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Hans Namuth

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Hans Namuth
Born(1915-03-17)March 17, 1915
Essen,Germany
DiedOctober 13, 1990(1990-10-13)(aged 75)
East Hampton, New York,U.S.
OccupationPhotographer

Hans Namuth(March 17, 1915 – October 13, 1990)[1]was a German-born photographer. Namuth specialized inportraiture,photographing many artists, includingabstract expressionistJackson Pollock.His photos of Pollock at work in his studio increased Pollock's fame and recognition and led to a greater understanding of his work and techniques. Namuth used his outgoing personality and persistence to photograph many important artistic figures at work in their studios.

Namuth photographed many other painters such asWillem de Kooning,Robert Rauschenberg,andMark Rothkoand architects such asFrank Lloyd Wright,Philip Johnson,andLouis Kahn.Namuth focused on his rapport with his subjects, getting many reclusive figures such asClyfford Stillto agree to be photographed. Namuth's work not only captured his subjects in their studios with their works, but also captured the relationship between photographer and subject as well as the subjects' levels of self-consciousness. Besides famous art figures, Namuth photographed theMam peopleofTodos Santos,whose native lifestyles were being overrun by Western influences. Namuth died in aLong Islandcar crash in 1990.

Early life[edit]

Hans Namuth was born March 17, 1915, inEssen,Germany.His interests in his youth were mainly politics and the arts.[1]Namuth cites his mother as most responsible for encouraging his interest in music and the arts.[2]As a teenager, Namuth became familiar with GermanexpressionismandFrench impressionismthrough theFolkwang Museum.[2]Namuth's father joined theNazi Partyin 1931 after becoming disillusioned due to an economic decline.[2]This contrasted with the political views of his son, who found himself drawn to the liberalGerman Youth Movement.[2]After Hans Namuth was arrested and briefly jailed for distributing anti-Nazi materials in July 1933, Namuth's father intervened and arranged for him to be sent toParis.[1]During his time in Paris, Namuth took an assortment of jobs including newspaper boy, researcher, and dishwasher.[2]

Namuth befriended many German expatriates in Paris, including photographer Georg Reisner. In 1935, Reisner invited Namuth to assist him with his studio inPort de Pollença,Spain, and introduced the 20-year-old Namuth to photography.[1]After several months, the two returned to Paris, supporting themselves with photojournalism and occasional portraits.[1]Namuth and Reisner were sent to cover the Workers' Olympiad in July 1936 by French magazineVu,which put them in Barcelona during the opening stages of theSpanish Civil War.[1]Over the next nine months, the two photographed the war, providing photos toEuropeanpublications.[1]Namuth and Reisner returned to Paris in 1937 and continued their careers as photographers until 1939. While in Paris, Namuth studied with Joseph Breitenbach, who taught him the technical aspects of photography.[2]After increased tension and hostilities between France and Germany, Namuth and his fellow German expatriates were interned, though Namuth joined theFrench Foreign Legionto avoid his confinement.[1]After being discharged in 1940, Namuth fled toMarseillesand escaped to the United States with the help of journalistVarian Fryand his Emergency Rescue Committee.[1]He arrived inNew York Cityin 1941 and planned to join theOffice of Strategic Servicesin 1943 out of a desire "to do something about everything".[2]However, he had fallen in love with French-born Guatemalan Carmen Herrera and delayed his enlistment until he was drafted forWorld War IIin December 1943.[2]After completing basic training, Namuth joined the intelligence services and worked as an interrogator and interpreter inEngland,France,andCzechoslovakia.[2]Upon returning to Germany in 1945 to gather war criminals, Namuth realized, "I really had cut my navel cord completely and totally, not just with my home and family but with the country as such. I was completely out of it."[2]Namuth did not return to Germany until 1970.[2]

With the conclusion of World War II, Namuth left the army, having been awarded thePurple HeartandCroix de Guerre.[3]Namuth returned to New York determined to raise enough money for his family while keeping photography as a hobby.[2]After working for a paper research company for about a year and a half, the company went bankrupt, leaving Namuth without a job.[2]Namuth realized he had been "doing something that really was not my dish", and decided to return full-time to photography.[2]He set up his kitchen as adarkroomand began doing location work for architecture magazines, as he had been interested in architecture and design.[2]Namuth was introduced toAlexey Brodovitch,a photographer, instructor, and art director ofHarper's Bazaar.[2]Namuth began taking Brodovitch's classes atThe New School of Social Research,where he learned how to develop ideas and how to engage the concepts of his images from Brodovitch.[2]He began working forHarper's Bazaar,doing fashion photography, and later children's fashion photography.[2]

Jackson Pollock[edit]

One of Namuth's many photos ofJackson Pollockpainting with his "drip" method.

