In these days in Tokyo, during the fashion week, I had the good fortune to know a person, hard to forget: the legendary photographer Benjamin Lee. Frequently in my life I had the impression of being in a dream, and this time it was one of those. When he opened his home to me, and I entered in his world, I let myself be carried away by his art, a mix of surrealism, pop art and pure creativity. During our lunch (the best sushi and the best sake in Japan), while we listened great music Italian, my eyes were lost to admire a quantity of objects and pieces of art, colorful and attractive. In front of me, there was the face of the Japanese fashion designer Issey Miyake, photographed by Benjamin for British Vogue, during the period when Benjamin was living in London (1977-1987), and around me, almost everywhere, polka dots by Yayoi Kusama, of the collaboration with the Parisian fashion house Louis Vuitton (which has had great media coverage). The most fascinating thing was to immerse myself in his photographic books and dreaming, dreaming about the world as seen through his eyes. And between photos and books, I also found the book dedicated to him by Kate Moss, in person. I could spend many hours writing his famous and celebrated works as creative artist, and photographer. Instead, I would love, especially, be able to describe his contagious smiles! So I decided this week to discover Japan through Benjamin, and I found new shades of colors and of existential metaphors! Here below are pictures of me shooting by Benjamin and about my day in his surrealist world.
Info about Benjamin Lee
BENJAMIN LEE was born in China, grew up in Canada, established his reputation in Britain and since 1988 has made Japan his home.He counted several celebrities among his first customers. Yehudi Menuhin, Larry Adler and Edward Teller. He received the British Designer and Art Direction Award. On his first trip to Japan, Benjamin brought with him an introduction from Sir Hugh Casson, president of the Royal Academy London. This introduction enabled him to photograph several leaders in the Japanese art and design world, including Nobutaka Shikanai, Hiroshi Teshigahara and Kenzo Tange. He had photographed, Ivor Pogoreleich,Issey Miyake, Haruki Murakami, Kawakubo Rei, Yohji Yamamoto, Sir David Tang Yayoi Kusama (first time in 1993). He has worked with:
Fashion magazines : Esquire, GQ, National Geographic, Valentino, Kateigaho, Jal (Winds), Ana (Wingspan), British Vogue, Spanish Vogue, Starwood Hotels, One & Only Resorts, Mandarin Oriental and much more.
Advertising : McCann Erickson, Fuji Film, Kodak, Saatchi & Saatchi, JWT, DDB, Leo Burnett, CDP, Panasonic, Olympus, Heineken, Carlsberg, Toppan, Mazda and much more.
Siteweb : Benjamin Lee
最近、東京でファッションウィークの間に忘れがたい伝説的なフォトグラファーのベンジャミン•リーをお目にかける素敵な機会がありました。たまに人生で夢のような感銘を受けることがあるけ、今回はそれに相当しました。彼が、私をお家に入れて下さったとき、まるで彼の世界に入ったようで私は彼の芸術によってシュールリアリズムとポップアートの融合、純粋な創造性の中に運び込まれました。ランチ(日本で最上級のお寿司と酒)を楽しみながら、私の目はたくさんのアートやカラフルで魅力的なものたちへの憧れに目をくらませていました。私の前には、彼がイギリス版Vogueのために撮影した日本人のファッションデザイナーであるIssey Miyake(三宅一生さん)の顔がありました。彼が1977年から十年間イギリスのロンドンに住んでいたときです。そして私の周りには、ほとんど全てのところに草間彌生さんとパリジャンファッションの生みの親であるルイヴィトンのコラボレーションによる水玉模様がたくさんありました。これはすごい報道がされたそうです。 私自身が彼の写真集に熱中して自分の目で彼の世界を見ることをずっと夢に見ていたので、今回はとっても素晴らしい経験でした。 そして、ケイト・モスが実際に彼に贈った本や写真集も見つけました。私は彼の創造的なアーティスト、フォトグラファーとしての有名で賞賛された作品について何時間でも語ることができるでしょう。特に、私は彼の人を笑顔にさせる力のあるスマイルについてぜひお伝えしたいです。 今週はベンジャミンから学んだ日本の発見についてにしようとテーマを決めました。新しい色の陰影や実在のメタファーも知ったんです。
これらがベンジャミンとの撮影の写真です。まさに夢のような彼の世界でした。
