Jim Lee (photographer)
Encyclopedia
Jim Lee is a London-based photographer and film director
. A fashion photographer
for magazines during the late sixties and seventies, he worked closely with Vogue
editor-in-chief Anna Wintour
in London
and New York
on fashion and advertising shoots. He switched to film directing in the late seventies, creating hundreds of television commercials as well as working on several full-length feature films. His earlier photograph
s are displayed in art galleries around the world and form part of the permanent collection at the Victoria and Albert Museum
. Lee continues to collaborate on imaginative campaigns
, in addition to developing his own creative projects.
in 1945; his parents were both operatives in MI5
. Due to a combination of dyslexia
and a strong sense of independence, Lee did not follow the established family route through Eton
and Cambridge, instead attending the experimental Down House School in Sussex
, leaving at 16.
Denied a visa to the USA on age grounds, Lee emigrated to Australia
under the assisted passage Ten Pound Poms
scheme in 1962. After travelling around the outback
for a year, he settled in Sydney
, where the Dutch-born photographer Jon van Gaalen provided him with board and lodging in return for his assistance with developing negatives
. This association helped to spark Lee's own interest in photography, and he began working as a freelance photojournalist, covering performances by the Beatles
and the Rolling Stones
, with his work appearing regularly in the Sydney Morning Herald. At the age of 18 he had a shot of his then girlfriend, the Australian fashion model Bronwyn Steven-Jones, published in Australian Vogue
.
to fight in the Vietnam War
, but through his parents' interventions (on grounds of national security), he was able to return to the UK. He spent the next two years at the Webber Douglas Academy of Dramatic Art
in London and continued to build his portfolio, photographing bands including the Kinks
and the Who
, and securing jobs for fashion clients keen to be seen in the colour supplements then new in British newspapers.
As his reputation grew, Lee began working on shoots for clients in the fashion industry, taking on bigger work, and by 1968, he was working full-time as a fashion photographer
for some of the biggest fashion designers of the time including Ossie Clark
, Yves Saint Laurent and Gianni Versace
, with his spreads featuring regularly in editorials in the national press and fashion magazines including Fashion, Elle
and The Sunday Times
. A two-year move to Paris
in 1970, working for Vingt Ans and Photo
magazines, and continuing to correspond for the British publications, let Lee expand his contacts and reputation in the fashion industry.
By 1973, Lee was working extensively with Jennifer Hocking, the editor of Harpers & Queen, and later agreed to work with Anna Wintour
, then an assistant fashion editor, on a shoot for the magazine. Impressed by her innovative approach, he soon formed a strong working relationship with her, also working on distinctive advertising shoots for clients including Coca Cola, Guinness
and American Express
. Lee followed Wintour to New York
in 1975 and continued to collaborate, producing shoots for Viva
(where she was now the fashion editor) for clients such as Saks Fifth Avenue
and Bloomingdale's
. A success in New York as he had been in London and Paris, Lee produced a 40-page fashion supplement for The New York Times
in 1976, and his work was also featured in Interview
.
When Lee produced a photo booklet titled 'Young Lovers' in June 1975, he decided to promote it using posters on the sides of London buses
. Intrigued by his novel use of the unconventional space and keen to demonstrate the creative opportunities available, the London Transport Board
gave Lee a hundred bus-sides for a year to use for advertising campaigns. Starting with a dramatic poster for Nikon
, featuring Lee's own distinctive gold toothed smile in close up, he used the space to display prominently signed shots for clients including Austin Reed, British Rail
and Pringle of Scotland
; making headlines when he put a full frontal nude on the side of the Number 19 buses
for French Connection
, much to the consternation of campaigners such as Mary Whitehouse
.
" and with influences including Helmut Newton
, Lee's images have artistic merit, consistently showing high production values and a strong narrative. Lee rarely did studio or portrait work, relishing the creative freedom available at Harpers as opposed to the "do it the' Vogue way" approach that prevailed at many other publications.
Lee has experimented with various photographic styles over his career. Many of his earliest shots were characterised by a gritty, photojournalistic
feel, such as Baader-Meinhoff 1969, featuring an elegantly dressed model carrying a submachine gun in place of a handbag, and Ossie Clark/Vietnam 1969, "in which a uniformed and helmeted GI has grabbed hold of a girl modelling a brilliantly dappled Ossie Clark outfit and looking like a Baroque saint in ecstasy."
By the mid-seventies, much of Lee's work displayed a more romantic, soft-focus approach, similar to that of Sarah Moon and Deborah Turbeville, such as the hazy Selfridges/Bathers 1976 and the poignant Reflections 1975. Often displaying a surreal aspect, his Austin Reed/Rome 1976 appears to show men diving out of a swimming pool, whilst Ossie Clark/Aeroplane 1969 has the model wearing a floaty Ossie Clark dress, flying towards her mirror image flanked by a pair of fighter aircraft.
More interested in stories and girls than the clothes themselves, Lee's highly cinematic images suggested further intrigue. One fashion shoot, with models cajoling fighters in a boxing ring surrounded by seedy onlookers, was a result of Lee paying some regulars to stay there all night "to get the ring smoky and be there in the morning drunk".
, initially producing television commercials before going on to direct full-length feature film
productions. Lee's first commercial was for Levi's, and work for Elizabeth Arden
and Coty
's Sophia perfume soon followed, but his repertoire swiftly grew to encompass many of the biggest brands including Visa, BMW
and Shell
. Lee was in the useful position of being able to offer clients both commercials and stills with just a single production.