Hans Namuth was not initially interested in the work of Jackson Pollock, but was convinced by his teacher Alexey Brodovitch that Pollock was an important painter.[1]In July 1950, Namuth approached Pollock and asked to photograph the artist working in his studio. Pollock agreed, encouraged by his wife,Lee Krasner,who was aware of the importance of media coverage.[1]The resulting images helped to demystify Pollock's famous "drip" technique of painting, revealing it to be a deliberative process rather than a random splashing of paint.[4]They "helped transform Pollock from a talented, cranky loner into the first media-driven superstar of American contemporary art, the jeans-clad, chain-smoking poster boy ofabstract expressionism,"according to acclaimed culture critic Ferdinand Protzman.[5]Not satisfied with black and white stills, Namuth wanted to create a color film that managed to focus on Pollock and his painting at the same time, partially because he found more interest in Pollock's image than in his art.[6]His solution was to have Pollock paint on a large sheet of glass as Namuth filmed from underneath the work.[4][7]As Namuth could not afford professional lighting, the film was shot outside Pollock's Long Island home.[7]This documentary (co-produced with Paul Falkenberg) is considered one of the most influential for artists.[8]

In November 1950, Namuth and Pollock's relationship came to an abrupt conclusion. After coming in from the cold-weather shoot of the glass painting, Pollock, who had been treated in the 1930s foralcoholism,[7]poured himself a tumbler ofbourbon whiskeyafter supposedly having been sober for two years.[6]An argument between Namuth and Pollock ensued with each calling the other a "phony", culminating in Pollock overturning a table of food and dinnerware in front of several guests.[6]From then on, Pollock reverted to a more figure-oriented style of painting, leading some to say that Namuth's sessions robbed Pollock of his rawness and made Pollock come to feel disingenuous about doing things for the camera that he had originally done spontaneously.[6]Art criticJonathan Jonessuggests that by filming Pollock, Namuth "broke the myth of trance" and by framing Pollock's work in the larger surrounding landscape, destroyed Pollock's view that his paintings were boundless.[7]Jeffrey Potter,a close friend of Pollock's, described Namuth as commanding, frequently telling Pollock when to start and stop painting.[9]According to Potter, Pollock "felt what was happening was phony."[7]Namuth himself describes Pollock as being "very nervous and very self-conscious" of the filming at the time, but less so when Pollock discussed it in a later interview.[2]

During his time with Pollock, Hans Namuth had created two films and captured more than 500 photographs of the artist.[4]These photos were first published in 1951 inPortfolio,a journal edited byAlexey Brodovitchand Franz Zachary.[6]After the death of Pollock in 1956, Namuth's photos grew in popularity and were often used in articles about the painter in place of Pollock's artwork itself.[6]Art historianBarbara Rosestates that the photographs changed art by focusing on the creation of art rather than the final product alone.[6]Younger artists such asBruce Nauman,Richard Serra,andRobert Morriswere able not only to view Pollock's paintings, but, with Namuth's images, to see Pollock in the act of painting, giving rise to the popularity ofProcess Art.[6]These photos have also allowed art historians to dissect the details of Pollock's method. For example, art historian Pepe Karmel found that Pollock's painting in Namuth's first black-and-white film began with several careful drippings forming two humanoid figures and a wolf before being covered beneath several layers of paint.[6]

Other artists[edit]

The popularity drawn from his work with Pollock helped Namuth gain access to other members of the abstract expressionist movement includingWillem de Kooningand Mark Rothko.[10]During the construction of de Kooning's studio over the years, Namuth photographed its progress as well as de Kooning's paintings from this period.[11]Namuth took an especially large number of photos of de Kooning'sReclining Man,possibly indicating the painting's importance to Namuth or de Kooning.[11]Namuth photographed many architects including Frank Lloyd Wright,Walter Gropius,and Louis Kahn.[12]

Later work[edit]

Namuth and his wife had first visitedGuatemalain 1946 out of interest in his wife's native land[13]and Namuth photographed the native Mam people of Todos Santos.[14]Namuth returned in 1978 to survey the damage of an earthquake and was shocked to find the native customs of the Mam threatened by influences such as alcoholism.[15]Namuth published these black-and-white photos in his 1989 book,Los Todos Santeros,in an effort to catalog and preserve images of the town's population and customs.[15]He began to work regularly forArt Newsin 1979, producing 19 covers for the magazine over four years.[10]Namuth died in 1990 in a Long Island automobile accident not far from where Pollock had similarly died in a car crash.[10]

The full archive of Namuth's work is located at theCenter for Creative Photography(CCP) at theUniversity of ArizonainTucson,which also manages the copyright of his work.[16]

Subject interaction and technique[edit]

Namuth found that the rapport he developed with his subjects was integral to making them feel comfortable being photographed while working.[10]While Namuth was known to be a technically skilled photographer, his sociable and outgoing personality contributed largely to his notability in the New York art scene.[5]Namuth was also persistent when persuading his subjects to agree to be photographed, including sculptorJoseph Cornell,who took two years to be convinced.[5]He generally managed to put his subject at ease well enough so that they could work naturally in their environments without any artificial stiffness.[17]Largely because of this, self-conscious artists such as Clyfford Still andSaul Steinbergagreed to be subjects for Namuth's photography.[12]However, critic Sarah Boxer suggests that it is difficult to view photos of such artists without considering the possibility that they were trying to gain fame in a manner similar to Pollock.[12]Though Namuth developed personal relationships with many of his subjects, art criticHilton Kramerdescribes Namuth as "something of a hero worshiper."[18]

