Bruce Weber (photographer)
Bruce Weber is an American fashion photographer and occasional filmmaker. He is most widely known for his ad campaigns for Calvin Klein, Ralph Lauren, Pirelli, Abercrombie & Fitch, Revlon, and Gianni Versace, as well as his work for Vogue, GQ, Vanity Fair, Elle, Life, Interview, and Rolling Stone magazines.
Life and work
Weber was born in Greensburg, Pennsylvania to a Jewish family. His fashion photography first appeared in the late 1970s in GQ magazine, where he had frequent cover photos. Nan Bush, his longtime companion and agent, was able to secure a contract with Federated Department Stores to shoot the 1978 Bloomingdales mail catalog. He came to the attention of the general public in the late 1980s and early 1990s with his advertising images for Calvin Klein, and his portrait of the then young actor Richard Gere. His straightforward black-and-white shots, featuring an unclothed heterosexual couple on a swing facing each other, two clothed men in bed, and model Marcus Schenkenberg barely holding jeans in front of himself in a shower, catapulted him into the national spotlight. His photograph for Calvin Klein of Olympic athlete Tom Hintnaus in white briefs is an iconic image. He photographed the winter 2006 Ralph Lauren Collection.store
Some of Weber's other earliest fashion photography appeared in the SoHo Weekly News and featured a spread of men wearing only their underwear. The photos became the center of controversy and Weber was told by some that he would never find work as a fashion photographer again. This reputation stuck with him, as he says: "I don’t really work editorially in a large number of magazines because a lot of magazines don’t want my kind of photographs. It’s too risky for them".
After doing photo shoots for and of famous people, Weber made short films of teenage boxers, his beloved pet dogs, and later, a longer film entitled Chop Suey. He directed Let's Get Lost, a 1988 documentary about jazz trumpeter Chet Baker.
Weber's photographs are occasionally in color; however, most are in black and white or toned shades. They are gathered in limited edition books, including A House is Not a Home and Bear Pond, an early work that shows Eric Nies from MTV's The Real World series, among other models.
Weber began collaborating with crooner Chris Isaak in the mid-1980s, photographing Isaak in 1986 for his second album, Chris Isaak. In 1988, Weber photographed a shirtless Isaak in bed for a fashion spread in Rolling Stone. Isaak appeared in Let's Get Lost and Weber has directed a music video for Isaak.
Weber photographed Harry Connick, Jr. for his 1991 album Blue Light, Red Light.
In 1993, Weber photographed singer-songwriter Jackson Browne for his 1993 album I'm Alive.
Fashion label
Weber created the fashion label Weberbilt in 2003; his first line, "eat, swim, sex, sleep", went on sale in boutiques in London and Miami Beach, Florida, in 2004.Activism and public advocacy
Bruce and Nan have been dedicated supporters of social activism and a variety of charitable causes for decades, both publicly and privately, and remain committed to those efforts to this day. In 2014 Bruce was honored by , a leading international HIV/AIDS research, education, and prevention organization, for his longstanding commitment to the organization and the worldwide fight against AIDS.In September 2019, Bruce and Nan donated a limited-edition archival gelatin silver print photograph titled to the Paddle 8 Auction benefiting the Elizabeth Taylor AIDS Foundation, which supports programming that provides direct care and services to people affected by HIV and AIDS.
In October 2019, Bruce and Nan were members of the Host Committee for the commemorating ten years of working collaboratively with more than 800 organizations, businesses, and notable coalition members globally to eliminate single-use plastic. Proceeds benefited the Plastic Pollution Coalition, a project of Earth Island Institute.
Sexual assault allegations
In December 2017, model Jason Boyce sued Weber for sexual assault, including inappropriate touching during a 2014 casting session, in New York State Supreme Court. The suit also targets Jason Kanner of Soul Artist Management, which managed Boyce when the alleged assault took place, and Little Bear Inc., the production company operated by Weber's companion, Nan Bush. A second model, Mark Ricketson, came forward in December 2017 alleging similar claims and joined Boyce's lawsuit against Weber.Weber has denied the allegations, stating to The New York Times that the allegations were "untrue" and that he had "never touched anyone inappropriately".