Over the next few years, Lee went on to direct many hundreds of commercials. These included the big budget 'Hats Off' productions for the British Airways
privatization campaign in 1987, with other industry award-winning commercials including the 'Gone to America' series for Thomas' English Muffins and 'Brideshead Revisited' series for Black and Decker, as well as campaigns for Royal Mail
, Lindt
, Saab
, Esso
and Johnnie Walker
.
Working at first for Spots Films in Soho
, Lee joined Paul Weiland
in 1980 to create Weiland and Lee, which grew quickly, taking on further directors including David Bailey and Richard Curtis
. With John Henderson he set up the Lee Henderson Film Company in 1983, eventually forming his own production company, The Jim Lee Film Company, in 1989, working out of the St James's area of London
.
In 1992, Lee directed the full-length feature film, Losing Track. Written by Roger Eldridge, and starring Alan Bates
, it was screened at a number of film festival
s and was shown in Britain as part of the BBC's
Screen One strand, receiving generally positive reviews Set in the Black Mountains in Wales
in the 1950s, the film follows the efforts of a former civil servant in Colonial India
to re-engage with his estranged son following the death of his wife.
In addition to working on several other feature film
s, Lee continued to direct television commercials for clients around the world. In 1999, he was commissioned to produce a sixty-second commercial for Kingdom Holding Company
controlled by Prince Al Waleed bin Talal
, nephew of the Saudi Arabian King Abdullah
. The production involved the use of over 50 helicopters for an 18-week reconnaissance and shoot at multiple locations around the world, followed by a massive three months in post-production
. It cost over £4m to make, making it one of the most expensive to date. The prince's unpopular comments on the September 11 attacks were one reason why it was withdrawn without ever being aired.
. On contacting the museum, which had originally received the uncredited photo from Clark's former wife Celia Birtwell
, he was invited to submit several more images to be displayed in the exhibition held at the Victoria and Albert Museum
between July 2003 and May 2004.
The renewed interest in Lee's work was continued in 2005 through the Nikon
sponsored "Eye for Images" exhibition held at the Firehouse Club in South Kensington
, featuring some of his earlier works, archived and printed by the photography department at the Royal College of Art
. Supported by London Fashion Week
, the show was widely reviewed in the television and print media, made the national evening news and was accompanied by an eight-page spread in The Sunday Times Magazine
. The exhibition went on to tour around Europe, displayed at venues including the Galleria Carla Sozzani
in Milan
, the Galeria Moriarty in Madrid
and the Paris Photo
art fair in France
.
Lee's works were subsequently displayed at the Hamiltons Gallery in Mayfair
in 2007. Titled "Jim Lee 69", the retrospective highlighted some of Lee's earlier shots. The Victoria and Albert Museum
also selected several additional pieces for the fashion section of their permanent collection.
's fashion label, spreads for Tank Magazine
, The Observer
and 34 Magazine, and the artwork for Morten Harket
's 2008 album, Letter from Egypt
. He also worked with The Independent
since 2002, covering fashion shows by designers including Alexander McQueen
, Zandra Rhodes
and Valentino.
Lee's earlier works continue to be represented by the Hamiltons Gallery, and further exhibitions of his earlier works are planned in Oslo
and Berlin
. He recently announced his intention to create a new body of work around the theme of 'Women in Empowering Situations', to be shot along the course of a roadtrip across America, driving a 1965 Ford Mustang
from L.A.
to New York
.
Lee is currently working on the production of Ten Quid Cowboy, an autobiographical film based on his adventures in Australia as a teenager, with a screenplay written by Scott Roberts, the writer behind adventure films such as K2
and The Hard Word
. Other films currently in development include The Home Front with a screenplay by the late playwright Simon Gray
, and Hey Diddle Diddle, written by the Russian presenter Seva Novgorodsev
.
Film director
A film director is a person who directs the actors and film crew in filmmaking. They control a film's artistic and dramatic nathan roach, while guiding the technical crew and actors.-Responsibilities:...
. A fashion photographer
Fashion photography
Fashion photography is a genre of photography devoted to displaying clothing and other fashion items. Fashion photography is most often conducted for advertisements or fashion magazines such as Vogue, Vanity Fair, or Elle...
for magazines during the late sixties and seventies, he worked closely with Vogue
Vogue (magazine)
Vogue is a fashion and lifestyle magazine that is published monthly in 18 national and one regional edition by Condé Nast.-History:In 1892 Arthur Turnure founded Vogue as a weekly publication in the United States. When he died in 1909, Condé Montrose Nast picked up the magazine and slowly began...
editor-in-chief Anna Wintour
Anna Wintour
Anna Wintour, OBE is the British-born editor-in-chief of American Vogue, a position she has held since 1988. With her trademark pageboy bob haircut and sunglasses, Wintour has become an institution throughout the fashion world, widely praised for her eye for fashion trends and her support for...
in London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
and New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
on fashion and advertising shoots. He switched to film directing in the late seventies, creating hundreds of television commercials as well as working on several full-length feature films. His earlier photograph
Photograph
A photograph is an image created by light falling on a light-sensitive surface, usually photographic film or an electronic imager such as a CCD or a CMOS chip. Most photographs are created using a camera, which uses a lens to focus the scene's visible wavelengths of light into a reproduction of...
s are displayed in art galleries around the world and form part of the permanent collection at the Victoria and Albert Museum
Victoria and Albert Museum
The Victoria and Albert Museum , set in the Brompton district of The Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea, London, England, is the world's largest museum of decorative arts and design, housing a permanent collection of over 4.5 million objects...
