This image is taken from Michel Setboun’s third book about agencies. Eighty reporters were chosen to comment on an iconic image taken during their careers. The image we’re publishing today is a picture by Catherine Cabrol.
In the early 1990s, I left my job at a photography agency and went freelance. I had an ambitious project in mind where I would photograph the world’s greatest film directors. I chose to get as close as possible to the subjects and to “assume” my personal artistic world.
I asked Terry Gilliam to participate in a crazy project that seemed in keeping with his personality: a portrait with him covered almost entirely in plaster! He agreed, to my surprise… We met at a London hotel. He looked very fit and was accompanied by his two daughters. My assistant and I put his arms and legs in plaster. We added a neck brace and cane. His daughters thought it was hilarious. Sitting on the bed, he struck a very chivalrous pose. When I asked him why, he told me, “Because a film is like a battle!” This picture and the others I shot of directors helped me grow and feel more free. Since then, I believe that with a simple idea—an idea that makes sense for both the photographer and the person being photographed—you can do anything. I became convinced of this after shooting this series of photos. It really allowed me to become the photographer I am today.
Interview by Carole Pelé
BOOK
40 ans de photojournalisme, Génération agences
by Michel Setboun & Marie Cousin
Editions de la Martinière
250 x 285 mm
240 pages
9782732464022
39 €
http://www.editionsdelamartiniere.fr
