Magnum Photo Agency photographer - Eve Arnold's photographs of Marilyn Monroe revealed a side of the star the world was unfamiliar with - natural, unabashed and completely stunning. Some of these pictures are on display for the first time in the Middle East at an exhibition titled, 'The Magic of Cinema - A Magnum Photos Exhibition' in Dubai Media City, documenting the world of cinema, from 11 to 16 December 2007.
The event is being organized in association with the 4th Dubai International Film Festival and is being presented by the French Embassy in the UAE and Alliance Française de Doubaï.
Eve Arnold, a photographer who worked with Magnum, the legendary photographic agency, once shot Marlene Dietrich for Esquire Magazine. Eve managed to capture Marlene while she was still wearing stockings on her feet engrossed in recording music - a casual pose in comparison to the more staged, larger than life pictures of the time. The photo caught the attention of a young Marilyn Monroe who, when introduced to Eve, said, "If you could do that well with Marlene, can you imagine what you can do with me?" That comment signaled the beginning of a partnership that would last the rest of Marilyn's life.
Eve enjoyed a close friendship with Monroe that enabled her to break new ground by photographing the star in a uniquely informed and revealing way, in relaxed circumstances and in available light. The result is a series of strikingly poignant images that inform the world's image of Marilyn Monroe. Eve remembers Marilyn loved the results, as she realized this informal approach would get her noticed. Eve later wrote that she never came cross anyone with a more natural ability to use both camera and photographer.
Eve would photograph Marilyn over 12 years, culminating in her coverage of the actress' last film, 'The Misfits'. It was then that Eve made one of her most striking images of Marilyn - the actress in the desert, trying to remember her lines, with the boom of the soundman hovering over her.
For Magnum's event in Dubai, some of Eve Arnold's most stunning images of Monroe will be displayed in enlarged prints so they can be viewed in their full glory.
Magnum photographers have been involved in the documenting of world of cinema, working on film sets, photographing film directors, actors and actresses on and off the camera and documenting their lives. They have collectively covered the modern history of cinema.
From these archives, the exhibition, 'The Magic of Cinema', has been created to celebrate cinema in all its forms. The exhibition comprises 81 photographic works in colour and black and white by over 40 of the world's most famous photographers such as Marc Riboud, Guy Le Querrec, Bruno Barbey, Martine Franck, Raymond Depardon, René Burri, Philippe Halsman, Eve Arnold, Elliott Erwitt, Abbas, Robert Capa and Dennis Stock to name a few.
Photographs in the exhibition include legendary names such as directors from America, France, Great Britain, Italy, India, and Egypt including Orson Welles, Jean Renoir, Francois Truffaut, Jean-Luc Godard, Alain Resnais, Alfred Hitchcock, Roberto Rossellini, Satyajit Ray and Youssef Chahine.
'The Magic of Cinema' is co=sponsored by BNP Paribas and Baume & Mercier and the Official Prints Sponsor, HP. The exhibition will be open to the public from 11 to 16 December 2007 at Dubai Media City. Exhibition opening hours are from 12 to 10pm except Sunday, 16 December, when the exhibition will be open from 12 to 5pm. Admission to the exhibition is free.
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© Press Release 2007
