William Klein (1926-2022)

Monday, September 12, 2022

The year 1926, when photographer/filmmaker William Klein was born, and dying in 2022, is very much living the full impact of the 20th century. An American figure who made Paris his spiritual and actual home is an image maker of that century. So much so that when I have an image in my mind, it is like a Klein photograph.

Klein documented life in big cities (New York, Rome, Paris, Tokyo, and London), and each book, although sharing the sensibility of Klein, was also very different due to the energy and culture of each city he covered with his camera.

When I looked at one of Klein’s books as a teenager, I wanted to go to that location. It was either through the world of music, films, and the photo essay books by William Klein. At a certain age, he was my window to that world or what I wanted from that part of the planet.

As I got older and started to make plans to publish my line of books, TamTam, I looked upon Klein’s work as a designer/image maker and how I would like to capture his visual energy. I did so with the talents of Tom Recchion and Mark Holly, who did my covers. One can’t imitate the master, nor do we want to, but we can enrich our lives by jumping into the visual pool of Klein’s making.

Criterion released a DVD box set of Klein’s remarkable films not long ago, and they capture their period in such a livid manner. My favorite film by him is Who Are You, Polly Maggoo. The ultimate high-fashion film of all time, with a magnificent score by Michel Legrand. The other excellent film by Klein is Mr. Freedom, with a score and appearance by Serge Gainsbourg. He reminds me of Robert Downey Sr. They both have a very cool/hip way of looking at their landscape and acknowledging the absurdity of life as it takes place in front of their camera.

In his photography and films, Klein has the energy of a comic book, and his photo books are designed to wake you up. Nothing in his world is understated. The energy that comes out of his work is intense. I also strongly recommend the documentary he made on the boxer Ali and Eldridge Cleaver. He also made a documentary on Little Richard, but I haven’t seen it yet as of this date.

I’m not sad about his passing; more in awe that he even existed on this planet. William Klein 1926-2022.