Beschreibung:

Albert Watson Kate Moss, Marrakech, Morocco 1993 Archival pigment print, printed later. 30 x 24 in. (76.2 x 61 cm) overall. Signed, titled, dated and annotated 'AP' in ink on the reverse of the aluminum flush-mount. One from an edition of 25 plus artist's proofs.
Provenance Private Collection, New York Literature Crump, Albert Watson p. 87; Schirmer/Mosel, Albert Watson The Vienna Album, n.p.; Sony, Frozen: A Retrospective by Albert Watson pl. 83 Catalogue Essay “You have many subjects…They must feel confident with you—like you’re holding them tightly in front of you with an invisible hand.” Albert Watson Photo district News, June 2004 To label Albert Watson a photographer is reductive. In fact, assigning a label of any sort would be futile, for Watson, as reflected by the immense body of work spanning over three decades, eludes categorization. His images, at once comfortingly familiar and seductively foreign, eschew formulaic interpretations but without compromising the unique, idiosyncratic mark of their creator. By occupying the sliver of space between categories, they are permitted to ubiquitously pertain to several realms with ease and élan. His landscapes are often as emotive as his portraits; his nudes can be as structural as his architectural details; his megastar celebrities may appear as approachable as an intimate friend. Watson’s career began as a film student with an interest in graphic design in London during the 1960’s. The move from film and design to photography, however, did not limit Watson’s predilection for the narrative or the fondness for lines. In his first celebrity shoot—Alfred Hitchcock for Harper Bazaar, 1975, gone are the director's iconic if at times clichéd silhouette, together with the stern three-quarter profile and the chiaroscuro close-up. The challenge for Watson, was not to refute Hitchcock’s more familiar images as much as to explore a formerly obfuscated aspect within his sitter’s personality, thereby allowing the subject to inhabit a new position. Of the famous shoot Watson has noted: “He was somebody I was very nervous around, and he almost took control of the shoot and directed me to photograph him. The way that he enjoyed the whole experience and was in control of it while I corrected things from my end—it was a great learning experience.” (PDN, June 2004) The Hitchcock shot was the first in what became a roughly twenty-century dedication to celebrity culture, where iconic stars, from Christy Turlington to Mike Tyson, were portrayed in a manner that was anomalous from the norm without appearing rebellious of the public’s expectation. The portraits are as much about the rapport between the photographer and subject as they are about the sitters. In Michael Jackson New York, 1998, for example, viewers see the pop icon refracted again and again within a grid that captures his vitality and versatility. While Jackson’s face is hardly visible, this piece could undoubtedly be considered one of his strongest portraits, and a testament to the thrilling spectacle that Watson was fortunate to behold, record and share with the public. It is in such type of work that Mark Seliger has noted: “His portraits are impenetrable, they capture the strength of his subjects and are a lesson in form and design.” (Seliger, PDN, 2009) In his arguably most iconic image, Kate Moss, Marrakech, Morocco, the model is devoid of the heavy styling or accentuation of the model's then-widely discussed waifish look. The elegance and simplicity of Moss’s body, combined with the soft and pensive gaze that she holds, speak of the fondness that grew between Watson and Moss, gently highlighting a side of Moss’s personality of which the public was likely unaware. Watson was disinterested in following the visual trajectory of Moss’s portrayal by the media and opted for a more solemn, intimate and affectionate depiction that is as unique of his eye as it is of the model. It is not surprising, therefore, that Moss herself has singled out the image as one of her favorite photographs of herself. The versatility in Watson’s work can also be seen in his images of famous paraphernalia. From Elvis’ gold lame suit to Tutankhamun’s glove, Watson wishes to draw attention to the people whose bo