A bold visionary, Art Kane (1925–1995) explored a number of genres — fashion, editorial, celebrity portraiture, travel and nudes — with an unrelenting and innovative eye. Like his contemporaries Guy Bourdin and Helmut Newton, Kane developed a style that didn’t shy from strong color, eroticism and surreal humor. In 1958 Kane assembled the greatest legends in jazz and shot what became his most famous image, “Harlem 1958.” In the 1960s and 1970s, Kane photographed, among others, the Rolling Stones, The Who, Cream, Janis Joplin, The Doors and Bob Dylan. While the battle for civil rights in America and the Vietnam War raged, Kane was refining a conscientious response to the period with editorial work that was powerfully accessible and populist in its desire to communicate to a large audience. This is the first time Kane’s work has been collected into one volume. Beautifully curated, it is a fitting tribute to one of photography’s most original and creative forces.
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