Well, it’s shortly before midnight, and I’m finally getting around to putting in an entry that reflects a goal from an earlier post – namely to use this space as a dumping ground for information that I might otherwise forget. So, here’s a brief bit about Nick Knight, a much-respected, English fashion photographer. Hopefully the simple act of processing and writing down a messy biography about the guy will assist in storing something of him in the cranial attic.

In the book C20th Photography, the inset blurb for his entry states that he was born in 1958 in London and is a Fashion and Music Photographer, whose “key work” is Nicknight (a book of collected photography). Additionally, he is:

One of the most important fashion phtographers working today. After studying photography in the south of England, started working for cutting edge British style magazines, such as The Face and i-D in the early 1980s. From there graduated to more mainstream fashion publications such as Vogue and has shot campaigns for Reebok, Jill Sanders, Christian Dior, and Yohji Yamamoto. Work has crossed into the realms of fine art and has been widely exhibited. Was one of the first commercial photographers to realize the potential of digital imaging.

The book I’m quoting includes three of Knight’s photographs, and the one below is what prompted me to want to write this entry and commit the artist’s name to memory. Entitled Susie Smoking, this image is an absolute glorification of style, attitude, fine clothes, and perhaps the act of smoking. I like everything about this composition – it’s vivid colors, the “I’m too sexy for this chair” pose, the color selection, the out-of-focus background, the freeze-framed smoke, and the cool clothes the photo’s no-faced, pageboy haircut woman is sporting. It’s been a while since I purchased an artprint (maybe a Manet back when I was a freshman at UGA?), but this is one piece that I wouldn’t mind spending money on.

C20th’s caption for the photo reads, “Susie Smoking, 1988. This is part of a groundbreaking campaign for the Japanese designer, Yohji Yamamoto and is one of Knight’s most famous images. It may not be politically correct to say so, but this picture makes smoking seem highly appealing. The use of color is quite brilliant.”

Knight is interesting because, while he is so deeply entrenched in the fashion industry, his early photography demonstrates a keen understanding of London street culture. According to the book’s author, Knight hasn’t forgotten those roots and much of his fashion-related photography is “edgy” and is irreverent of the industry. Still, he manages to demonstrate a great deal of respect for the clothes and fabrics his models wear. (The image above, I think, is a good example: The model is for all practical purposes irrelevant – it’s more about the lines of her hands and attire.)

Quotation on Knight technique: Many of his images are cross processed (where slide film is put through a negative film developer) and he lights up the pictures using ring flash, which lightens up colors and gives them added sheen.

Apparently Knight has prevented himself from being totally pigeon-holed as a fashion photographer as he has also created visual projects with flowers and other plants as subjects, used video surveillance footage in other work, and employed senior citizens for “alternative” fashion campaigns.