Jay maisel photography biography templates
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Favorites
What constitutes a favorite is that after seeing it every day for years, it doesn’t lose its power.
I know some photographers who are always quite delighted with everything they do. inom wish I was like that, but I find a great many of my images lose their power or at least my interest at some later date. Either I’m not interested in the subject anymore or I’m just no longer impressed with the image.
Arthur Meyerson, a very good Houston, Texas, photographer, is a buddy of mine. At one point he offered me his studio for an exhibit of my images for FotoFest in Houston. This was an exhibit of 85 images. Another friend of mine, Gary Winter, was doing a film on me. He’s one of these guys who doesn’t intrude when he’s shooting—a real “fly on the wall” type—so when he asks a question, it’s a rare occurrence.
“So, Jay,” he said, “What’s the reason you picked these particular 85 pictures for this show?”
“They’re my favorites.”
“I was hoping for something a little more insightfu
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Jay Maisel
Having studied painting and graphic design at Cooper Union and Yale, Jay Maiselembarked on his photographic career in 1954. While he boasts an impressive portfolio that includes iconic figures like Marilyn Monroeand Miles Davis, Maisel is renowned for his ability to capture the essence of light, color, and gesture in ordinary life.
Among his noteworthy commercial achievements are five Sports Illustratedswimsuit covers, the inaugural two covers of New York Magazine, the cover of Miles Davis' Kind of Blue (the highest-selling jazz album of all time), twelve years of advertising collaboration with United Technologies, and accolades from esteemed organizations such as the International Center for Photography, American Society of Media Photographers, Art Directors Club, Professional Photographers of America, and The Cooper Union.
Although he ceased commercial work in the late '90s, Jay has persistently dedicated himself to personal projects. His reputation as a genero
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ADVERTISING.It’s hard to believe now, but when you started shooting colour it was very much the brash, trashy, poor relation to black & white, why and what changed?
Things always change.
When inom started showing in galleries they would only show black and white.
Pete Turner, Ernst Haas, and I opened a gallery in Carnegie Hall on 57th St. to show color.
After a while galleries started to show color.
When digital came along, they wouldn’t show digital, now they show digital. Life goes on.
I read that you don’t like the term ‘composition’ in photography?
I always felt that photographing still life or manipulating people in a picture could be called composition, but when I photograph anything for myself I usually have no control over it and so I resist the begrepp composition.
One day I was arguing that position with Bill Allard, who said, “If you move 5” this way or 5” that way, you’re composing.”
Damn.
CORPORATE.‘Gesture trumps graphics’. What do you mean?
As the years h