Guy Bourdin
Nude & Strongman in Joy, before 1972
Vintage Silver Gelatin Print
17 x 17 cm
'Nude and Strongman' is a serie of photographs that reveals the quirky side of Bourdin's often dark sense of humor. The strong muscular man competently lifting the nude woman above...
"Nude and Strongman" is a serie of photographs that reveals the quirky side of Bourdin's often dark sense of humor. The strong muscular man competently lifting the nude woman above his head suggests that he is the alter ego of Bourdin who was a small man with a boyish voice but highly competent in his handling of the nude as a concept in his photography.
Regarding the fact that he always valued the story he communicated through photographs as much as the image that he captured, it would be accurate to say that this series indeed reveals Bourdin's relationship as a photographer with the concept and physicality of "the nude". Just as there is a progression in the strong man's lifting of the woman in the series, there is also a progression in Bourdin's capturing of the perfect image.
It is often told by his models that if Bourdin was not happy with an image, he would keep on grunting in frustration "Non, mais non, mais non ! C'est pas ça !", but would joyfully utter "Ah, c'est beau !" when he captured the image he had been seeking. Most of them also added their experience almost as follows: "If you wanted to work with Guy Bourdin, you had to trust him completely and put yourself in his hands, no questions asked".
© Cigdem Mirol
Regarding the fact that he always valued the story he communicated through photographs as much as the image that he captured, it would be accurate to say that this series indeed reveals Bourdin's relationship as a photographer with the concept and physicality of "the nude". Just as there is a progression in the strong man's lifting of the woman in the series, there is also a progression in Bourdin's capturing of the perfect image.
It is often told by his models that if Bourdin was not happy with an image, he would keep on grunting in frustration "Non, mais non, mais non ! C'est pas ça !", but would joyfully utter "Ah, c'est beau !" when he captured the image he had been seeking. Most of them also added their experience almost as follows: "If you wanted to work with Guy Bourdin, you had to trust him completely and put yourself in his hands, no questions asked".
© Cigdem Mirol