Monday, June 7, 2010

Brian Duffy - R.I.P.



Brian Duffy, whose photographs helped define the look of London's Swinging Sixties, has died aged 76.

Along with David Bailey and Terence Donovan, Duffy was a key part of the group of young working class British photographers who revolutionized the image of the profession and became as famous as the models, musicians and film stars they worked with.

He was born in London's East End, studied dress design at St Martin's School of Art, and worked as a fashion illustrator for Harper's Bazaar before turning to photography. He was one of just a handful of photographers to shoot two Pirelli calenders, and was known for his clean and graphic approach to fashion photography.

His work also spanned reportage and advertising, and he shot three David Bowie album covers, including Aladdin Sane.

In 1979, Duffy decided to give up photography and burned many of his negatives, but he resumed taking pictures just last year.









4 comments:

ooothundathighrevo said...

your blog is awesome and continuously keeps me informed.

noise-and-ambition.blogspot.com

drunk butterfly said...

I love his pictures.
RIP

Letterpress said...

I read about his burning his negatives and understood, in some ways, about this gesture. As we age (myself included) those things that we did earlier seem so inconsequential and unfulfilling to our older minds. But on the other hand, it's frustrating that a person would destroy much of their life's work. I can only assume he did it to preserve the existing photographs? To preserve his legacy as it is? Why is it that this happens more often that I care to think about? Maybe you have some insight into this.

Studying the arc of one's life can be as informative as studying the end result. Although a little self-editing is always encouraged, I wish that all artists and photographers would leave their work intact. Wishful thinking, I'm sure.

RubyMel said...

I would also like to echo, that your blog is consistently informative and engaging, but for me they are also brief history lessons. Thank you!