Last Sunday in Co Wicklow, Los Angeles-based photographer, Greg Gorman, celebrated his 49th birthday at a lunch hosted by John Hurt, at which both Marianne Faithfull and Anjelica Huston sang. Although he was not in the kitchen on this occasion, Gorman regularly cooks for company of this ilk in his Californian home - he even plans to produce a book of recipes at some future date. For the moment, however, demands for his photographic skills keep him fully occupied as an exhibition, opening in Dublin today, eloquently demonstrates.
Gorman has specialised in celebrity portraits for some 25 years and much of his work will be familiar from publications such as Life, Time, GQ and Vogue. Although he will shoot in colour - "I use it for all snapshot pictures for myself" - his preference is for black and white which he considers to be "more direct and honest; colour can be rather forgiving at times." He specialises in the close-up, head-and-shoulder approach, leaving his subjects little space in which to retreat although, increasingly, the involvement of assorted publicists, agents and managers has made the job harder. Particularly in Hollywood, the famous tend to be surrounded by protective forces who, he argues, "want you to do work for nothing and then give nothing in return. They've had a great deal of gain in the control arena on their terms over the past 10 years. I've got more control and freedom than most photographers but still . . ."
Endless encounters with discouraging minders led him in the mid-1980s to begin focusing on nudes as an alternative to celebrity portraiture. Unlike over-cosseted stars, professional models happily take direction from the photographer, who also relishes the challenge of working with more than just heads. "There's a lot more body to get in balance obviously. Everything has to be in harmony and accord but not look contrived or forced. It has to seem effortless and free, even though actually that's not the case." Gorman's show at the Gallery of Photography, his first in this country, contains a mixture of portraits and nudes, the former hung in tight groups while the latter are each given more space. Colour is absent throughout, except for sepia tinting for a small number of prints. To see so many famous faces gathered together is an impressive spectacle although not necessarily for Greg Gorman. He, after all, is accustomed to keeping celebrated company.
Greg Gorman's exhibition at the Gallery of Photography, Meeting House Square, Temple Bar, Dublin is open to the public until Saturday, July 4th.