An Introduction to Douglas Kirkland
by Grazia Neri

The exhibition a ”Night With Marilyn” was inaugurated last April in Milan at the prestigious building, Palazzo Reale. The exhibition includes photographs of the actress that had been taken over 41 years ago. Arriving in the Duomo square, the heart of the city, I see a queue of people waiting. I cannot manage to enter and they are waiting for an interview. Douglas and Francoise arrive in glamour consisting not only of beauty but of an air of culture and spirit. Their entrance is unforgettable through the crowd.

We enter in the room and Marilyn smiles at us. What strikes me the most and is fascinating to the public is the color of Marilyn’s skin Her flesh is rosy, but not made-up. I believe the color to be an erotic fantasy for many men.

I would not be able to be an agent without a point of reference. Douglas, whom I have had the joy of knowing for more than 30 years, has if not anything else a fixed point for photography. He and his friends are among the biggest photographers that I know and appreciate. His knowledge of both classic photography and digital is profound and Douglas is available for everyone. In Italy, one of his seminars has had over 30 students. His peacefulness and friendliness are unique. One of the things that I find to be pleasant at work is to see Douglas and Francoise enter the agency.

Friendship in the world of photography is essential and is constantly nourishing. I always have this Fitzgerald-esque memory of Douglas with me.

Kirkland has had two prestigious exhibitions in two Italian museums in Verona and Palermo and another exhibition in Corso Como 10 in the past; Palazzo Reale now honors him. Nearby is the exhibition of Robert Capa.

Douglas Kirkland: Photographer of Legends
By Grazia Neri

Douglas Kirkland moves gracefully around his lovely house in the Hollywood Hills and his charm reminds me of Robert Redford in The Great Gatsby. He speaks quietly, in short sentences, as he and his beautiful French wife show their friends his latest “Iris” prints. He is quiet but you feel his intensity, as he discusses the evolution of the film industry and its latest delusions. He is convinced that contemporary stars don’t really last more than ten years and that publicists are so protective of their clients that they end up damaging the myth itself. Few stars, these days, have the lasting power that Cary Grant, Frank Sinatra, Elizabeth Taylor or Grace Kelly had. The illusion is created by the media and the publicists, but only the personal charm of the actor guarantees an enduring success.

Everybody is afraid of the photographer and the people who base their success on the image they have created of their clients are even more suspicious. They worry about the look, the wrinkles, the setting, “we don’t do this or that,” they want to play it as safe as possible to protect their investment.

There is a parade legends with Coco Chanel, still so elegant in her seventies, the mysterious Jeanne Moreau, the gorgeous Romy Schneider, the ambiguous Marlene Dietrich, Brigitte Bardo, Sophia Loren, Marcello Mastroianni, the melancholic Latin lover, Elizabeth Taylor and Richard Burton exchanging those passionate looks, the complicity between Liza Minelli and her father Vincent, Dustin Hoffman, and the formidable Orson Welles… All these portraits reveal the delight of seduction. As a matter of fact, I believe it is a case of double seduction. There is a “cat and mouse” game between photographer and the star. Douglas is charming but not aggressive, and as a result he is able to rid his subject of all inhibitions. “I’m here to make you more beautiful, I don’t want to change you, seduce me… come on show me what you’ve got.” This is an authentic pattern of seduction and it has nothing to do with the banal and simplistic concept of the photographer as the womanizer. The unforgettable series of lovely photographs of Marilyn Monroe is but one example, and look at the wonderful image of our Ornella Mut who is usually badly photographed or captured looking terribly sad.

And the gallery of portraits includes other types of artists such as Man Ray, Andy Warhol, Mikhail Baryshnikov, Dr. Steven Hawking, Jacques Henri Lartigue…

One of Douglas’s great gifts has been to create timeless icons, like John Travolta in the dance sequence from Saturday Night Fever, or the classic portrait of Judy Garland crying. People reinvent the past and identify themselves with images, which become irreplaceable. Douglas has had the luck to be able to develop his talent thanks to his constant contact with beauty, celebrity, and myth. The major studios have hired him as a special photographer of such famous films as Out of Africa, 2001 – A Space Odyssey, and Showgirls which allowed him to express his vision of nudity.

But Douglas is not just a “celebrity photographer,” he has also given us beautiful images from his astronomy work, and he portrayed the dignity of an old couple kissing in the nude. The variety of his accomplishments is vast. This anthology offers but a small portion of an outstanding body of work which started over thirty years ago and has been consistent throughout its evolution.

You might think Douglas’s success is a result of his ability to connect with his subject or of his personal charm; fortunately, he belongs to the old fashion school, first the technique, then the creativity. Every day, for professional reasons, I look at various photographers’ portfolios and I’m often confronted with a false arty look devised to hide poor technical skills. This anthology reflects perfect harmony between impeccable technique and singular vision, a balance which reminds you that you are in the presence of a great photographer, deeply passionate about his profession, whose intense dedication to give us images of absolute beauty stems from a deep authentic love for humanity.

Translation by Barbara Conte and Francoise Kirkland