“Better to live five minutes of happiness rather than an entire life in a conventional way.” -Guy Bourdin
Pen name
He used the pen name, Edwin Hallen for his first photography exhibition. Guy Bourdin began working for Paris Vogue in February 1955. He worked for the magazine until 1987. Fashion designer Charles Jourdan got an introduction to Bourdin from Vogue’s editor. Bourdin produced photographs for Jourdan’s shoe line from 1967 through 1981.
Guy Bourdin was an accomplished fashion photographer but did not like promoting his work. There were many exhibitions of his photography during his life. retrospectives afterward were held around the world in museums like the Victoria and Albert and the Tate Modern in The U.K., The Getty Museum, The National Art Museum of China, The Tokyo Metropolitan Museum of Photography and the Moscow House of Photography, New York’s Museum of Modern Art and SFMoMA. Several have his photographs in their collections.
Books
During his lifetime he did not encourage books of his works but many were published after his death. The first book, Exhibit A, was released a decade after he died.
Other books came in the first part of the 21st century. “Guy Bourdin” (2003), “A Message for You” (2006), “Guy Bourdin: In Between” (2010) and “Guy Bourdin: Polaroids Editions” (2010).
His vision influenced the 2003 video Hollywood by Madonna to the point his son, Samuel Bourdin, filed a copyright infringement suit against her.
Awards not claimed
Bourdin was awarded the Grand Prix National de la Photographie by the Ministry of Culture, France. He refused to accept it. His name is still on the Ministry’s winners list.
Campaigns
Guy Bourdin’s surrealist photography has its roots in his assistantship with Man Ray in 1952.
His vision propelled him to the height of fashion advertising photography. His client list included Charles Jourdan, Issey Miyake, Gianni Versace, Chanel, Bloomingdale’s, Emanuel Ungaro, Loewe and camera maker Pentax. He also worked for Harper’s Bazaar.
Several famous fashion photographers — David LaChapelle, Nick Knight, Jean Baptiste Mondino and the duo Mert Alas and Marcus Piggott — have acknowledged Bourdin’s influences in their own work.
A painter’s eye a storyteller’s vision
Bourdin had studied drawing and painting which informed his storytelling photos. His work shows that the image is more important than the product he was shooting. He created images that contained narratives that explored the absurd and the sublime. His photographs grab attention with unusual dramas that draw the viewer into the scene in their imaginations. His work is also graphic and mysterious but always leaves memorable stories in the minds of his audience.
Sources: Famous Photographers, The Guy Bourdin Estate, Louise Alexander Gallery.
See more stories about influential photographers in On Photography.