In January 2018, The New York Times detailed sexual assault allegations by fifteen former and current male models against Bruce Weber.
In January 2019, it was reported that Weber is asking to dismiss the original suit by Jason Boyce, providing evidence that the model sent him racy photos and texts prior to and after the shootings.
Filmography
Bruce's cinematic works—including his four feature-length films—often begin with a photo sitting. While he was photographing the Olympic hopefuls for Interview Magazine in 1984, Bruce met Andy Minsker, a young boxer from Oregon, and started interviewing him on camera. While he originally intended to make a short to accompany an exhibition he was opening in Paris, Bruce became very excited when he reviewed the dailies and decided to continue the story. Broken Noses, the resulting feature documentary, was nominated for the Grand Jury Award at Sundance in 1988.As Bruce was completing work on Broken Noses, he met the legendary jazz trumpeter and vocalist Chet Baker and began filming him, again with a mind to creating a short film based on their portrait sitting. But filming with Chet continued right through the presentation of Broken Noses in Cannes that year — with Bruce ultimately assembling the footage of travel, recording sessions, and interviews into his second feature, Let’s Get Lost. The film debuted in Venice and was subsequently nominated for a Grand Jury Award at Sundance, and for an Oscar for Best Documentary Feature.
Chop Suey, a kaleidoscopic portrait of the wrestler Peter Johnson, was released in 2001, and the impressionistic anti-war film A Letter to True in 2004. His work-in-progress Robert Mitchum feature, Nice Girls Don’t Stay for Breakfast was screened at the New York Film Festival in 2017. He has also directed seven short films: Beauty Brothers, Parts I-IV, Backyard Movie, Gentle Giants, The Teddy Boys of the Edwardian Drape Society, Wine and Cupcakes, The Boy Artist, and Liberty City is Like Paris to Me.
Feature films and shorts
| Year | Title | Length | Cast |
| 1987 | Broken Noses | 75:00 | Andy Minsker |
| 1987 | Beauty Brothers | 12:26 | Paul Dillon, Brian Dillon, Tim Dillon, Rodney Harvey, Maya Oloe |
| 1988 | Let's Get Lost | 119:25 | Chet Baker, Chris Isaak, William Claxton, Flea, Lisa Marie, Rodney Harvey |
| 1991 | Backyard Movie | 8:55 | |
| 1994 | Gentle Giants | 14:35 | |
| 1995 | The Teddy Boys of the Edwardian Drape Society | 3:45 | Tobey Maguire |
| 2000 | Chop Suey | 94:00 | Peter Johnson, Robert Mitchum, Diana Vreeland, Jan-Michael Vincent |
| 2002 | CZ Guest Documentary Project | ||
| 2003 | A Letter to True | 78:00 | Julie Christie, Marianne Faithfull, Dirk Bogarde, Elizabeth Taylor, Paul Smith, Tully Jensen |
| 2006 | The Legend of True | 11:35 | - |
| 2006 | A Tribute To The Delta Society | 2:23 | |
| 2006 | Best Friends | 3:44 | |
| 2007 | Wine and Cupcakes | 12:10 | Angela McCluskey, Paul Cantelon |
| 2008 | Looking for Chet, Again, In All The Familiar Places | 25:00 | |
| 2008 | The Boy Artist | 9:00 | |
| 2008 | You Feel Me? | 3:36 | |
| 2009 | Liberty City Is Like Paris To Me | 16:00 | |
| 2014 | Iris | 79:00 | Iris Apfel |
| 2017 | 'All-American' Documentary Series | ||
| 2018 | Nice Girls Don't Stay For Breakfast: Robert Mitchum Documentary, Paolo Di Paolo Documentary |
Music videos
