Anton Corbijn

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Anton Corbijn
BornMay 20 1955 (1955-05-20) (age 54)
Strijen, Netherlands
ResidenceLondon, United Kingdom
OccupationPhotographer, director
Websitewww.corbijn.co.uk

Anton Corbijn (pronounced [kɔrˈbɛin]) (born May 20, 1955) is a photographer from Strijen, the Netherlands. He is also well known for directing music videos, including Depeche Mode's "Personal Jesus" (1989) and the award-winning video of Nirvana's "Heart-Shaped Box" (1993).

He is widely acknowledged by the music industry, mainly for being the creative director of the visual output of prominent bands like U2 and Depeche Mode, having handled the principal promotion and sleeve photography for both for more than a decade.

Contents

[edit] Career

Corbijn began taking photographs during a live concert in 1972. In 1979 he moved to London, England and became a regular photographer for the New Musical Express. His first assignment was Bill Haley, but he became best known for his work with such post punk bands as Joy Division and Public Image Ltd.. Later, he began to divide his time between America and England, shooting editorially for Spin, Details, Vogue, and Rolling Stone.

Corbijn decided to move into directing music videos, more or less accidentally. Palais Schaumburg asked him to do one, which he reluctantly accepted. After seeing Video, Propaganda insisted that Corbijn would direct Dr. Mabuse. After that, David Sylvian, Echo & The Bunnymen and Golden Earring asked for his services. Front 242 was presented Corbijn's artwork and accepted shooting a video with him, it resulted in a very strange version of "Headhunter" due to Corbijn's rather limited knowledge of the English language at the time[1]. Nevertheless a milestone in Corbijn's career.

In 1994, after directing various music videos, Corbijn directed a short film about Captain Beefheart for the BBC called "Some Yoyo Stuff".

In 2005, Palm Pictures released a DVD collection of Corbijn's music video output as part of the Director's Label series. As well as a 56-page booklet, the DVD also includes outtakes, shorts and documentaries as well as commentaries on various videos from the artists themselves.

On 17 May, 2007 Corbijn's first feature film Control about the life of Joy Division frontman Ian Curtis premiered to rave reviews at the Cannes Film Festival. [2] The film is based on Deborah Curtis's book Touching From A Distance about her late husband and the new biography Torn Apart by Lindsay Reade (Tony Wilson's ex-wife) and Mick Middles. Although shown outside the Palme d'Or competition, Control was the big winner of the Director's Fortnight winning the CICAE Art & Essai prize for best film, the "Regards Jeunes" Prize award for best first or second directed feature film and the Europa Cinemas Label prize for best European film in the sidebar.[3]

[edit] Style

Corbijn tends to eschew traditional glamour photography, instead favoring a rawer look, often in black-and-white. His subjects appear to be calm and far removed from everyday life. His photographs show raw emotion. His influential style of black and white imagery with stark contrasts on grainy film (sometimes referred to as "overcooked") has been imitated and copied in such extent that it has become a rock cliché and a vital part of the visual language in the 1990s.[citation needed]

He has worked directly with such distinguised writers and journalists as former Conde Nast executive chief James Truman, Nick Kent, Bart Bull, Nick Cave, William Burroughs, Everett True, Alan Jones, Tony Parsons, and many others.

[edit] Entertainers Corbijn has photographed

[edit] Music video filmography

[edit] Books by Corbijn

  • Famouz (1989)
  • Strangers (1990)
  • Allegro (1991)
  • Grönemeyer, Photographien von Anton Corbijn (1993)
  • Star Trak (1996)
  • 33 Still Lives (1999)
  • Stripping Girls (2000, with Marlene Dumas)
  • Werk (2000)
  • A. Somebody, Strijen, Holland (2002)
  • Everybody Hurts (2003)
  • U2 & I (2005)

[edit] References

[edit] External links

de:Anton Corbijn es:Anton Corbijn fr:Anton Corbijn it:Anton Corbijn nl:Anton Corbijn pl:Anton Corbijn pt:Anton Corbijn ru:Корбейн, Антон sv:Anton Corbijn

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