. Lee continues to collaborate on imaginative campaigns
Advertising campaign
An advertising campaign is a series of advertisement messages that share a single idea and theme which make up an integrated marketing communication...
, in addition to developing his own creative projects.
Early life
Lee was born in LondonLondon
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
in 1945; his parents were both operatives in MI5
MI5
The Security Service, commonly known as MI5 , is the United Kingdom's internal counter-intelligence and security agency and is part of its core intelligence machinery alongside the Secret Intelligence Service focused on foreign threats, Government Communications Headquarters and the Defence...
. Due to a combination of dyslexia
Dyslexia
Dyslexia is a very broad term defining a learning disability that impairs a person's fluency or comprehension accuracy in being able to read, and which can manifest itself as a difficulty with phonological awareness, phonological decoding, orthographic coding, auditory short-term memory, or rapid...
and a strong sense of independence, Lee did not follow the established family route through Eton
Eton College
Eton College, often referred to simply as Eton, is a British independent school for boys aged 13 to 18. It was founded in 1440 by King Henry VI as "The King's College of Our Lady of Eton besides Wyndsor"....
and Cambridge, instead attending the experimental Down House School in Sussex
Sussex
Sussex , from the Old English Sūþsēaxe , is an historic county in South East England corresponding roughly in area to the ancient Kingdom of Sussex. It is bounded on the north by Surrey, east by Kent, south by the English Channel, and west by Hampshire, and is divided for local government into West...
, leaving at 16.
Denied a visa to the USA on age grounds, Lee emigrated to Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
under the assisted passage Ten Pound Poms
Ten Pound Poms
Ten Pound Poms is a colloquial term used in Australia to describe British subjects who migrated to Australia after the Second World War under an assisted passage scheme established and operated by the Government of Australia.The scheme, a follow-on to the unofficial Big Brother Movement,...
scheme in 1962. After travelling around the outback
Outback
The Outback is the vast, remote, arid area of Australia, term colloquially can refer to any lands outside the main urban areas. The term "the outback" is generally used to refer to locations that are comparatively more remote than those areas named "the bush".-Overview:The outback is home to a...
for a year, he settled in Sydney
Sydney
Sydney is the most populous city in Australia and the state capital of New South Wales. Sydney is located on Australia's south-east coast of the Tasman Sea. As of June 2010, the greater metropolitan area had an approximate population of 4.6 million people...
, where the Dutch-born photographer Jon van Gaalen provided him with board and lodging in return for his assistance with developing negatives
Negative (photography)
In photography, a negative may refer to three different things, although they are all related.-A negative:Film for 35 mm cameras comes in long narrow strips of chemical-coated plastic or cellulose acetate. As each image is captured by the camera onto the film strip, the film strip advances so that...
. This association helped to spark Lee's own interest in photography, and he began working as a freelance photojournalist, covering performances by the Beatles
The Beatles
The Beatles were an English rock band, active throughout the 1960s and one of the most commercially successful and critically acclaimed acts in the history of popular music. Formed in Liverpool, by 1962 the group consisted of John Lennon , Paul McCartney , George Harrison and Ringo Starr...
and the Rolling Stones
The Rolling Stones
The Rolling Stones are an English rock band, formed in London in April 1962 by Brian Jones , Ian Stewart , Mick Jagger , and Keith Richards . Bassist Bill Wyman and drummer Charlie Watts completed the early line-up...
, with his work appearing regularly in the Sydney Morning Herald. At the age of 18 he had a shot of his then girlfriend, the Australian fashion model Bronwyn Steven-Jones, published in Australian Vogue
Vogue (magazine)
Vogue is a fashion and lifestyle magazine that is published monthly in 18 national and one regional edition by Condé Nast.-History:In 1892 Arthur Turnure founded Vogue as a weekly publication in the United States. When he died in 1909, Condé Montrose Nast picked up the magazine and slowly began...
.
Fashion photographer
In 1965, Lee was drafted into the Australian ArmyAustralian Army
The Australian Army is Australia's military land force. It is part of the Australian Defence Force along with the Royal Australian Navy and the Royal Australian Air Force. While the Chief of Defence commands the Australian Defence Force , the Army is commanded by the Chief of Army...
to fight in the Vietnam War
Vietnam War
The Vietnam War was a Cold War-era military conflict that occurred in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia from 1 November 1955 to the fall of Saigon on 30 April 1975. This war followed the First Indochina War and was fought between North Vietnam, supported by its communist allies, and the government of...
, but through his parents' interventions (on grounds of national security), he was able to return to the UK. He spent the next two years at the Webber Douglas Academy of Dramatic Art
Webber Douglas Academy of Dramatic Art
The Webber Douglas Academy of Dramatic Art, formerly the Webber Douglas School of Singing and Dramatic Art, was a drama school, and originally a singing school, in London. It was one of the leading drama schools in Britain, and offered comprehensive training for those intending to pursue a...
in London and continued to build his portfolio, photographing bands including the Kinks
The Kinks
The Kinks were an English rock band formed in Muswell Hill, North London, by brothers Ray and Dave Davies in 1964. Categorised in the United States as a British Invasion band, The Kinks are recognised as one of the most important and influential rock acts of the era. Their music was influenced by a...
and the Who
The Who
The Who are an English rock band formed in 1964 by Roger Daltrey , Pete Townshend , John Entwistle and Keith Moon . They became known for energetic live performances which often included instrument destruction...