In 1990, Weber directed the music video for the Pet Shop Boys single "Being Boring". He filmed a party with a diverse group of models. The video was filmed in one day by two film crews in a house on Long Island. Content including male and female nudity prevented the video from being played on MTV in the United States. In 1996 he directed the video for the Pet Shop Boys single "Se a vida é " on location in a Wet 'n' Wild, a water park near Orlando, Florida. In 2002, he again directed a Pet Shop Boys video, for the song "I Get Along" from the album Release. Weber filmed this video on location at his own Little Bear studio in New York City. He also directed the music video for the Chris Isaak song "Blue Spanish Sky".| Year | Song Title | Length | Artist | Album |
| 1988 | Everything Happens to Me | 3:42 | Chet Baker | Let's Get Lost |
| 1990 | Being Boring | 4:55 | Pet Shop Boys | Behaviour |
| 1991 | Blue Spanish Sky | 4:13 | Chris Isaak | Wicked Game |
| 1996 | Se a vida é | 4:50 | Pet Shop Boys | Bilingual |
| 2002 | I Get Along | 5:46 | Pet Shop Boys | Release |
| 2002 | Light My Fire | 3:44 | Will Young | From Now On |
Awards and nominations
| Year | Organization | Award |
| 1984 | Council of Fashion Designers of America | Achievement in Photography |
| 1984 | American Society of Magazines | Photographers’ Fashion Photographer of the Year |
| 1985 | Council of Fashion Designers of America | Achievement in Photography, International Film & TV Festivals on New York, Silver Medal |
| 1985 | Art Directors Club Annual Exhibition | Merit Award in 2 categories |
| 1986 | Clio Awards | Recognition in Apparel |
| 1986 | Fashion Video Awards | Best Children's Wear Video |
| 1988 | Art Directors Club Annual Exhibition | Bronze Medal for Beauty Brothers I-IV |
| 1988 | Cannes International Advertising Film Festival | Silver Lion for Beauty Brothers I-IV |
| 1988 | International Documentary Association | Award for Broken Noses |
| 1988 | Venice Film Festival, | The Critics Award for Let’s Get Lost |
| 1989 | Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences | Academy Award nomination for Let’s Get Lost |
| 1989 | International Documentary Association | Award for Let’s Get Lost |
| 1990 | Woolmark Award | Woolmark Award for Men's Fashion |
| 1990 | Music Week magazine | Video of the Year Award for The Pet Shop Boys’ video Being Boring |
| 1994 | International Center of Photography | 10th Annual Infinity Award for applied photography for use of photography in advertising during 1993 |
| 1997 | Fragrance Foundation | Best Advertising in Print and Television for 1996 Woman's Polo Sport Fragrance |
| 1998 | F.I.F.I. Award | Best Advertising in Print and Television for Romance Fragrance |
| 1998 | Life Magazine | 1st Annual Alfred Eisenstadt Award, Portrait Photography Winner |
| 2000 | Pratt Institute of Art | Living Legend Award for Photography and Film |
| 2003 | F.I.F.I. Award | Men's Fragrance Introduction of the Year – Luxe for Polo Ralph Lauren Blue |
| 2003 | F.I.F.I. Award, | Best National Advertising Campaign in 2002 for an Established Women's Fragrance for Ralph Lauren Romance Men |
| 2005 | International Center for Photography | Getty Images Lifetime Achievement Award |
| 2006 | Council of Fashion Designers of America | Eugenia Sheppard Award for Fashion Journalism |
| 2007 | American Society of Magazine Editors | National Magazine Award Finalist – Photo Portfolio category for W Magazine story “Welcome to Motor City” |
| 2008 | Art Director's Club | “Hall of Fame” Honoree |
