Anton Corbijn first made a name of himself as the photographer and music video director for a generation of post punk bands like Joy Division, Echo and the Bunnymen and U2. His long time collaboration with Depeche Mode resulted in iconic music videos like Strange Love (1987), Personal Jesus (1989) and Enjoy The Silence (1990).
In the exhibition Inwards and Onwards, opening at Foam in Amsterdam today, Anton Corbijn has aimed his camera at a few of his favourite artists, including Gerhard Richter, Alexander McQueen, Richard Prince, Iggy Pop, Anselm Kiefer, Damien Hirst…
The images is a the result of Corbijn’s interested in how these artists struggle with the creative process: the pain and the drama of the act of creation. This was of course also the case with Corbijn’s feature film debut Control – a film about the life of Joy Division frontman Ian Curtis – which premiered to rave reviews at the Cannes Film Festival in May 2007.
In Inwards and Onwards Corbijn’s monumental black-and-white portraits blend austerity and aesthetics and attract attention because of the deliberate and exacting way they capture the character of the person being portrayed. The work shows his concentrated gaze, his feeling for wonder and his ability to empathise with another. In spite of the styling and the apparent coolness of the images, Corbijn’s photos have their own unique kind of intimacy.
Magnus Naddermier
Anton Corbijn Inwards and Onwards
24 June – 1 September
Foam
Keizersgracht 609
1017 DS Amsterdam
The accompanying catalog Anton Corbijn: Inwards and Onwards, with an essay by Francis Hodgen, is published by Schirmer/Mosel.