, and securing jobs for fashion clients keen to be seen in the colour supplements then new in British newspapers.
As his reputation grew, Lee began working on shoots for clients in the fashion industry, taking on bigger work, and by 1968, he was working full-time as a fashion photographer
Fashion photography
Fashion photography is a genre of photography devoted to displaying clothing and other fashion items. Fashion photography is most often conducted for advertisements or fashion magazines such as Vogue, Vanity Fair, or Elle...
for some of the biggest fashion designers of the time including Ossie Clark
Ossie Clark
Raymond "Ossie" Clark was an English fashion designer who was a major figure in the Swinging Sixties scene in London and the fashion industry in that era...
, Yves Saint Laurent and Gianni Versace
Gianni Versace
Gianni Versace was an Italian fashion designer and founder of Gianni Versace S.p.A., an international fashion house, which produces accessories, fragrances, makeup and home furnishings as well as clothes. He also designed costumes for the theatre and films, and was a friend of Madonna, Elton John,...
, with his spreads featuring regularly in editorials in the national press and fashion magazines including Fashion, Elle
Elle (magazine)
Elle is a worldwide magazine of French origin that focuses on women's fashion, beauty, health, and entertainment. Elle is also the world's largest fashion magazine. It was founded by Pierre Lazareff and his wife Hélène Gordon in 1945. The title, in French, means "she".-History:Elle was founded in...
and The Sunday Times
The Sunday Times
The Sunday Times is a British Sunday newspaper.The Sunday Times may also refer to:*The Sunday Times *The Sunday Times *The Sunday Times *The Sunday Times...
. A two-year move to Paris
Paris
Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
in 1970, working for Vingt Ans and Photo
Photo (French magazine)
Photo is a French magazine , about photography, previously published 10 times a year by Hachette Filipacchi Médias, and currently owned by Magweb. It concentrates on the artistic aspects of photography, rather than technical aspects...
magazines, and continuing to correspond for the British publications, let Lee expand his contacts and reputation in the fashion industry.
By 1973, Lee was working extensively with Jennifer Hocking, the editor of Harpers & Queen, and later agreed to work with Anna Wintour
Anna Wintour
Anna Wintour, OBE is the British-born editor-in-chief of American Vogue, a position she has held since 1988. With her trademark pageboy bob haircut and sunglasses, Wintour has become an institution throughout the fashion world, widely praised for her eye for fashion trends and her support for...
, then an assistant fashion editor, on a shoot for the magazine. Impressed by her innovative approach, he soon formed a strong working relationship with her, also working on distinctive advertising shoots for clients including Coca Cola, Guinness
Guinness
Guinness is a popular Irish dry stout that originated in the brewery of Arthur Guinness at St. James's Gate, Dublin. Guinness is directly descended from the porter style that originated in London in the early 18th century and is one of the most successful beer brands worldwide, brewed in almost...
and American Express
American Express
American Express Company or AmEx, is an American multinational financial services corporation headquartered in Three World Financial Center, Manhattan, New York City, New York, United States. Founded in 1850, it is one of the 30 components of the Dow Jones Industrial Average. The company is best...
. Lee followed Wintour to New York
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
in 1975 and continued to collaborate, producing shoots for Viva
Viva (magazine)
Viva was an adult woman's magazine that premiered in 1973 and ceased publication in 1980. Its full title was Viva, The International Magazine For Women, and it was published by Bob Guccione and his wife, Kathy Keeton. Guccione was the editor of Penthouse, an adult men's magazine, and he wanted to...
(where she was now the fashion editor) for clients such as Saks Fifth Avenue
Saks Fifth Avenue
Saks Fifth Avenue is a luxury American specialty store owned and operated by Saks Fifth Avenue Enterprises , a subsidiary of Saks Incorporated. It competes in the high-end specialty store market in the Upper East Side of Manhattan, i.e. 'the 3 B's' Bergdorf, Barneys, Bloomingdale's and Lord & Taylor...
and Bloomingdale's
Bloomingdale's
Bloomingdale's is an American department store owned by Macy's, Inc. .Bloomingdale's started in 1861 when brothers Joseph and Lyman G. Bloomingdale started selling hoop-skirts in their Ladies Notions' Shop on Manhattan's Lower East Side...
. A success in New York as he had been in London and Paris, Lee produced a 40-page fashion supplement for The New York Times
The New York Times
The New York Times is an American daily newspaper founded and continuously published in New York City since 1851. The New York Times has won 106 Pulitzer Prizes, the most of any news organization...
in 1976, and his work was also featured in Interview
Interview (magazine)
Interview is an American magazine which has the nickname The Crystal Ball Of Pop. It was founded in late 1969 by artist Andy Warhol. The magazine features intimate conversations between some of the world's biggest celebrities, artists, musicians, and creative thinkers...
.
When Lee produced a photo booklet titled 'Young Lovers' in June 1975, he decided to promote it using posters on the sides of London buses
Buses in London
The London Bus is one of London's principal icons, the archetypal red rear-entrance double-deck Routemaster being recognised worldwide. Although the Routemaster has now been largely phased out of service, with only two heritage routes still using the vehicles, the majority of buses in London are...