| 2009 | Gordon Parks Foundation | Gordon Parks Award for Fashion Photography |
| 2011 | Guild Hall | Lifetime Achievement Award for Visual Arts |
| 2014 | F.I.F.I. Award | Best Media Campaign of the Year, Polo Red Fragrance |
| 2014 | British Fashion Award | Best advertising campaign, Louis Vuitton “Series 2” Fashion Campaign |
| 2014 | ACRIA honoree | Honored for his longstanding commitment to the organization and the fight against AIDS |
Books and monographs
| Year | Title | Pages | Publisher | Genre |
| 1977 | Looking Good: A Guide For Men | Hawthorn Books | by Charles Hicks; all pictures by Bruce Weber | |
| 1978 | Etre Beau: Un Guide Pour Les Hommes | Guy Authier | French edition of Looking Good: A Guide For Men | |
| 1983 | Bruce Weber | Twelvetrees Press | First monograph | |
| 1983 | The Sun and the Shade Florida Photography, 1885–1983 | Norton Gallery West Palm Beach | Exhibition catalog for an exhibit curated by Weber | |
| 1984 | Interview Magazine | Andy Warhol/Interview | Special edition on American Athletes of the 1984 Olympic Games; all pictures by Bruce Weber | |
| 1984 | Photographs Of Athletes | Olympus Gallery | Published upon the exhibition held in London at the Olympus Gallery | |
| 1986 | O Rio De Janeiro | Alfred A. Knopf | Monograph | |
| 1986 | Summer Diary 1986 | Condé Nast | Special insert of the Italian magazine Per Lui; all pictures by Bruce Weber | |
| 1987 | The Andy Book | Doeisha Co., Ltd. | Monograph on Andy Minsker, star of Broken Noses | |
| 1987 | Bruce Weber | Idea Books | Catalogue of the exhibition held in Venice, at Palazzo Fortuny | |
| 1988 | A Film Journal by Bruce Weber | Little Bear Films | Published in conjunction with the feature film Let's Get Lost | |
| 1989 | Bruce Weber | Alfred A. Knopf | Monograph | |
| 1990 | Bear Pond | Bulfinch Press | Monograph | |
| 1990 | Sam Shepard by Bruce Weber | Little Bear Press | Monograph on Sam Shepard starring Jessica Lange | |
| 1990 | Great Contemporary Nudes 1978–1990 | C-Two Gallery | Published upon the exhibition held in Tokyo. | |
| 1991 | Bruce Weber | Fahey Klein Gallery Parco Exposure Gallery | Published upon the exhibition held in: New York at the Fahey Klein Gallery and in Tokyo at the Parco Exposure Gallery | |
| 1991 | Calvin Klein Jeans | Condé Nast Calvin Klein | Speciale insert of Vanity Fair, all pictures by Bruce Weber | |
| 1991 | Bear Pond | Treville | Monograph | |
| 1992 | Hotel Room With A View: Photographs by Bruce Weber | Smithsonian Institution | "Photographers at Work", A Smithsonian Series | |
| 1994 | Gentle Giants | Bulfinch Press | Monograph dedicated to the Newfoundland dogs | |
| 1994 | No Valet Parking | Photology | published upon the exhibition held in Milan at the Galleria Photology | |
| 1996 | A House Is Not A Home | Bulfinch Press | Monograph | |
| 1996 | You Can Take The Boy Out Of Vietnam But You Can't Take Vietnam Out Of The Boy | Condé Nast | Special insert of the Italian magazine L'Uomo Vogue published upon the exhibition Vietnam, Versace, Viaggi, Weber, held in Milan at Palazzo Reale | |
| 1997 | Branded Youth and Other Stories | Bulfinch Press | Monograph | |
| 1997 | Pirelli Calendar | Pirelli Tires | 1998 Calendar, starring: Patricia Arquette • Georgina Grenville • Daryl Hannah • Shalom Harlow • Eva Herzigova • Kirsty Hume • Elaine Irwin Mellencamp • Milla Jovovich •Kiara Kabukuru • Tanga Moreau • Carolyn Murphy • Rachel Roberts • Stella Tennant and B.B. King • Bono • Paul Cadmus • Francesco Clemente • Kris Kristofferson • John Malkovich • Ewan McGregor • Dermot Mulroney • Dan O'Brien • Sonny Rollins • Kelly Slater • Fred Ward | |
