First photo exhibition of Philippe Halsman to be held in Seoul
By Yun Suh-young
When will we ever get to see presidents jump, ever in our lives?
The time is now, though not in reality, but through still photos.
The late Latvian-American photographer Philippe Halsman's photo exhibition, "Jumping with love," will be held in Seoul for the first time.
Halsman was an official White House photographer for President Nixon, a member of Magnum Photos, and the photographer holding the highest record of cover photos printed on Life Magazine with 101.
The exhibition, hosted by Covana Contents, will be held at the Sejong Center for the Performing Arts from Dec. 3 through Feb. 23, 2014. More than 200 pieces of work by Halsman will be exhibited.
The exhibition is a compilation of jumps by famous celebrities and world leaders from the 1940s through the 60s, some of whom had jumped for the first time in their lives in front of a photographer.
The "jumpers" in the photos include Hollywood actresses Audrey Hepburn, Grace Kelly, and Marilyn Monroe, French painter Marc Chagall, and Spanish artist Salvador Dali as well as 37th U.S. President Richard Nixon, who is seen jumping in a photo for the first time.
The subjects' psychological and emotional states are captured in detail by Halsman who tried to extract their human nature on print. He tried to make a point that "what you see is not all that you see," a message he tried to depict by capturing the inner state of the people through their postures and expressions.
In order to capture the emotional state of his subjects, Halsman spent longer hours getting to know them than the actual time spent taking pictures. He wanted them to open up their hearts and reveal their true personality.
Jumping, he thought, was a way to extract a hidden emotion from them, and a clever method of subtly revealing their characters.
He successfully persuaded his subjects to jump, although some of them were difficult candidates to ask. It was possible because he gained their trust before pointing his camera at them.
Jumping was also a way of sending a delightful message that anyone can feel liberated when they jump, breaking away from their social positions.
Other than the jumping shots, Halsman also took portraits of famous people such as English film director Alfred Hitchcock, German scientist Albert Einstein, British Prime Minister Winston Churchill, and U.S. President John F. Kennedy.
Halsman is the father of modern portrait photos who broke the traditional concept of portraits and opened a new world in portrait photography. A close friend of Salvador Dali, Halsman introduced surrealism in his photos as well.
He has a style of taking photos with the subject (usually people) in the middle. He brings out the characteristic of that person based on what achievements he or she has left in life. He focuses on the story of the people rather than what's shown on the outside.
The exhibition also features the love story of three iconic actresses of the century — Audrey Hepburn, Grace Kelly, and Marilyn Monroe— who were subjects of envy in many aspects of life, except love.
The Halsman exhibition also includes photos of local celebrities.
A survey was conducted prior to the exhibition to see who are the celebrities people wanted to see jumping. The most-picked celebrities were figure skater Kim Yu-na, weightlifting champion Jang Mi-ran, and actor Ahn Sung-ki. Their jumping photos will be exhibited as part of the exhibition.
Viewers can also participate in the jumping project as well. A studio is prepared at the end of the exhibition where visitors can take their own jumping photos in front of the set up camera.
Opening hours of the exhibition are from 11 a.m. to 8:30 p.m. There are no closed days. For more information, visit www.jumpingwithlove.co.kr.
By Yun Suh-young
When will we ever get to see presidents jump, ever in our lives?
The time is now, though not in reality, but through still photos.
The late Latvian-American photographer Philippe Halsman's photo exhibition, "Jumping with love," will be held in Seoul for the first time.
Halsman was an official White House photographer for President Nixon, a member of Magnum Photos, and the photographer holding the highest record of cover photos printed on Life Magazine with 101.
The exhibition, hosted by Covana Contents, will be held at the Sejong Center for the Performing Arts from Dec. 3 through Feb. 23, 2014. More than 200 pieces of work by Halsman will be exhibited.
The exhibition is a compilation of jumps by famous celebrities and world leaders from the 1940s through the 60s, some of whom had jumped for the first time in their lives in front of a photographer.
The "jumpers" in the photos include Hollywood actresses Audrey Hepburn, Grace Kelly, and Marilyn Monroe, French painter Marc Chagall, and Spanish artist Salvador Dali as well as 37th U.S. President Richard Nixon, who is seen jumping in a photo for the first time.
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Audrey Hepburn, Marilyn Monroe, and Grace Kelly, all jumping barefoot. According to Halsman, Hepburn jumped confidently; Monroe |
The subjects' psychological and emotional states are captured in detail by Halsman who tried to extract their human nature on print. He tried to make a point that "what you see is not all that you see," a message he tried to depict by capturing the inner state of the people through their postures and expressions.
In order to capture the emotional state of his subjects, Halsman spent longer hours getting to know them than the actual time spent taking pictures. He wanted them to open up their hearts and reveal their true personality.
Jumping, he thought, was a way to extract a hidden emotion from them, and a clever method of subtly revealing their characters.
He successfully persuaded his subjects to jump, although some of them were difficult candidates to ask. It was possible because he gained their trust before pointing his camera at them.
Jumping was also a way of sending a delightful message that anyone can feel liberated when they jump, breaking away from their social positions.
Other than the jumping shots, Halsman also took portraits of famous people such as English film director Alfred Hitchcock, German scientist Albert Einstein, British Prime Minister Winston Churchill, and U.S. President John F. Kennedy.
Halsman is the father of modern portrait photos who broke the traditional concept of portraits and opened a new world in portrait photography. A close friend of Salvador Dali, Halsman introduced surrealism in his photos as well.
He has a style of taking photos with the subject (usually people) in the middle. He brings out the characteristic of that person based on what achievements he or she has left in life. He focuses on the story of the people rather than what's shown on the outside.
The exhibition also features the love story of three iconic actresses of the century — Audrey Hepburn, Grace Kelly, and Marilyn Monroe— who were subjects of envy in many aspects of life, except love.
The Halsman exhibition also includes photos of local celebrities.
A survey was conducted prior to the exhibition to see who are the celebrities people wanted to see jumping. The most-picked celebrities were figure skater Kim Yu-na, weightlifting champion Jang Mi-ran, and actor Ahn Sung-ki. Their jumping photos will be exhibited as part of the exhibition.
Viewers can also participate in the jumping project as well. A studio is prepared at the end of the exhibition where visitors can take their own jumping photos in front of the set up camera.
Opening hours of the exhibition are from 11 a.m. to 8:30 p.m. There are no closed days. For more information, visit www.jumpingwithlove.co.kr.
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