2009.3.9
If you want to be a great photographer, maybe you need the guts to snatch a lighted cigar from the lips of a prime minister.
Yousuf Karsh, considered one of the world's greatest photographers, did. Barely 33 at the time, the Canadian photographer of Armenian heritage snatched a cigar out of Winston Churchill's mouth to record him on the day he had addressed the Canadian Parliament.
"Instinctively, I removed the cigar. At this the Churchillian scowl deepened, the head was thrust forward belligerently, and the hand placed on the hip in an attitude of anger," Karsh reminisced in his book, "Faces of Our Time."
Karsh pressed on the camera shutter. The photo captured Churchill and Britain of the time perfectly: defiant and indomitable. Naturally, the British prime minister was furious, but later said to him, "You can even make a roaring lion stand still to be photographed," allowing Karsh to take one more photo.
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That is how the legendary photograph "The Roaring Lion" was taken. It was sold to many reputable magazines, and Karsh soon rose to stardom. Since then and throughout the 60-year career that continued until his death in 2002, Karsh was referred to as the portrait photography master.
To commemorate the master's 100th birthday, about 70 of his representative works, including the portrait of Churchill are displayed at the exhibition "Faces of Our Time," at the Hangaram Art Museum at the Seoul Arts Center in southern Seoul.
The exhibition has three divisions. The first part, "Portraits," is the main one. Leading figures of the 20th century like Albert Einstein, Mother Teresa, Audrey Hepburn, Ernest Hemingway, Helen Keller, Pablo Picasso and Jacqueline Kennedy posed for Karsh.
While most photographers at that time had the guests visit their studios, Karsh packed up his cameras to visit their homes or offices. That way, he could adequately arrange the backgrounds using the subject's personal belongings or space to better express their characters.
"He always went through in-depth research about his subjects beforehand, to create photos that reveal not only the subjects' looks but also their occupations and personalities," said exhibition curator Ahn Sun-young.
What is more amazing is that all his masterpieces took three shots at the most, many just a single shot.
"The photos are so delicate that it looks like they have been retouched by Photoshop, which wasn't even there then. Karsh printed the original vintage films much more delicately than we handle digital films now," Ahn said.
Karsh was especially brilliant at using light. He would deliberately darken one-quarter of the photo to make the subject appear more dramatic. This unique style is known as the "Karsh-Look," and is still favored by many photographers today.
In the other two parts of the exhibition, viewers can see the photographer's earlier works, featuring nude models and Canada's postwar years.
The Karsh exhibition runs through May 8. Tickets are 8,000 won for adults, 7,000 won for adolescents and 6,000 won for kids. For more information, call 1544-1682 or visit www.karshkorea.com
By Park Min-young
(claire@heraldm.com)
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