| 1998 | The Chop Suey Club | Arena Editions | Monograph on Peter Johnson | |
| 1999 | Shu Fly | Little Bear Press | Monograph | |
| 2000 | Stern Magazine | TeNeues Publishing Stern Portfolio | Spezial Fotografie Portfolio Number 22 | |
| 2001 | Roadside America | TeNeues Publishing Stern Portfolio | Monograph No. 22 of the "Stern Portfolio" series | |
| 2001 | All-American | Little Bear Press | 1st book of the "All-American" series | |
| 2001 | Pirelli Calendar | Pirelli Tires | 2003 Calendar, starring: Alessandra Ambrosio • Mariacarla Boscono • Sophie Dahl • Yamila Diaz-Rahi • Isabeli Fontana • Bridget Hall • Filippa Hamilton • Heidi Klum • Karolína Kurková • Jessica Miller • Sienna Miller • Rana Raslan • Eva Riccobono • Lisa Seiffert • Valentina Stilla • Natalia Vodianova and Marcelo Boldrini • Stéphane Ferrara • Tomasino Ganesh • Alessandro Gassman • Jak Krauszer • Ajay Lamas • Richie Lamontagne • Enrico Lo Verso • Davide Battista • Massimo Boninsegna • Giuseppe Conte • Luca di Marino • Pasquale Malzone • Raffaele Marciano • Alberto Perini • Serafino Roncacè | |
| 2002 | All-American II: Short Stories | Little Bear Press | 2nd book of the "All-American" series | |
| 2003 | All-American III: Family Albums | Little Bear Press | 3rd book of the "All-American" series | |
| 2003 | Hope: A Letter To True | Condé Nast | Special insert of the Italian magazine L'Uomo Vogue | |
| 2003 | Thank Your Lucky Stars: John R. Hamilton | Little Bear Press | A behind the scenes look at Hollywood celebrity by Hollywood photography veteran, John R. Hamilton. Foreword by Peter Bogdanovich | |
| 2004 | All-American IV: Otherworldly | Little Bear Press | 4th book of the "All-American" series | |
| 2004 | Stern Magazine | TeNeues Publishing Stern Portfolio | Spezial Fotografie Portfolio Number 38 "Home Is Where The Heart Is" | |
| 2005 | Blood Sweat And Tears: Or How I Stopped Worrying And Learned to Love Fashion | TeNeues Publishing | Monograph | |
| 2005 | Filmography | Kinetique Tokyo | Published upon the exhibition held in Tokyo at the Original True Gallery | |
| 2005 | All-American V: Is Love Enough? | Little Bear Press | 5th book of the "All-American" series | |
| 2006 | Sex And Words | Visionaire | Monograph | |
| 2006 | All-American VI: Larger Than life | Little Bear Press | 6th book of the "All-American" series | |
| 2006 | Kate Moss Is The Girl That Got Away | Condé Nast | Speciale insert of the French magazine Vogue Hommes International on Kate Moss | |
| 2007 | All-American VII: 'Til I Get It Right - An Anthem For The South | Little Bear Press | 7th book of the "All-American" series | |
| 2007 | Live Here, Rent Free | Little Bear Press | Monograph | |
| 2008 | All-American VIII: Nature's Way | Little Bear Press | 8th book of the "All-American" series | |
| 2009 | Roberto Bolle An Athlete In Tights | TeNeues Publishing | Monograph on Roberto Bolle | |
| 2009 | Cartier I Love You | TeNeues Publishing | Celebrating 100 Years of Cartier in America | |
| 2009 | All-American IX: A Near-Perfect World | Little Bear Press | 9th book of the "All-American" series | |
| 2010 | Standing Tall: Portraits of the Haitian Community in Miami, 2003–2010 | Museum of Contemporary Art North Miami | Published for the exhibition held in Miami at the Museum of Contemporary Art | |
