Norman Seeff
 | This poorly sourced must be removed immediately from the article and its talk page, especially if potentially libelous. )Find sources: "Norman Seeff" – news · newspapers · books · scholar · JSTOR (May 2012) |
Norman Seeff | |
|---|---|
| Born | March 5, 1939 Johannesburg, South Africa |
| Nationality | American |
| Known for | Photographer, filmmaker |
Norman Seeff (born March 5, 1939, in
Early life and career
Seeff graduated with honors in science and art at
Seeff qualified as a medical doctor in 1965. For three years he worked in emergency medicine at the
New York
Soon after Seeff arrived in
In 1971, Seeff spent a year as Professor of Photography at Bennington College in Vermont.
Los Angeles
At the end of 1971 and on the recommendation of Cato, Seeff relocated to Los Angeles to become creative director of
Two years later, he opened an independent studio on the 'strip' on Sunset Boulevard. His photographic sessions soon became legendary and attracted audiences of 30–40 at each session, swelling to over 200 on some occasions.
In his evolution as a photographer of public personalities, Seeff realized that to accomplish the vitality and authenticity he was looking for in his images required a paradigm shift in his interaction with artists and innovators.
Creating the session as both a nurturing and challenging environment for a co-creative relationship with artists, it evolved as a laboratory for the exploration of the fundamental dynamics of creativity from the "inside" out. Responding to the emotional authenticity and depth of the creative communication between himself and artists, Seeff brought a film crew into a session for the first time in 1975, beginning with
For Seeff, the session became the art-form itself, transforming into a multi-disciplinary process of photography, filmmaking and creative communication. Shifting his focus from ends to means and creating an authentic experience in the moment revealed that optimal experience flowed elegantly into optimal performance. For Seeff it was a personal paradigm shift in his understanding of the creative process.
Seeff has documented over 500 sessions with artists of many disciplines including musicians, actors, writers, directors, actors, scientists, entrepreneurs, and politicians. He has interacted with creators and innovators including Ray Charles, the Carpenters, Joni Mitchell, Guthrie Thomas, Kiss, Steve Jobs, Steve Martin, John Huston, Martin Scorsese, Billy Wilder, Bob Fosse, will.i.am, Tina Turner, Alicia Keys and Francis Crick.
Television commercials
In 1990, Seeff applied the spontaneous and co-creative approach he had developed during his photo sessions to working with actors in television commercials. During the 1990s, he became an acclaimed, award-winning director of hundreds of national commercials for major brands including
.Recent work
Seeff returned to photography and the documentation of his sessions in 1999 in order to produce a documentary exploration of the artist's journey for the opening of
It was the latter assignment that led to Seeff being invited to work with the
Seeff's recent sessions have included an exploration of the world of electronic music with participants of the 2013 Red Bull Music Academy and the production of a web series for Red Bull Media House.
Exploration of creativity
As a consequence of 35 years of research and development of creativity in action, Seeff has developed a body of content exploring the roots of creativity, innovation and optimal performance and has identified schematics describing the archetypes of the creative process that function across all creative disciplines. The fundamental tenet of his work is that all creation is sourced in the inner resources of consciousness and that everyone has access to the same innate resources.
Seeff views himself as a conduit for the voices of the hundreds of creative and innovative individuals working at the higher reaches of human potential he has interacted with over many decades. He is now preparing this multi-media and multi-disciplinary content for global release via multiple interactive digital platforms.
Personal life
Seeff lives in Los Angeles with his wife Sue Kiel and works out of his studio in Burbank. He has two children. His daughter, Tai Power Seeff, whom he shared with actress Taryn Power, is a photographer.
Famous photographs
1.) Patti Smith & Robert Mapplethorpe 1969 : Seeff and Mapplethorpe met soon after Seeff first arrived in New York and Mapplethorpe asked Seeff if he could airbrush some of his prints. Seeff loved what Mapplethorpe had done and offered to photograph Mapplethorpe and Smith.[1] These shots have been featured widely since the release of Smith's book "Just Kids".[2]
2.) The Band 1969 : Seeff was commissioned by the late Bob Cato to take the liner images for the Band's 1970 release Stage Fright. However, Cato loved Seeff's image so much it became the major design feature of the album as a poster insert. The poster rapidly became a collector's item and helped launch Seeff's career as one of rock n roll's leading photographers and album cover designers.
3.) James Taylor 1970 : Seeff photographed Taylor who was building a home on Martha's Vineyard. Taylor and singer-songwriter Carly Simon were later to live in the house.
4.) Andy Warhol 1970 : Seeff photographed Warhol and members of the Factory in Warhol's space in New York.
5.)
