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BLACK AND LIGHT, 1952-2015HackelBury Fine Art, London: 3 March 11 April 2015

William Klein: Black and Light,(1952-2015) is the second in the imprintseries - unique andbeautifully produced publications, each dedicated to the work of a single artist; indepthand in print. Imprint #2is the first publishing of a seminal maquette created in 1952 by cultphotographer, film-maker and master of the photo book, William Klein (USA, born 1928). Itis comprised completely of experimental photograms made only with light and movement -events captured and transformed in the darkroom. Created just after and inspired by Kleinslate 40s/early 50s geometric paintings and screens, when first exhibited in 1953 they leddirectly to his invitation to work for Voguein 1954. The rest, as they say, is history.

This was Kleins first attempt at making a book. It is here that he began to play with scale,page layout, design and sequencing, developing the skills that would come to shape the stringof influential publications for which he is justly celebrated. Indeed that first maquette has allthe Klein hallmarks: the free flow of motifs, the unbounded graphic energy, the flattened all-over compositions, the refusal of white borders to contain the prints, full bleeds to the edge ofthe page and double-spreads crossing the gutter. More to the point, the imagery is not in thebook, like plates in an album: the imagery is the book. Form and content are entirely unified

so that book becomes a work in itself, a coherent object of art and design

David Campany, 2015, imprint #2

Imprint #2is beautifully printed to recreate the rich tones of the original silver gelatinmaquette, along with the original spiral bound format and size. The design has been updated

for the 21st Century by William Klein, and is accompanied by an insightful text by writer,curator and artist David Campany.

The accompanying exhibition at HackelBury Fine Art features large-scale abstract silvergelatin prints seen for the first time since 1952, as well as several that were featured inKleins retrospective at Tate Modern, 2012-13. The exhibition will also feature large-formatstills from Kleins first film in colour, Broadway by Light, 1958 as well as running the filmitself within the show. The colour and form of the lettered signs and lights on broadway canalso be seen in a monumental painted Lettrist mural from the early sixties. Finally we see theexperimental light drawings incorporated into a fashion spread shot for Voguein 1962 (butnever published), featuring Who are you Polly Magoo actress Dorothy McGowan, and in aselection of covers for Domusmagazine.


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Selected silver gelatinphoto-murals from the1952 maquette seriespublished in imprint #2and released as exhibition

prints for the first time in2015.


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Black knives, 1952

Dancing sticks 1Dancing sticks 2

Horizontal sticks Black stripes + small balls


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Unitiled #9, Paris 1952



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Unitiled #6 and #7, Paris 1952


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Unitiled f#11 and #10, Paris 1952


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Unitiled #3 and #2, Paris 1952


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Film strip photograms fromBroadway by Light, 1958


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Dorothy + light newspaper, Paris, 1962Dorothy shooting light from hip, Paris, 1962Dorothy + Big White Circle, Paris, 1962


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Dorothy juggling white light balls, Paris, 1962 Dorothy blowing light smoke rings, Paris, 1962

Dorothy arguing with Dorothy + Lights, Paris, 1962

Originally shot for Vogue in 1962, these inventive images bring together Kleins first experiments with light andhis subsequent innovations in fashion photography in the decade that he spent at Vogue in New York from1954. The images all feature Dorothy McGowan, the lead actress in Who are you Polly Maggoo, 1966 satireon the fashion world. They were not published in Vogue at the time, and disappeared into the studio archive,only to be released for the first time as prints in 2012.


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Related abstract worksfirst seen and publishedin the 2012 Paintings,Etc exhibition andpublication, whichcoincided with TateModerns retrospectiveexhibition in 2012-13


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Moving Diamonds project for mural, Paris, 1952


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Blurred squares, Paris, 1952


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Black egg turning on white, Paris, 1952

Black egg swirling, Paris,1949


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Thick vertical lines on black, Paris,1953

Traces of moving white balls on black, Paris,1949


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Black and Light, Abstract PrintsAll images are from1952, released and printed 2014.

Special edition hard-cover book in presentation boxincluding one from a choice of six gelatin silver prints,

shown above, signed on verso in pencil

Print size: 25 x 25cm / 9.84 x 9.84 inches

Edition of ten each

White balls on black Traces of white balls on black Black stripes + small balls

Blurred squares Horizontal sticks Bars + black balls


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History and Context


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Galerie Apollo, Brussels, 1953


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Galerie Apollo, Brussels, 1953

Klein blew up his first experiments in photography as 'Photomurals' and furtherdesigns for pivoting screens. Several of these images were realised as large-scale editioned photomurals for the first time in 2012


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Painted Turning Panels, 1952-53 - William Klein can be seen with the architect Mangiarotti.