. Intrigued by his novel use of the unconventional space and keen to demonstrate the creative opportunities available, the London Transport Board
London Transport Board
The London Transport Board was the organisation responsible for public transport in London, UK, and its environs from 1963-1969. In common with all London transport authorities from 1933 to 2000, the public name and operational brand of the organisation was London Transport.-History:The...
gave Lee a hundred bus-sides for a year to use for advertising campaigns. Starting with a dramatic poster for Nikon
Nikon
, also known as just Nikon, is a multinational corporation headquartered in Tokyo, Japan, specializing in optics and imaging. Its products include cameras, binoculars, microscopes, measurement instruments, and the steppers used in the photolithography steps of semiconductor fabrication, of which...
, featuring Lee's own distinctive gold toothed smile in close up, he used the space to display prominently signed shots for clients including Austin Reed, British Rail
British Rail
British Railways , which from 1965 traded as British Rail, was the operator of most of the rail transport in Great Britain between 1948 and 1997. It was formed from the nationalisation of the "Big Four" British railway companies and lasted until the gradual privatisation of British Rail, in stages...
and Pringle of Scotland
Pringle of Scotland
Pringle of Scotland is a luxury knitwear manufacturer and importer. The brand is worn by the likes of Madonna, DB7 , Nicole Kidman, Sophie Dahl, Claudia Schiffer, the television character Alan Partridge and British bands such as The Kooks, Dirty Pretty Things and The Twang...
; making headlines when he put a full frontal nude on the side of the Number 19 buses
London Buses route 19
London Buses route 19 is a Transport for London contracted bus route in London, England, United Kingdom. The service is currently contracted to Arriva London.-History:...
for French Connection
French Connection (clothing)
French Connection is a retailer and wholesaler of fashion clothing and accessories. Founded in 1972 by Stephen Marks it is based in London, is listed on the London Stock Exchange and operates globally....
, much to the consternation of campaigners such as Mary Whitehouse
Mary Whitehouse
Mary Whitehouse, CBE was a British campaigner against the permissive society particularly as the media portrayed and reflected it...
.
Style and themes
Described as "England's answer to Guy BourdinGuy Bourdin
Guy Louis Bourdin , born Guy Louis Banarès, was a French fashion photographer.-Life and career:Guy Louis Banarès was born December 2, 1928, at 7 Rue Popincourt, Paris...
" and with influences including Helmut Newton
Helmut Newton
Helmut Newton, born Helmut Neustädter was a German-Australian photographer. He was a "prolific, widely imitated fashion photographer whose provocative, erotically charged black-and-white photos were a mainstay of Vogue and other publications."-Early life:Newton was born in Berlin, the son of Klara...
, Lee's images have artistic merit, consistently showing high production values and a strong narrative. Lee rarely did studio or portrait work, relishing the creative freedom available at Harpers as opposed to the "do it the
Lee has experimented with various photographic styles over his career. Many of his earliest shots were characterised by a gritty, photojournalistic
Photojournalism
Photojournalism is a particular form of journalism that creates images in order to tell a news story. It is now usually understood to refer only to still images, but in some cases the term also refers to video used in broadcast journalism...
feel, such as Baader-Meinhoff 1969, featuring an elegantly dressed model carrying a submachine gun in place of a handbag, and Ossie Clark/Vietnam 1969, "in which a uniformed and helmeted GI has grabbed hold of a girl modelling a brilliantly dappled Ossie Clark outfit and looking like a Baroque saint in ecstasy."
By the mid-seventies, much of Lee's work displayed a more romantic, soft-focus approach, similar to that of Sarah Moon and Deborah Turbeville, such as the hazy Selfridges/Bathers 1976 and the poignant Reflections 1975. Often displaying a surreal aspect, his Austin Reed/Rome 1976 appears to show men diving out of a swimming pool, whilst Ossie Clark/Aeroplane 1969 has the model wearing a floaty Ossie Clark dress, flying towards her mirror image flanked by a pair of fighter aircraft.
More interested in stories and girls than the clothes themselves, Lee's highly cinematic images suggested further intrigue. One fashion shoot, with models cajoling fighters in a boxing ring surrounded by seedy onlookers, was a result of Lee paying some regulars to stay there all night "to get the ring smoky and be there in the morning drunk".
Film director
Lee returned to Britain in 1978 to pursue a career as a film directorFilm director
A film director is a person who directs the actors and film crew in filmmaking. They control a film's artistic and dramatic nathan roach, while guiding the technical crew and actors.-Responsibilities:...
, initially producing television commercials before going on to direct full-length feature film
Feature film
In the film industry, a feature film is a film production made for initial distribution in theaters and being the main attraction of the screening, rather than a short film screened before it; a full length movie...
productions. Lee's first commercial was for Levi's, and work for Elizabeth Arden
Elizabeth Arden
Florence Nightingale Graham , who went by the business name Elizabeth Arden, was a Canadian-American businesswoman who built a cosmetics empire in the United States. At the peak of her career, she was one of the wealthiest women in the world.-Biography:Arden was born in 1884 at Woodbridge, Ontario,...
and Coty
Coty, Inc.
Coty, Inc. is the world's largest fragrance company, founded in 1904. It is also a beauty products manufacturer whose main businesses are fragrances , followed by color cosmetics , toiletries and skin care...
