From: "Bob W" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> > Hi, > >> > Slim Aarons > >> [...] > >> > Jerome Zerbe > >> > >> they all photographed Marilyn Monroe > > > Now, what makes you think they all did that, Bob?
> all their photographs of Marilyn Monroe Ok, I was just being curious whether you immediately spotted the Monroe connection just by the names, or if you had to check it out. (Anyway, when sending the Q. I thought "Bob W. will definitely know (or be curious enough to find) the answer if he's on line".) Congratulations, Bob, well done! You are hereby declared the first and only winner of the new "The Virtual Marilyn Monroe Legacy Award"! (Bows and applauses.) Anyway, I've been digging a bit deeper into the Marilyn Monroe universe lately, particularly by how she's been photographed and presented throughout her career. It's a fascinating universe indeed. She definitely was (or became) a uniqueum(?) in terms of coming across through a lens pointed at her. She will also remain the icon and maintain the symbolic status that she already gained during her lifetime. Adding the personal aspects of her life to it, she will be the closest anyone will ever get to giving a face to the notion of A Modern Day Female Jesus-character. One of the reasons for my recent Monroe studies is that I will soon start trying to more seriously get into studio (portrait) shooting, as I finally seem to be able to afford to buy some useful gear and also have some (small) studio space available in my own house. In planning for this I thought I'd do some studying on the world and history of star and glamour portrait photography. Since so many big name photographers have shot Marilyn Monroe and so much of their work is readily available on the net I thought this would be a great way to study the art. So I've collected some 6.800 shots of her from the age of six months in 1926 up till her death in August 1962. It has been a very rewarding experience, in various respects. I have found it very interesting to take a closer look at a certain type of film publicity glamour photography, which deals with certain types of light set ups and poses and which developed into an art and craft of it's own as a photography genre. It would be interesting to learn the technique, and maybe try to expand on it and integrate with othertypes of shooting. There are a few (new to me) names that have emerged and some of whose work I will select for further studies: Frank Polowny, Lazlo Willinger, C. S. Bull and G. Hurrell (among some others). Fascinating stuff and very interesting. Is there by chance any list member who ever saw Marilyn Monroe live? Another question for this list would be: Was M.M. ever shot with a Pentax camera? (In all probability she was, although maybe not by a pro, but by one of many thousands of fans who would take the opportunity to shoot her whenever she appeared in sight.) Thirdly: If any, do you have a favourite Marilyn Monroe photo, one that have stuck for one reason or another? (There are many famous shoots of her, as publicity stunts or by some name photographers, ranging all the way from pin ups (or nudes) to very intimate art- and soulful portraits.) Thanks, Lasse