In 1952, Kleins paintings were exhibited in Milan at the Galleria del Milione - which, by chance, led to his first real experiment in photography. He waspreoccupied then with changing forms, with ominous geometrical shapes that could be used as murals. The Italian architect Mangiarotti saw Kleins workand asked him to adapt it into reversible panels that could move or divide a room, creating many chance combinations and multiple patterns (above).

When they were finished, Klein took several photographs of them, and stumbled on photography. Quite by chance, he spun one of the panels on its pivotduring a long exposure. The result gave him an idea. He thought if he could record the movement of these geometrical forms - record their trace in time -then he might discover a way of escaping the rut of what he calls the same old paintings of circles, squares and triangles. So he fixed up a little darkroomand tried to re-create the accidental time exposures on purpose. He cut out geometrical holes in black cardboard and projected light through them while

moving the cut-out shapes at different speeds over photographic paper. The trace left on the paper was a geometrical time exposure. It was a picture.Klein had discovered for himself a way of literally drawing with light. The results werent objects recording themselves in white on black like Man Rays

photograms. They were controlled projections in which shapes came out black (depending on the exposure of light) and their trace in time ( the vision in

motion) different shades of gray. When the results were photographed and blown up, they became photomurals.

John Heilpern, from the Aperture monograph William Klein, published 1981


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Selected biography


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About William Klein

After initial training at the Sorbonne as part of the post-war GI Bill, New York born Klein spent a brief

period in the Paris studio of Fernand Lger. He exhibited figurative paintings and abstract Mural Projects

together in Milan in 1952. At this time he was commissioned by the architect Mangiarotti to paint

murals onto a series of turning panels, creating endless combinations of pattern and form. A chance

discovery when documenting the panels was a revelation: captured as they were revolving, a new energy

and dynamism was introduced into the geometric abstractions. The process of photography enabled

an exploration of scale, form and movement that informed all that followed. The resulting abstract

photographs and revolving panels were exhibited in Paris at the Salon des Ralits Nouvelles in 1953,

where they were seen by Alexander Liberman fromAmerican Vogue. A meeting ensued and Klein wasoffered a contract to join Voguefor special projects and later for experimental fashion photos, and itwas agreed that Voguewould finance a book on New York. Returning to New York, Klein let loose onthe city, taking fashion photography in a whole new direction; beauty and the grotesque all within wide-

angle and telephoto shots. Taking the models out of the studio and onto the streets, his revolutionary

techniques pioneered a new vision. Simultaneously he was producing the book; Life is Good and Goodfor you in New York: Trance Witness Revels(1956). Capturing the rough and tumble of daily life on themean streets of New York and harnessing the explosive energy of the city through juxtapositions and

bold captions, Kleins brutally honest images and uncompromising vision caused a major a sensation.

Although Voguedeclined to publish in the US, maverick film-maker Chris Marker championed the projectto be published in Paris. It went on to win the Prix Nadar in 1957. Rome followed in 1958-59, andMoscowand Tokyoin 1960. All of these publications are highly sought-after today, and Klein is widelyacknowledged as a significant innovator in the history of the photo book.

William Klein is also an accomplished and highly respected filmmaker, beginning his foray into the

moving image in 1958 with the first Pop film Broadway by Light. Omnipresent in each of Kleins filmsis the same uncompromising vision that characterises his still images. Abandoning photography in the

mid-1960s to focus his attention on filmmaking, Klein produced a portfolio of iconoclastic films including

Cassius the Great, later re-edited with new footage as Muhammed Ali, The Greatest; Little Richard; theVietnam War; and experimental films such as Mr Freedomand Qui-tes Vous Polly Magoo. His last filmto date Messiah(1999) reveals on an epic scale a summary of the themes present throughout his artisticcareer.

Klein returned to still photography in the 1980s, ever progressive and unrelenting in his approach.

Revisiting his work to that date, he made large-scale blow-ups of his photographic contact sheets,

revealing on an unparalleled scale the frames before and after the decisive image. Liberally applying

gloss brush strokes in bold colours to these mural-sized prints, Klein brought together key elements from

his long and varied career: graphic form, composition and colour from the early murals and paintings

juxtaposed with ground-breaking fashion and street photographs, along with the narrative and bold

visual language of his experimental films. A defining moment where his unique vision came full circle.

In 1963 at Photokina, Cologne, Klein was named one of the 30 most important photographers of the

century. In 1989 he was made a Commander of Arts and Letters in France. Subsequently in 1990 he won

the prestigious Hasselblad Award and in 1999 he was awarded the Medal of the Century by the Royal

Photographic Society in London. In 2007 he received the International Center of Photography Infinity

Award for Lifetime Achievement, and more recently in April 2012, he was awarded the Outstanding

Contribution to Photography Award at the 2012 Sony World Photography Awards.

At the age of 84 Klein continues to live and work in Paris, France.