's Sophia perfume soon followed, but his repertoire swiftly grew to encompass many of the biggest brands including Visa, BMW
BMW
Bayerische Motoren Werke AG is a German automobile, motorcycle and engine manufacturing company founded in 1916. It also owns and produces the Mini marque, and is the parent company of Rolls-Royce Motor Cars. BMW produces motorcycles under BMW Motorrad and Husqvarna brands...
and Shell
Shell Oil Company
Shell Oil Company is the United States-based subsidiary of Royal Dutch Shell, a multinational oil company of Anglo Dutch origins, which is amongst the largest oil companies in the world. Approximately 22,000 Shell employees are based in the U.S. The head office in the U.S. is in Houston, Texas...
. Lee was in the useful position of being able to offer clients both commercials and stills with just a single production.
Over the next few years, Lee went on to direct many hundreds of commercials. These included the big budget 'Hats Off' productions for the British Airways
British Airways
British Airways is the flag carrier airline of the United Kingdom, based in Waterside, near its main hub at London Heathrow Airport. British Airways is the largest airline in the UK based on fleet size, international flights and international destinations...
privatization campaign in 1987, with other industry award-winning commercials including the 'Gone to America' series for Thomas' English Muffins and 'Brideshead Revisited' series for Black and Decker, as well as campaigns for Royal Mail
Royal Mail
Royal Mail is the government-owned postal service in the United Kingdom. Royal Mail Holdings plc owns Royal Mail Group Limited, which in turn operates the brands Royal Mail and Parcelforce Worldwide...
, Lindt
Lindt & Sprüngli
Lindt & Sprüngli AG, more commonly known as Lindt, is a luxury Swiss chocolate and confectionery company.- History :The origins of the company date back to 1845...
, Saab
Saab
Saab AB is a Swedish aerospace and defence company, founded in 1937. From 1947 to 1990 it was the parent company of automobile manufacturer Saab Automobile, and between 1968 and 1995 the company was in a merger with commercial vehicle manufacturer Scania, known as Saab-Scania.-History:"Svenska...
, Esso
Esso
Esso is an international trade name for ExxonMobil and its related companies. Pronounced , it is derived from the initials of the pre-1911 Standard Oil, and as such became the focus of much litigation and regulatory restriction in the United States. In 1972, it was largely replaced in the U.S. by...
and Johnnie Walker
Johnnie Walker
Johnnie Walker is a brand of Scotch Whisky owned by Diageo and originated in Kilmarnock, Ayrshire, Scotland.It is the most widely distributed brand of blended Scotch whisky in the world, sold in almost every country with yearly sales of over 130 million bottles.-History:Originally known as Walker's...
.
Working at first for Spots Films in Soho
Soho
Soho is an area of the City of Westminster and part of the West End of London. Long established as an entertainment district, for much of the 20th century Soho had a reputation for sex shops as well as night life and film industry. Since the early 1980s, the area has undergone considerable...
, Lee joined Paul Weiland
Paul Weiland
Paul Weiland is an English motion picture and television director, writer and producer. Weiland is one of Britain's most successful directors and producers of television commercials having made over 500 commercials, including a popular and long-running series for Walkers crisps...
in 1980 to create Weiland and Lee, which grew quickly, taking on further directors including David Bailey and Richard Curtis
Richard Curtis
Richard Whalley Anthony Curtis, CBE is a New Zealand-born British screenwriter, music producer, actor and film director, known primarily for romantic comedy films such as Four Weddings and a Funeral, Bridget Jones's Diary, Notting Hill, Love Actually and The Girl in the Café, as well as the hit...
. With John Henderson he set up the Lee Henderson Film Company in 1983, eventually forming his own production company, The Jim Lee Film Company, in 1989, working out of the St James's area of London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
.
In 1992, Lee directed the full-length feature film, Losing Track. Written by Roger Eldridge, and starring Alan Bates
Alan Bates
Sir Alan Arthur Bates CBE was an English actor, who came to prominence in the 1960s, a time of high creativity in British cinema, when he demonstrated his versatility in films ranging from the popular children’s story Whistle Down the Wind to the "kitchen sink" drama A Kind of Loving...
, it was screened at a number of film festival
Film festival
A film festival is an organised, extended presentation of films in one or more movie theaters or screening venues, usually in a single locality. More and more often film festivals show part of their films to the public by adding outdoor movie screenings...
s and was shown in Britain as part of the BBC's
BBC
The British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...
Screen One strand, receiving generally positive reviews Set in the Black Mountains in Wales
Black Mountains, Wales
The Black Mountains are a group of hills spread across parts of Powys and Monmouthshire in southeast Wales, and extending across the national border into Herefordshire, England. They are the easternmost of the four ranges of hills that comprise the Brecon Beacons National Park, and are frequently...
in the 1950s, the film follows the efforts of a former civil servant in Colonial India
Colonial India
Colonial India refers to areas of the Indian Subcontinent under the control of European colonial powers, through trade and conquest. The first European power to arrive in India was the army of Alexander the Great in 327–326 BC. The satraps he established in the north west of the subcontinent...
to re-engage with his estranged son following the death of his wife.
