In Voluptas Mors, 1951, B&W Photo
Dali Atomicus, 1948, B&W Photo
Cover for Philippe Halsman's Jump Book (1959)
Albert Einstein, 1947, B&W PhotoAt the age of 22, Philippe Halsman was imprisoned after the mysterious death of his father during a hiking tour. Upon his release in 1931, Halsman was exiled from his native Austria as a result of his allegations. He resided in France for several years and eventually, with the aid of family friend Albert Einstein, was able to obtain a U.S. VISA. His photography career took off upon his arrival in the states.
Halsman is renowned for his celebrity portraiture. Some of his most notable bodies of work include the book
Dalí's Mustache (1954) in which Surrealist painter Salvador Dalí's signature mustache is portrayed in 28 distinctive ways. Halsman and Dalí collaborated on several other portraits throughout their accomplished careers. In 1959, Halsman published
Philippe Halsman's Jump Book in which he captures 178 air-borne celebrities. His portrait of Einstein taken in 1947 also ranks amongst his best known works.
What attracts me to Halsman's work is his use of bold black and white imagery. I have found that I enjoy portraying contrasty subjects in my photography as well as painting. I find it fascinating the complexities Halsman is able to achieve in his portraits, particularly with Dalí. Producing these portraits solely in a B&W darkroom is really quite a feat. Perhaps what I find most inspiring about his work is that if he can pull off this surrealistic imagery in his photographs of the '40s and '50s, why shouldn't I be able to achieve similar results with the photo editing advantages of today. It is in the absence of this technology that Halsman deserves great acknowledgement for his ambitious photographic undertakings.