COLLECTIONS

Museum of Modern Art de la Ville, Paris

The National Museum of Photography, Copenhagen

Fondation Cartier pour lart contemporain, Paris

Centre Pompidou - Muse National dArt Moderne, Paris

Institut dart contemporain Villeurbanne/Rhne-Alpes,

Villeurbanne

Yokohama Museum of Art, Nishi-ku, Yokohama

National Museum of Modern Art Tokyo, Tokyo

Fotostiftung Schweiz (Schweizerische Stiftung fr die

Photographie), Winterthur

The Art Institute, Chicago

The Museum of Contemporary Photography, Chicago, IL

Southeast Museum of Photography, Daytona Beach, FL

Los Angeles County Museum of Art, Los Angeles, CA

The Madison Museum of Contemporary Art, Madison, WI

The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York City, NY

San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, San Francisco, CA


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SELECTED SOLO EXHIBITIONS

William Klein: Black and Light, 1952-2015 at HackelBury FineArt, London. 2015

William Klein, FOAM Museum, Amsterdam, 2013

Paintings, Etc, Howard Greenberg Gallery, New York, 2013

William Klein + Daido Moriyama, Tate Modern, London,2012-2013

Paintings, Etc, HackelBury Fine Art, London, 2012

Klein & Cie, Polka Galerie, Paris, 2009

Mai 68, lexposition Historique, Cosmos Galerie, Paris, 2008

Paris en couleurs, Htel de Ville, Paris, 2008

Ralits, Maison Europenne de la Photographie, Paris, 2008

Exposition de William Klein, Artothque municipale deGrenoble, 2007

Italie double vision, Maison Europenne de la photographie,Paris, 2007

Prints 1955-2007, Howard Greenberg Gallery, New York,2007

Highlights, Maison du Danemark, Paris, 2006

Rtrospective, Centre Pompidou, Paris, 2005

House of Photography, Moscow, 2004

Maison Europenne de la Photographie, Paris, 2002

Grand Manege, Moscow, 1999

Scottish National Gallery, Edinburgh, Scotland, 1999

FNAC, Paris, 1999

Pushkin Museum, Moscow, 1997

Saint-Gervais Center, Geneva, Switzerland, 1997

National Foundation, Madrid, Spain, 1997

Caixa Foundation, Barcelona, Spain, 1996

Walker Art Center, Minneapolis, USA, 1996

Maison Europeene De La Photographie, Paris, 1996

Museum Of Modern Art, San Francisco, 1995

FNAC, Paris, Marseille And Travelling, 1995

International Center of Photography (Icp) New York, 1994

Presidential Palace, Prague, Czechoslovakia, 1994

Printemps De La Photo, Cahors, 1993

Morsbroich Museum, Leverkasen, 1993

Beaux Arts, Almeria, Spain, 1992

Stadts Museum, Munich, Germany, 1992

Hasselslad Center, Gteborg, Sweden, 1990

National Library, Turin, Italy, 1990

Volkwang Museum, Essen, Germany, 1990

Finnish Film Archives, Helsinki, Finland, 1989

Museum Of Moving Images, London, 1989

Muse dElyse, Lausanne, France, 1988

Osaka Museum, Osaka, Japan, 1988

Ludwig Museum, Cologne, Germany, 1988

Museum Of Photographic Arts, San Diego, California, USA,1987

Printemps Ginza, Tokyo, Japan, 1987

Museum Of Modern Art, Paris, 1987

Victoria And Albert Museum, London, 1986

Fotofest, Houston, Texas, USA, 1986

Corcoran Gallery, Washington, USA, 1985

3 Castles In Drome, France, 1985

Municipal Galleries, Zagreb And Belgrade, Yugoslavia,1984

Centre Georges Pompidou, Paris, 1983

Municipal Gallery, Albi, France, 1982

International Festival, Malm, 1982

American Centre, Paris, 1981

Moma, New York, 1980

Canon Gallery, Geneva, Switzerland ,November, 1979

National Foundation of Photography, Lyon, France, 1979

Photographers Gallery, London, January, 1978

Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, US,1978

Fiolet Gallery, Amsterdam, January, 1978

Festival International, Arles, France, July, 1977

The History of Fashion Photography, International Museumof Photography at George Eastman House, Rochester, NY

San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, San Francisco, CA,1978

Cincinnati Art Institute, Cincinnati, OH, 1978

Museum of Fine Arts, St. Petersburg, FL, 1978

Apeldoorn Museum, Apeldoorn, Holland, 1978

Stedelijk Museum, Amsterdam, 1967

Jaeger, London, 1965

Photokina, Cologne,1963

Fuji Photo Salon, Tokyo,1961

Vista Books, London,1960

La Hune, Paris. November, 1956

Saarbrucken, Subjecktive Fotografie 2, 1954

Salon des Ralits Nouvelles, Paris,1954

Galerie Apollo, Brussels, December, 1953

Galleria del Milione, Milan. January,1952

Piccolo Teatro, Milan, 1952

Galerie Dietrich-Lou Cosyns, Brussels, 1951


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