Tuesday, December 23, 2008
Lee Miller and her Extraordinary Lives
Frida Kahlo brought me to Lee Miller. My exposure to this most intriguing model, muse, photographer, photojournalist, journalist, socialite and gourmet chef was literally off to the side and behind the Frida Kahlo exhibit that had hundreds waiting in line. Kahlo was intensely comprehensive overcrowded and like wrapped up in a creepy womb presentation that was a relief when it was over.
The Art Of Lee Miller exhibition in Philadelphia served as my introduction and was totally amazing thing. The portrait photography was on peer with Phillipe Halsman, Karsh, Arnold Newman. Then there was this photojournalism peer of Capa and Bourke-White. And then there are all the nudes surrealist or otherwise. And what about that picture of her taking a bath in Hitler's Munich home?
I hope you get a chance to check out this woman and her art and story before the movies gets hold of it. There are apparently an indie crapful on Lee Miler scripts out there including a project that David Hare of The Hours had announced five years ago.
Carolyn Burke's Lee Miller, A Life will likely stand as the standard popular biography.
Some sections such as her tour as photojournalist and journalist during the blitz, the liberation of France, Germany and the early days of Soviet organization of the East. She spent a lot of time in the camps during the liberation and this impacted her greatly. A lot of hard drinking ensued during the years she was Lady Penrose still orbiting around folks like Man Ray, Picasso, Ernst and others. But she also had friends and teachers like James Beard who helped her become an accomplished gourmet cook by all accounts with a wild and creative streak, as was her character.
And then there were the years she lived in Cairo with Aziz Eloui Bey, a player of all commerce Egyption. And earlier a love affair modeling apprenticeship with Man Ray. She was muse number two after Kiki. She is also the co-discoverer of solarization. What a life!
But one that certainly wasn't easy. I don't feel right revealing any of the more personal aspects of her life almost because Burke's book took me in like a novel, big romantic where I even picked a character out for myself, if its cool to do that with real people. His name is Dave Scherman. He was life magazine writer photographer up for a true collaboration with another creative, as well as an exotic amazing woman even. They split ways after the war. Lee back on her way to become the Lady for future Sir Rupert Penrose and Scherman to return many more years of photojournalism and authoring books.
This was a great book for being in a snow drift as many of us have been.
posted by well-executed buffet at 11:31 PM
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