| 2010 | All-American X: Written In The Stars | Little Bear Press | 10th book of the "All-American" series | |
| 2011 | All-American Volume 11: Just Life | Little Bear Press | 11th book of the "All-American" series | |
| 2012 | All-American Volume 12: A Book Of Lessons | TeNeues Publishing | 12th book of the "All-American" series | |
| 2013 | All-American Volume 13: Born Ready | TeNeues Publishing | 13th book of the "All-American" series | |
| 2014 | Detroit Has Been Good To Me | Little Bear Press | Monograph | |
| 2014 | All-American Volume 14: Affairs of the Heart | TeNeues Publishing | 14th book of the "All-American" series | |
| 2015 | All-American Volume 15: Leap of Faith | TeNeues Publishing | 15th book of the "All-American" series | |
| 2016 | All-American Volume 16: Wild Blue Yonder | Little Bear Press | 16th book of the "All-American" series | |
| 2016 | Far From Home | Little Bear Press | Dallas Contemporary | |
| 2017 | All-American Volume 17: Glory Be | Little Bear Press | 17th book of the "All-American" series | |
| 2018 | All-American Volume 18: Facing The World | Little Bear Press | 18th book of the "All-American" series | |
| 2018 | Azzedine Bruce Joe | Little Bear Press | Foundation Azzedine Alaia | |
| 2018 | "Nice Girls Don't Stay for Breakfast" Film Journal | Little Bear Films | La Rabbia | |
| 2019 | Holiday Magazine The Egypt Issue | Holiday Magazine | Photography capturing the essence of Egypt's people and culture |
Museums and Libraries
Bruce has always been a bibliophile, as his 39 books can attest. In addition to monographs and exhibition catalogs, he and Nan have published an independent arts journal titled All-American for the past seventeen years. During that time, All-American has evolved as a celebration of work by artists, photographers, essayists, poets and personalities of note. Sometimes the subjects of the journal are already well known in their own right, but just as often, the participants and subjects of All-American are noteworthy not for their fame, but because their stories or accomplishments reveal something Bruce believes will resonate with readers on a deeper, more personal level. His continued dedication to the All-American project is motivated equally by a desire to connect, to inspire, and to support the work of emerging artists.Bruce has continued to exhibit his work in prominent museums around the world, often working closely with the curator and art director Dimitri Levas to realize his vision. Bruce's most recent solo shows include “Far From Home” at Dallas Contemporary, “Detroit: Bruce Weber” at the Detroit Institute of Arts, and “Haiti/Little Haiti” at the Museum of Contemporary Art in North Miami.
Other books
- Rolling Stone: The Photographs, Simon & Schuster Editions, pp. ??-??
- Pictures Of Peace, Alfred A. Knopf, pp. ??-??
- Bruce Hainley and David Rimanelli, Shock of the Newfoundland: Bruce Weber's canine camera, "Artforum International 33", pp. 78–81.
- Il Tempo E La Moda, Skira; Exhibition Catalogue: "Biennale Firenze", pp. ??-??
- Gianni Versace, Rock and Royalty, Abbeville Press, pp. ??-??
- David Leddick, The Male Nude, New York: Taschen, pp. ??-??
- Pirelli Calendar 1964–2004, Rizzoli, pp. ??-??
- Heel To Heal, pp. ??-??
- Paintings of New York, 1800–1950, pp. ??-??
- Monica Bellucci, Rizzoli, pp. ??-??
- Kate Moss, Rizzoli, pp. ??-??