Namuth's photographs included objects related to his subjects, such as paint tubes, items from around their homes, and their works of art.[12]His photos also captured his own interactions with subjects, showing how comfortable they were at the time of shooting.[12]Some subjects, such asFrank Stella,seemed to be intoxicated with the idea of being photographed by Namuth,[12]while others, includingMark RothkoandRobert Rauschenberg,ignored Namuth during their photo sessions.[12]Other photographs exude tension between photographer and subject, as if Namuth were an unwelcome guest in their workspace, as in the cases of artistsLouise NevelsonandJasper Johns.[12]Often, Namuth's subjects are uncomfortable in front of the camera, as were architectsEero SaarinenandBuckminster Fuller.[19]Almost all of Namuth's images of male artists, with the notable exception of Pollock, appear to be taking contemplative or otherwise self-absorbed poses.[20]

References[edit]

  1. ^abcdefghijkCarr, Carolyn Kinder."Hans Namuth: Portraits".National Portrait Gallery.RetrievedAugust 30,2007.
  2. ^abcdefghijklmnopqrsCummings, Paul (September 8, 1971)."Interview with Hans Namuth".Smithsonian.Archives of American Art.RetrievedAugust 31,2007.
  3. ^Richard, Paul (June 6, 1974). "An Eye on the Artists: Galleries".The Washington Post.p. B15.
  4. ^abcO'Connor, Francis V. (Fall 1979). "Hans Namuth's Photographs of Jackson Pollock as Art Historical Documentation".Art Journal.39(1). College Art Association: 48–49.doi:10.2307/776327.JSTOR776327.
  5. ^abcProtzman, Ferdinand (May 23, 1999). "The Photographer's Snap Judgment; When Hans Namuth Encountered the Superstars of Contemporary Art at Work, Something Clicked".The Washington Post.p. G06.
  6. ^abcdefghiBoxer, Sarah (December 15, 1998)."CRITIC'S NOTEBOOK; The Photos That Changed Pollock's Life".The New York Times.p. E1.RetrievedSeptember 1,2007.
  7. ^abcdeJones, Jonathan (December 15, 1996). "ARTS: Q: JACKSON POLLOCK CLAIMED HIS LIFE WAS WRECKED BY A FILM. SO HOW COME SO MANY PEOPLE ARE TRYING TO MAKE A MOVIE OF HIS LIFE STORY?".The Observer.p. T8.
  8. ^Jones, Caroline A. (1996). "Filming the Artist/Suturing the Spectator".Machine in the Studio: Constructing the Postwar American Artist.Chicago:University of Chicago Press.p. 72.ISBN0-226-40649-0.
  9. ^Brown, Mick(March 27, 1999). "Jack the dripper".Sydney Morning Herald.p. 26.
  10. ^abcdMyers, Chuck (July 1, 1999). "Hans Namuth's photos of great artists on view at National Portrait Gallery".Knight Ridder.
  11. ^abZilczer, Judith (Summer 1998). "Identifying Willem de Kooning's" Reclining Man "".American Art.12(2): 29–30.doi:10.1086/424318.JSTOR3109270.S2CID191583674.
  12. ^abcdefghBoxer, Sarah (July 16, 1999)."PHOTOGRAPHY REVIEW; Portraits of the Superstar Artists, Displaying Charity Toward None".The New York Times.p. E40.RetrievedSeptember 1,2007.
  13. ^Williams, Val (October 29, 1990). "Obituary: Hans Namuth".The Independent.p. 20.
  14. ^Harrison, Helen A. (June 1, 2003)."ART REVIEWS; You Can't Drive This Car".The New York Times.p. 14LI-16.RetrievedSeptember 2,2007.
  15. ^abMcCabe, Eamonn (January 14, 1989). "Image Makers: The work of Hans Namuth".The Guardian.
  16. ^http:// creativephotography.org/documents/CCP_HN.pdfArchivedMay 11, 2008, at theWayback MachineCCP's "Conditions for Publication of Photographs by Hans Namuth" (PDF file)
  17. ^O'Sullivan, Michael (August 13, 1999). "Straight and Twisted Portraits".The Washington Post.p. N59.
  18. ^Kramer, Hilton(December 31, 1981)."ART: PHOTOS OF ARTISTS BY HANS NAMUTH".The New York Times.RetrievedSeptember 3,2007.
  19. ^Braff, Phyllis (October 1, 2000)."ART REVIEWS; Capturing Creators in Photographs".New York Times.p. 16.RetrievedSeptember 1,2007.
  20. ^Jones, C. (1996), p.32.

External links[edit]

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