6.) Keith Richards 1971 : Seeff also took a number of individual shots of Richards during the Exile on Main Street shoot.
7.)
8.) Bobby Womack 1972 : Seeff worked with Womack numerous times, but perhaps the best-known photograph by Seeff of Womack is featured on the cover of his 1972 album Understanding.
9.) Miles Davis 1974 : Seeff shot his iconic image of Davis who at the time was recovering from a throat condition and had just come off stage.
10.) Sly Stone 1974 : Seeff's shot of Sly Stone kissing his then wife Kathy Silva was included in the Brooklyn Museum 2009 exhibition[3] Who Shot Rock & Roll: A Photographic History, 1955 to the Present.[4]
11.) Carly Simon 1974 : Seeff's cover shot of Carly Simon dressed in a teddy for her Playing Possum album was thought to be 'racy' and was featured in Sheila Weeler's book Girls Like Us.[5] In fact, it came from a series of shots of Simon doing yoga poses.
12.) Kiss 1974 : Much has been written about Seeff's shoot with Kiss for their 1974 album Hotter Than Hell although by all reports, it is more fiction than fact.
13.)
14.) Joni Mitchell 1975 & 1976 : Seeff had a long working relationship with Mitchell with whom he did 7 sessions.
15.)
16.)
17.)
18.) Cher 1976 : Seeff shot Cher for her album I'd Rather Believe in You. The shots captured Cher's iconic '70s look.
19.) Eagles 1976 : Seeff shot the Eagles for their album One of These Nights.
20.) John Travolta 1976 : Seeff photographed and filmed Travolta who was preparing for his starring role in the 1977 film Saturday Night Fever.
21.) Cher & Gregg Allman 1977 : Seeff shot a series of images of Cher and Gregg Allman while they were married.
22.) Steve Martin 1977 : This series of images demonstrate the amazing physical comedic talent of Martin early in his career. The images were used as album cover art for his 1977 album Let's Get Small.
23.) Zubin Mehta 1977 : During the shoot, Mehta asked Seeff to play classical music at full volume to illustrate that it could outperform rock 'n' roll.
23.)
24.) Santana 1978 : Seeff's shots of Santana were taken for the Inner Secrets album.
25.) Johnny Cash 1978 : Seeff shot Cash on several occasions, including the cover for Cash's 1984 album Biggest Hits.
26.) Fleetwood Mac 1978 : Taken for the Tusk album, Seeff's images of Fleetwood Mac illustrate the charisma and intensity of relationships between the members of the band.
27.) Rickie Lee Jones 1978 : Taken for Jones' first album release that broke her into the music business.
28.) Jean Terrell 1978 : Former lead singer of the Supremes; taken for her debut solo album.
29.) Chicago 1978 : Taken for the Hot Streets album, this was the first and only time Chicago had a photo of the band on the cover.
30.)
31.)
32.) Blondie 1979 : Seeff photographed the band for their album Eat to the Beat.
33.) Curtis Mayfield 1979 : Mayfield wrote an original song during the filmed photo session.
34.) John Belushi 1981 : Seeff photographed Belushi both alone and as part of the Blues Brothers.
35.)
36.) Tina Turner 1983 : Seeff was asked to take a series of images of Turner as she rebuilt her career, launching a string of hits beginning with her 1983 single "Let's Stay Together", which featured Seeff's image on the cover. The photo session with Tina was filmed and featured spontaneous live performances.
37.) Quincy Jones 1984 : Seeff's shot Quincy Jones with his daughter at his home and was featured in the 2009 book The Art & Soul of Quincy Jones.
38.) Steve Jobs 1984 : Seeff shot Jobs at the Apple HQ in Cupertino, California, and also at Jobs' home in Woodside. These are iconic images of the young Steve Jobs in the early days of Apple's success and one was chosen by Walter Isaacson for the cover of his biography that was released in October 2011. Soon after Jobs' death, Seeff's shots also ran on the covers of Rolling Stone as well as TIME magazine[7](different photos).
39.) Ray Charles 1985 : The classic image was used by Concord Records on the album Genius Loves Company.
40.) John Huston 1985 : Seeff interviewed and photographed Huston for a series on American film directors. One of the photographs from this session was used by Apple for their "Think Different" campaign and appeared on giant billboards across America.
41.) Martin Scorsese 1986 : Seeff photographed and filmed their conversation on the creative process for a series on American film directors.
42.) Billy Wilder 1986 : Seeff's photograph of Wilder greets patrons to the Billy Wilder Theater at the Hammer Museum in Los Angeles.
43.) Jim Henson 1986 : Shot for a series on American film directors including an image which became a US Postal Service stamp.
