Kate Simon (photographer)

Last updated

Kate Simon
Born
Catherine Simon

(1953-06-15) June 15, 1953 (age 70)
Poughkeepsie, New York, U.S.
NationalityUnited States
Education George Washington University
Known forPhotography [1]
Spouse
​
​
(m. 1983;div. 2011)​

Catherine Simon (born June 15, 1953) [2] is an American portrait photographer and writer. [3] She is known for her photographs of influential musicians, artists, and writers, including The Clash, Patti Smith, Madonna, Andy Warhol, and William S. Burroughs. [4] One of her photographs of Bob Marley was used on the front cover of his 1978 album, Kaya . [5]

Contents

Simon's photography has been featured in various books, magazines, and gallery exhibitions. In 2004, she published Rebel Music: Bob Marley and Roots Reggae, a book of her photographs of Bob Marley and the Wailers published by Genesis Publications. Some of Simon's works are held in the permanent collections of the Museum of Modern Art, the Smithsonian Institution's National Portrait Gallery, and the Andy Warhol Museum. [6] She has exhibited her work in three Solo Exhibitions since 2019 with the art gallery Fort Works Art in Fort Worth, Texas , and New York City.

Early life and education

Simon was born and raised in Poughkeepsie, New York. [7] She developed an interest in photography at an early age when her father, a doctor and amateur photographer, gave her a Polaroid camera. [6] Simon attended George Washington University (GWU) in Washington D.C. During her second year, she studied abroad in Paris, France. [5] She later took a photography course at GWU's Corcoran School of the Arts and Design. [8] [9] Shortly thereafter, she left college to pursue a career in photography. [5]

Career

Early career

In 1972, Simon moved to London and was initially employed at The Photographers' Gallery, staffing the front desk and the library. [7] [8] She then worked as an independent photographer, capturing a shot of the poet W. H. Auden after requesting to take his picture in an Oxford tea shop. [8] Simon was later hired as a staff photographer by Dave Fudger, the art director for the music weekly, Disc. [8] During her early career, she shot various rock artists such as Rod Stewart, Led Zeppelin, and The Rolling Stones. [8] [5] In 1974, she photographed David Bowie while he recorded Diamond Dogs at Olympic Studios in Barnes, west London. [8] The next year, in 1975, she traveled as a tour photographer for Lynyrd Skynyrd, The Who, and Black Sabbath. [6] [1] she photographed a grinning Bob Pridden, the sound engineer for The Who, holding a pistol to the head of Skynyrd's lead vocalist Ronnie Van Zant in a Greek restaurant,.. [6] The same year, she began photoshoots with William S. Burroughs, a writer. [10] [11]

Simon continued her career at additional publications such as Sounds and New Musical Express , documenting musicians from the emerging punk rock scene. [5] On April 23, 1976, she photographed the Sex Pistols and their manager Malcolm McLaren during the moments leading up to a concert fight with the audience at the Nashville Rooms in West Kensington, capturing the violence instrumental to the group's initial publicity. [8] [12] The following November, she took photographs of The Clash in an alley outside Bernard Rhodes’ Rehearsal Rehearsals in Camden, north London, [8] one of which was used for the front cover of the group's self-titled debut album. [5] [1]

Bob Marley

In July 1975, Simon shot a performance by Bob Marley and The Wailers at the Lyceum Theatre in London. [13] The next year, in 1976, she was sent to Jamaica by Chris Blackwell, the owner of Island Records, to photograph reggae artist Bunny Wailer for the promotion of his Blackheart Man album. [5] During the trip, she also photographed Wailer's fellow reggae pioneers including Bob Marley, Peter Tosh, and Lee "Scratch" Perry. [5] Simon captured a photograph of Marley by the pool which appeared as the front cover for his album, Kaya. [5] The photograph was noted by Marie-Monique Robin as one of the historic images of the 20th century. [14] Her photograph was noted in the Lens section of The New York Times by John Leland who wrote:

The photo has since made its way around the globe, perhaps unwittingly contributing to the tourism-board image that has grown around Marley. Yet there is also a vitality to the image – the sharpness of Marley's gaze, the wiry strength under the athletic suit – that is harder to possess or cuddle up to, even for a face that has become a global brand. In the frame he is both smaller and larger than his image. [3]

In 1977, Simon shot the European leg of Marley's Exodus Tour. [5] She continued to photograph Marley for the next four years, documenting his performances and everyday life until his death in 1981. [5]

Editorial and television

In 1977, Simon moved to New York City and began incorporating more poised portraitures into her portfolio. [6] The same year, she photographed Debbie Harry, the lead singer of Blondie, on the roof of a New York apartment. [9] [15] In 1978, Simon traveled with Queen as the group's tour photographer. [1] [15] She also began appearing on TV Party , a public access cable television show where she worked as the photographer and as one of Glenn O'Brien's featured co-hosts. [16] [17]

In 1978, Simon photographed Patti Smith and Robert Mapplethorpe outside a New York building. [1] The following year, in 1979, she shot Michael Jackson on the set of his "Rock with You" music video. [18] The same year, she photographed Andy Warhol reading a newspaper while she was working for his publication, Interview magazine. [1] She also worked for Creem magazine and was later credited for her "humanizing touch" in her photographs of the era's pop culture icons. [19] [4] In 1981, Simon was hired as the photographer for The Face magazine. [20] In 1983, she was assigned Madonna's first official professional photoshoot which took place on the roof of Simon's Manhattan apartment. [4]

Select exhibitions and books

In 1995, she photographed William S. Burroughs, a last sitting culminating a twenty-year working relationship. [21] One of the shots from the photoshoot of Burroughs' 70th birthday at the "Bunker" was used as the cover for his first posthumous selection of works, titled Word Virus. [22] She later contributed to Patti Smith's photo book, Patti Smith Complete, released in 1998. [5]

In 1999, Simon's earlier photograph of Bob Marley on the Kaya album cover was included in the book, Les 100 photos du siècle, by French journalist Marie-Monique Robin. [14] Simon was interviewed by Robin who was researching photographs previously noted by the French television series, The 100 Photos of the Century, as defining images of the 20th century. [14] In 2008, she worked as a contributing editor for Interview magazine. [23]

Personal life

Simon lives in Manhattan, New York. [4] She was previously married to David Johansen, a founding band member of the New York Dolls. [24]

Exhibitions

Solo

Group

Permanent collections

Published works

Works which include her photographs

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References

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  2. 1 2 "Madonna". National Portrait Gallery . Retrieved September 22, 2019.
  3. 1 2 Ortved, John (April 12, 2017). "Glenn O'Brien's Friends Remember a 'Successful Maniac'". The New York Times . Retrieved September 21, 2019.
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  14. 1 2 3 Robin, Marie-Monique (May 19, 1999). Les 100 photos du siècle. Editions du Chêne. ISBN   9782842771751.
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