In addition to working on several other feature film
Feature film
In the film industry, a feature film is a film production made for initial distribution in theaters and being the main attraction of the screening, rather than a short film screened before it; a full length movie...
s, Lee continued to direct television commercials for clients around the world. In 1999, he was commissioned to produce a sixty-second commercial for Kingdom Holding Company
Kingdom Holding Company
Kingdom Holding Company is a public holding company headquartered in Kingdom Centre in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, and is the largest company in Saudi Arabia. It is controlled by Prince Alwaleed Bin Talal Bin Abdulaziz, and is headquartered in the city of Riyadh...
controlled by Prince Al Waleed bin Talal
Al-Waleed bin Talal
Prince Al-Waleed bin Talal is a Saudi Arabian billionaire and member of the Saudi royal family. He is the nephew of King Abdullah of Saudi Arabia. An entrepreneur and international investor he has amassed a fortune through investments in real estate and the stock market.He is founder and CEO of...
, nephew of the Saudi Arabian King Abdullah
Abdullah of Saudi Arabia
Abdullah bin Abdul-Aziz Al Saud, Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques, is the King of Saudi Arabia. He succeeded to the throne on 1 August 2005 upon the death of his half-brother, King Fahd. When Crown Prince, he governed Saudi Arabia as regent from 1998 to 2005...
. The production involved the use of over 50 helicopters for an 18-week reconnaissance and shoot at multiple locations around the world, followed by a massive three months in post-production
Post-production
Post-production is part of filmmaking and the video production process. It occurs in the making of motion pictures, television programs, radio programs, advertising, audio recordings, photography, and digital art...
. It cost over £4m to make, making it one of the most expensive to date. The prince's unpopular comments on the September 11 attacks were one reason why it was withdrawn without ever being aired.
Revival of interest
In 2003, Lee spotted one of his own early photographs in the V&A Magazine, promoting an upcoming exhibit based on the work of the fashion designer Ossie ClarkOssie Clark
Raymond "Ossie" Clark was an English fashion designer who was a major figure in the Swinging Sixties scene in London and the fashion industry in that era...
. On contacting the museum, which had originally received the uncredited photo from Clark's former wife Celia Birtwell
Celia Birtwell
Celia Birtwell, CBE is a textile designer known for her distinctive bold, romantic and feminine designs, which draw influences from Picasso, Matisse and from the classical world. She was particularly famous in the 1960s and 1970s for prints which epitomised the glamour of the hippie era...
, he was invited to submit several more images to be displayed in the exhibition held at the Victoria and Albert Museum
Victoria and Albert Museum
The Victoria and Albert Museum , set in the Brompton district of The Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea, London, England, is the world's largest museum of decorative arts and design, housing a permanent collection of over 4.5 million objects...
between July 2003 and May 2004.
The renewed interest in Lee's work was continued in 2005 through the Nikon
Nikon
, also known as just Nikon, is a multinational corporation headquartered in Tokyo, Japan, specializing in optics and imaging. Its products include cameras, binoculars, microscopes, measurement instruments, and the steppers used in the photolithography steps of semiconductor fabrication, of which...
sponsored "Eye for Images" exhibition held at the Firehouse Club in South Kensington
South Kensington
South Kensington is a district in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea in London. It is a built-up area located 2.4 miles west south-west of Charing Cross....
, featuring some of his earlier works, archived and printed by the photography department at the Royal College of Art
Royal College of Art
The Royal College of Art is an art school located in London, United Kingdom. It is the world’s only wholly postgraduate university of art and design, offering the degrees of Master of Arts , Master of Philosophy and Doctor of Philosophy...
. Supported by London Fashion Week
London Fashion Week
London Fashion Week is an apparel trade show held in London, England twice each year, in February and September. It is one of the "Big Four" fashion weeks, along with New York Fashion Week, Milan Fashion Week and Paris Fashion Week.-Organization:...
, the show was widely reviewed in the television and print media, made the national evening news and was accompanied by an eight-page spread in The Sunday Times Magazine
The Sunday Times Magazine
The Sunday Times Magazine is a supplement to The Sunday Times newspaper. It was launched in 1962 and was redesigned in November 2008.-References:...
. The exhibition went on to tour around Europe, displayed at venues including the Galleria Carla Sozzani
10 Corso Como
10 Corso Como is a multifunctional concept dedicated to art, fashion, music, design, cuisine and culture 10 Corso Como was founded in 1990 in Milan, Italy, by gallerist and publisher Carla Sozzani....
in Milan
Milan
Milan is the second-largest city in Italy and the capital city of the region of Lombardy and of the province of Milan. The city proper has a population of about 1.3 million, while its urban area, roughly coinciding with its administrative province and the bordering Province of Monza and Brianza ,...
, the Galeria Moriarty in Madrid
Madrid
Madrid is the capital and largest city of Spain. The population of the city is roughly 3.3 million and the entire population of the Madrid metropolitan area is calculated to be 6.271 million. It is the third largest city in the European Union, after London and Berlin, and its metropolitan...
and the Paris Photo
Paris Photo
Paris Photo is an international art fair of photography held annually in Paris, France in early November. The first Paris Photo art fair was in 1997. The fair is held in the Carrousel du Louvre, the large underground exhibition space and shopping mall attached to the Louvre museum...
art fair in France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
.
Lee's works were subsequently displayed at the Hamiltons Gallery in Mayfair
Mayfair
Mayfair is an area of central London, within the City of Westminster.-History:Mayfair is named after the annual fortnight-long May Fair that took place on the site that is Shepherd Market today...
in 2007. Titled "Jim Lee 69", the retrospective highlighted some of Lee's earlier shots. The Victoria and Albert Museum
Victoria and Albert Museum
The Victoria and Albert Museum , set in the Brompton district of The Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea, London, England, is the world's largest museum of decorative arts and design, housing a permanent collection of over 4.5 million objects...
also selected several additional pieces for the fashion section of their permanent collection.
