This is a well timed release of Bert Stern;s “favourite photos” of Marilyn.
What can I say about his work that hasn’t been said already…?
Well firstly, this edition of the book is completely different from the others, in that some of the b/w photos have had colour added and it’s also not completely new in that it was available last year if you visited the exhibition in Paris. I have mixed feeling about Bert Stern’s work with Marilyn, due to the fact that he published everything he could from those sitting, despite Marilyn having vetted and destroying many of them.
He’s a little bit of a swine for doing that, very disrespectful for MM. I think if I was to be really honest I would say he’s exploited his time with Marilyn because of the way he’s marketed his work with her. I also don’t like the fact that since the 80’s books he hasn’t re-touched the photos, which again is a bit of a shame as the photos that are retouched are just perfection!
Now call me boring or old fashioned but in my view a photographer wants to capture a person at their perfect best and a little retouching here and there can go a long way. It can make all the difference between a good picture and a bad picture. Have you, for instance, even seen a bad picture by Herb Ritts?? No I think not for he made all of his subjects look fantastic, and it was the retouching that made the difference.
Also I think the majority of his subjects trusted his judgement, and you can just tell they are at ease with his camera…
However despite how I feel about Mr Stern, these pictures are among the most fascinating of our beloved heroine, some of them transcend time. They are expensive to buy. If you are lucky enough to afford an original it would probably cost you around upwards of £8,000/$14,000 for a large print.
Ive been in galleries and witnessed people buy these prints for those prices and that’s were I’ve heard people comment on Marilyns hair on her skin and heard incredibly insensitive comments like “she needs a shave”.
For anyone who doesn’t have any of the other editions then this is a good one for you to have and for anyone who fancies a fresh look at Stern’s work then I’d recommend it as it is aquite different from previous versions. There’s one or two omissions though, my favourite one of her in the bed is not here and nor is the one of her face from the Mailer cover, which would have been nice to see.
By Fraser Penney
