheets with large brushes, creating a fusion of disciplines that is surprisingly innovative and evocative.
Today, at 91 years old, Klein continues to work, reinventing himself and reinterpreting his archive. Although his pace has changed, his commitment to his art and his language has not diminished. His legacy endures, and his influence continues to be visible in contemporary photography.
Is Klein a Leonardo of photography? Perhaps it's not an exact comparison. But, just like Da Vinci, Klein has shown a diversity of interests and skills that rivals any Renaissance polymath's. And, unlike Da Vinci, Klein is indisputably wilder and more committed.
In summary, William Klein is a visionary, a provocateur, and an iconoclast, whose work remains a source of inspiration and a challenge to today's artists and photographers. With his committed, free, and innovative gaze, Klein has demonstrated that photography, like any form of art, should always be an act of commitment and revolution.