a. somebody

[franceslievens]

It's what I always wanted to be: a somebody. Maybe that's why I like the work of Anton Corbijn so much. The shy Dutch boy hid himself behind the camera to come closer to the somebodies he adored, to become a somebody himself. In his latest photo series Corbijn becomes his heroes -- a. somebody. He went back to his home town, dressed up as a dead musician and made the picture he was never able to make. Corbijn takes the constant play between what's real and what not in a photograph just one step further. Nothing is real anymore. In his blue series we got the celebrities doing celebrity stuff, looking like they were surprised by a paparazzi photographer. Although they were completely orchestrated we could still believe they were "real". a. somebody isn't real, and you immediately see it: Elvis between containers, Freddy Mercury in front of a Dutch hairdresser, the word "kapsalon" visible beside him. They are an ode of a 50 year old man to the heroes that made him want be a somebody.

In the Fotomuseum in Antwerp you can see a small selection of Corbijn's work: his brown work, blue work, a. somebody, and Kraftwerk. One wall is covered with pictures of famous people. P. and I sat in front of it and tried to guess who was who. We got more than half of them right. But not all. Even though they were well known I had never seen their face (William Gibson) or they hid their face for Corbijn's camera (Lenny Kravitz). This brown series is generally considered as a view behind the mask of the celebrity, but sitting there and watching all the faces parade in front of me, I knew it isn't so. Corbijn simply makes very good pictures of remarkable people who will always strike a pose. That's all I want from the people I look up at. I want them to do what they're best at: look visciously in the camera, wave their fists at me and smile their wicked smile.

Comments

[frenchani.livejournal.com]

This makes me think of the Spuffy fanfiction in which a post-Chosen Buffy becomes a kind of photographer. But more of a paparazzi-like. I've always thought that it made sense for the Slayer to hunt with a camera instead of a stake because taking a photograph can be seen as an act of predation.

Yes I'm aware it is quite the opposite in your entry...

Just wanted to say hi!

[frances-lievens.livejournal.com]

Hmm an act of predation... I should tell P. that! (he's a photographer, but turned to philosophy after his studies)

Sometimes I actually like posing, which is simply because of the fun of exposing yourself, getting attention. I think the predator only works for a paparazzi.

Going to bed now.
*bisous* & bonne nuit