Legendary photographer William Klein's first exhibition in China will be unveiled at Chengdu International Photography Week in November

Legendary photographer William Klein's first exhibition in China will be unveiled at Chengdu International Photography Week in November

We are sorry to learn that on the early morning of September 10, 2022 French time, legendary photographer William Klein passed away at the Cochamp Hospital in Paris at the age of 96. William Klein had been thinking about the first exhibition of William Klein's photography art in China, which will be held in Chengdu International Photography Week. As one of the nine themed exhibitions of the 2022 Chengdu International Photography Week, this exhibition will be the first appearance of William Klein's classic works in China. The exhibition will focus on presenting nearly 100 important representative works from different stages of the artist's decades of creative career, which will be the most important works of photographers participating in Chengdu International Photography Week. William Klein Profile William Klein, 2016 © Zhong Weixing As one of the representative figures in the history of photography, William Klein has an extremely wonderful life story, and his life can be called a legend. On April 19, 1926, William Klein was born in a declining middle-class family in New York, USA. His father originally ran a clothing store, but when Klein was a child, he had to sell insurance for a living due to bankruptcy. . As a student, Klein had excellent grades and entered the City University of New York at the age of 14 to study sociology. At the end of World War II, Klein, eager to leave his family, was drafted into the army and traveled to Europe, serving in Germany and then France. In 1948, because of his interest and love for abstract painting and sculpture, he began to study at the Sorbonne University and studied under Fernand Léger. In 1952 he had two successful solo exhibitions of paintings in Milan and began to collaborate with the architect Angelo Mangiarotti. After that, Klein, who had never studied photography systematically, began to experiment with abstract photography, and thus met Alexander Lieberman, the artistic director of "Vogue", and returned to New York in 1954 to start fashion at the invitation of Lieberman. Photography creation. He uses the street as his "live", focusing his camera on everyone who passes by. St Patrick's Day, Fifth Avenue, 1954, © William KleinDance in Brooklyn, New York, 1954, © William KleinHarlem, 1955, © William KleinGun, New York, 1955 © William Klein Emotional picture book - "Life in New York Is Good for You - The Orgy seen in William Klein's Trance" won the Prix Nadar. Afterwards, he aimed his camera at the crowds and streets of other Eurasian countries after World War II, and successively created and published many books with a very personal style, such as "Rome" (1958), "Moscow" (1964), "Tokyo" (1965). important photo album. © William KleinSimone and Nina, Piazza Di Spagna, Rome, 1960, © William Klein ©William KleinIndependence Day Parade, Dakar,1963, ©William Klein in the Representation of Henri Cartier-Bresson In an era dominated by the "decisive moment" theory, William Klein's use of unusual photographic techniques in photojournalism and fashion photography was considered revolutionary. He abandoned the Cartier-Bresson-style 50mm lens and precise composition in his creations, and instead used wide-angle and telephoto lenses extensively, using natural light and motion blur to present blurred, distorted, grainy and strong in his works. The black and white contrast constitutes a new visual language. At the beginning of its appearance, his works were greatly controversial for subverting the mainstream aesthetic concept and avant-garde artistic creation style. However, as time went on, his breakthrough changes in the concept of images were gradually recognized and regarded as one of the One of the most influential photographers of the twentieth century. Dwarf and Liquors, 1955, ©William Klein©William Klein©William Klein John Szarkowski, former director of photography at the Museum of Modern Art, New York, commented: "Klein's work is the most courageous of the 1950s. , the most uncompromising, the furthest from acceptable standards, the most 'unsightly' in appearance. But in his photographs he expresses the true face of life and expands the vocabulary of the language of photography." William G. Rhein's work has also profoundly influenced a series of photographers of his younger generation, including Daido Moriyama. In 2000, Daido Moriyama recalled, "I saw Klein's photobook "New York" on the counter of a photo studio, especially his photographed Manhattan in the backlight, which turned the modern city with high-rise buildings into a cemetery. . After I saw his photos, I had an urge to take my own photos.” © William Klein© William Klein© William Klein© William Klein William Klein Vice President of China Art Photography Society "Celebration" Exhibition Chairman Zhong Weixing (the artistic director of this photography week) met with the "Face to Face" launched by William Klein in 2015. William Klein is the most important person in the portrait project. The two met and became friends. "Face to Face" project shooting site, William Klein (left), Zhong Weixing (right), December 2016, Paris, France The exhibition site of "William Klein" in Rouen, France in April 2016, Klein In order to pay tribute to the legendary photographer, Zhong Weixing (middle), who is shooting him, with the approval of the French National Assembly, the French Academy of Arts established the "William Klein Photography Award" in 2019. The 2019 first William Klein Photography Award at the French Academy of Fine Arts, William Klein (right), Zhong Weixing (left) In November this year, the collection of William Klein, created by this leading figure in the history of photography The "Celebration" exhibition will be specially presented at the Chengdu Contemporary Image Museum, one of the exhibition spaces of the Chengdu International Photography Friday. This exhibition pays tribute to William Klein. 2022 Chengdu International Photography Week, see you in November! Video loading... 2022 Chengdu International Photography Week Promotional Video END

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Editor-in-Chief | Wang Qiang Editor-in-Chief | Chen Leilei Editor | Leaf Design | Chen Xinyu Image Source | Chengdu International Photography Week Organizing Committee Reprint Source |

(Responsible editor：Gorgeous)