Recent activities
Lee has collaborated on a variety of creative projects in recent years, including shoots for Björn BorgBjörn Borg
Björn Rune Borg is a former world no. 1 tennis player from Sweden. Between 1974 and 1981 he won 11 Grand Slam singles titles. He won five consecutive Wimbledon singles titles and six French Open singles titles...
's fashion label, spreads for Tank Magazine
Tank Magazine
Tank Magazine is a quarterly UK magazine that focuses on lifestyle, art, architecture, literature and fashion.-Background:Tank magazine, first published in September 1998, is produced by the independent publishing company Tank Publications Ltd., who also publish "O:Magazine" by Tank, the luxury...
, The Observer
The Observer
The Observer is a British newspaper, published on Sundays. In the same place on the political spectrum as its daily sister paper The Guardian, which acquired it in 1993, it takes a liberal or social democratic line on most issues. It is the world's oldest Sunday newspaper.-Origins:The first issue,...
and 34 Magazine, and the artwork for Morten Harket
Morten Harket
Morten Harket is a Norwegian musician, best known as the lead singer of the Norwegian synthpop/rock band A-ha, which released nine studio albums and topped the charts in several countries after their breakthrough hit "Take on Me" in 1985. A-ha disbanded in 2010. Harket has also released four solo...
's 2008 album, Letter from Egypt
Letter from Egypt
Letter from Egypt is the fourth studio album by Norwegian singer Morten Harket, released on May 19, 2008. It is his first album since 1996 and second sung in English....
. He also worked with The Independent
The Independent
The Independent is a British national morning newspaper published in London by Independent Print Limited, owned by Alexander Lebedev since 2010. It is nicknamed the Indy, while the Sunday edition, The Independent on Sunday, is the Sindy. Launched in 1986, it is one of the youngest UK national daily...
since 2002, covering fashion shows by designers including Alexander McQueen
Alexander McQueen
Lee Alexander McQueen, CBE was a British fashion designer and couturier best known for his in-depth knowledge of bespoke British tailoring, his tendency to juxtapose strength with fragility in his collections, as well as the emotional power and raw energy of his provocative fashion shows...
, Zandra Rhodes
Zandra Rhodes
Zandra Rhodes, CBE, RDI, is an English fashion designer.Zandra Rhodes was introduced to the world of fashion by her mother, who was a fitter in a Paris fashion house and a teacher at Medway College of Art, now the University for the Creative Arts. Rhodes studied first at Medway and then at the...
and Valentino.
Lee's earlier works continue to be represented by the Hamiltons Gallery, and further exhibitions of his earlier works are planned in Oslo
Oslo
Oslo is a municipality, as well as the capital and most populous city in Norway. As a municipality , it was established on 1 January 1838. Founded around 1048 by King Harald III of Norway, the city was largely destroyed by fire in 1624. The city was moved under the reign of Denmark–Norway's King...
and Berlin
Berlin
Berlin is the capital city of Germany and is one of the 16 states of Germany. With a population of 3.45 million people, Berlin is Germany's largest city. It is the second most populous city proper and the seventh most populous urban area in the European Union...
. He recently announced his intention to create a new body of work around the theme of 'Women in Empowering Situations', to be shot along the course of a roadtrip across America, driving a 1965 Ford Mustang
Ford Mustang (first generation)
The first-generation Ford Mustang is the original pony car, manufactured by Ford Motor Company from 1964 until 1973.It was initially introduced as a hardtop and convertible with the fastback version put on sale the following year...
from L.A.
Los Ángeles
Los Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the commune of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123,445 inhabitants...
to New York
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
.
Lee is currently working on the production of Ten Quid Cowboy, an autobiographical film based on his adventures in Australia as a teenager, with a screenplay written by Scott Roberts, the writer behind adventure films such as K2
K2 (film)
K2 is a 1991 motion picture loosely based on the story of two friends' ascent of the second-highest mountain on Earth, K2. The story is based on a play written and presented as a senior-thesis at Stanford University. These roles were played by Michael Biehn and Matt Craven...
and The Hard Word
The Hard Word
The Hard Word is a 2002 Australian crime film about three bank-robbing brothers who are offered a role in a bold heist while serving time in prison. The film was written and directed by Scott Roberts, and stars Guy Pearce and Rachel Griffiths....
. Other films currently in development include The Home Front with a screenplay by the late playwright Simon Gray
Simon Gray
Simon James Holliday Gray, CBE , was an English playwright and memoirist who also had a career as a university lecturer in English literature at Queen Mary, University of London, for 20 years...
, and Hey Diddle Diddle, written by the Russian presenter Seva Novgorodsev
Seva Novgorodsev
Seva Novgorodsev MBE is a radio presenter on the BBC Russian Service, and is famous through the former Soviet Union.He created the music programme «Рок-посевы» Seva Novgorodsev MBE (Russian: Се́ва Новгоро́дцев, which is a pseudonym, his real name being Vsevolod Borisovich Levenstein (Всеволод...
.
External links
- Official Website
- Jim Lee at IMDB
- Hamiltons Gallery
- Imagine Fashion channel at YouTubeYouTubeYouTube is a video-sharing website, created by three former PayPal employees in February 2005, on which users can upload, view and share videos....
- Permanent collection at the Victoria and Albert Museum
- Artforum Review of Hamiltons Gallery exhibition