44.) Bob Fosse 1986 : Seeff photographed and filmed Fosse for a series on American film directors.
45.) David Crosby 1986 : From a shoot with Stephen Stills and Graham Nash.
46.)
47.) Aerosmith 1989 : Seeff shot the photographic session for their album Pump. The session was also documented.
48.) Steven Tyler 1989 : Photographed during the session for Aerosmith's album Pump.
Record cover design and photography
From 1969 onward Seeff contributed photography and art directed and designed hundreds of record covers[8]
Tammy Wynette, Womanhood (album) (1978, Photography;) Only Lonely Sometimes (1980, Photography.)
The Band, Stage Fright: Photography 1969 [1]
: Art Direction & Photography 1971Bobby Womack, : Art Direction & Photography 1972
Joni Mitchell, Court and Spark: Photography 1972
Leo Kottke, My Feet are Smiling: Photography 1973
Kiss, Hotter Than Hell: Art Direction & Photography 1974
John Klemmer, Touch: Design & Photography 1974
Rufus, Rufusized: Photography 1974
Art Garfunkel, Breakaway: Photography 1975
Carly Simon, Playing Possum: Photography and Design 1975
Earth, Wind & Fire, That's the Way of the World: Photography 1975
Eagles, One of These Nights: Photography 1975
Carmen McRae, I am Music: Photography 1975
Gloria Gaynor, Experience Gloria Gaynor: Photography 1975
Joni Mitchell, Hejira: Photography 1976
James Taylor, In the Pocket: Photography 1976
Andy Gibb, Flowing Rivers: Photography 1977
Godiego, Dead End: photography 1977
George Duke, Reach for It: Photography 1977
Joni Mitchell, Don Juan's Reckless Daughter: Photography 1977
Santana, Inner Secrets: Design, Art Director & Photography 1978
Earl Klugh, Magic in Your Eyes: Photography 1978
Glen Campbell, Basic: Photography 1978
George Duke, "Don't Let Go": Photography 1978
Chicago, "Hot Streets": Design & Photography 1978
Captain & Tennille, Dream: Photography 1978
Dan Fogelberg & Tim Weisberg, Twin Sons of Different Mothers: Photography 1978
Foreigner, Double Vision: Design & Photography 1978
Rufus & Chaka Kahn, Street Player: Photography 1978
Gilberto Gil, Nightingale: Photography 1979
Fleetwood Mac, Tusk: Photography 1979
Captain & Tennille, Make Your Move: Photography 1979
Tanya Tucker, Tear Me Apart: Design & Photography 1979
England Dan & John Ford Coley, Dr. Heckyll and Mr. Jive: Design & Photography 1979
Van Morrison, Into the Music: Photography & Design 1979
George Benson, Give Me the Night: Photography 1980
Carpenters, Lovelines: Photography 1981, album release 1989
Andy Gibb, Greatest Hits": Photography 1980
Al Jarreau, Jarreau (album): Photography 1983
Tina Turner, "Let's Stay Together": Photography 1983
Johnny Cash, Biggest Hits: Photography 1984
Joni Mitchell, Dog Eat Dog: Photography 1985
Ramsey Lewis & Nancy Wilson, The Two of Us: Photography 1984
Aerosmith, Pump: Photography 1989
Frank Zappa, Strictly Commercial: Photography 1995
Raphael Saadiq, The Way I See It: Photography 2008[9]
Books
Seeff's first book, Hot Shots, published in 1974, was awarded the New York Art Directors Club Gold Medal for photography. His second book, Sessions, was published in 1988. In December 2018, he released JONI: THE JONI MITCHELL SESSIONS featuring images and insights from 12 sessions with the legendary artist from 1972 to 1985.
References
- ^ Patti Smith and Robert Mapplethorpe. Interview Magazine. Retrieved on 2010-10-02.
- PBS. Retrieved on 2010-15-02.
- ^ Exhibitions: Who Shot Rock & Roll: A Photographic History, 1955 to the Present. Brooklyn Museum. Retrieved on 2010-23-02.
- Random House, Inc. Retrieved on 2010-23-02.
- Amazon.com, Inc.Retrieved on 2010-23-02.
- ^ Estes, Lenora Jane (September 12, 2013). "Photos: The "Lost Archive" of Norman Seeff, With Images of Michael Jackson, Andy Warhol, Mick Jagger, and Carly Simon". Vanity Fair.
- ^ Time.com
- ^ Norman Seeff Discography at Discogs
- ^ The Way I See It (CD liner). Raphael Saadiq. New York City: Columbia Records. 2008. 88697 08585 2.
{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
External links
| International | |
|---|---|
| National | |
| Academics | |
| Artists | |
| Other | |
