Bil Zelman

Bil Zelman
Born (1972-08-24)August 24, 1972
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
Nationality American
Occupation Photographer, Director
Website http://www.zelmanstudios.com
Portrait of photographer Bil Zelman

Bil Zelman (born August 24, 1972) is an American photographer and director known for his powerful, candid portraiture and spontaneous, photojournalistic style.[1] Zelman developed a highly stylized form of hard-flash street photography while in art school [2] and Los Angeles Times art critic Leah Ollman compares the "psychological density"[3] of his work to the likes of Garry Winogrand, Larry Fink, Diane Arbus and William Klein- photographers that are "purposely getting it wrong in one way so as to get it right in another, disrupting visual order to ignite a kind of visceral disorder".[4] As described by David Hobby in an interview for Strobist, "His airy, moment-oriented photos are loose, honest and have an unscripted, natural feel to them… [His] work has evolved (or maybe regressed?) into a look that is almost childlike".[5]

Bil Zelman was born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, to Dr. David Zelman, and his wife Adala Zelman who are both professors. He spent his early life in Troy, New York in a "home [that] was far from functional".[6] He began shooting and developing film at an early age and at nine-years-old he built his own darkroom with a friend– a place that would become his sanctuary.

Shortly after ninth grade, Zelman dropped out of high school and left home, roaming cross-country for several years as a runaway and delving into heroin and other hard drugs while living on and off of the streets.[6] Although he did not have many personal possessions at this time, he held fast to his camera and continued to use photography as a creative outlet when he could afford to do so.[6]

At age 19, while still attending the University at Buffalo, he began sending prints to magazines to promote his work and managed to get his first celebrity photography assignments with artists such as David Bowie, Marilyn Manson and Trent Reznor. Zelman stated in a lecture at Ohio State University for the Columbus Society of Communicating Arts in 2010 that he was "terrified and made mistakes and images would sometimes turn out blurry or orange, but the magazines seemed to love the naiveté of the work and kept giving [him] more assignments".[7]

Zelman moved to Southern California in 1998 and is sought after by celebrities such as Taylor Swift, John Legend, Jason Mraz, Jerry Seinfeld, Ozzy Osbourne, and brands such as Coke Zero, Bud Light, Guinness, Apple Inc., Virgin Records, Sony, Lee Jeans, LensCrafters, Hard Rock, Taylor Guitars, Microsoft, Jacuzzi, Caesars Palace, Intel, a long list of record labels and was named one of the 200 Best Advertising Photographers Worldwide by Lüerzer's Archive magazine and signed on with Riad Represents in 2011.[8]

In regards to his ability to capture such genuine moments under stressful conditions and time constraints Zelman states, "Shooting good portraits is equal parts psychology, trust and technical expertise-- with the technical part probably being the least important".[5]

Zelman published Isolated Gesture in 2013, a collection of highly stylized black and white street photography that he worked on over the course of 14 years.[9] The book was chosen for an Art Directors Club award by Albert Watson,[10] and has shown solo seven times, in collectives dozens of times and has hung or been added to the permanent collections of museums including The Museum of Contemporary Art, Fort Collins , The Museum of Photographic Arts , The Lucie Foundation , The Center for Fine Art Photography , The Oregon Center for Photographic Arts , the Center for Exploratory and Perceptual Arts and others.

Artweek portrays Isolated Gesture as "a cross between S. E. Hinton's The Outsiders and Dutch genre painting".[11] Referencing Zelman's distinctive style, Los Angeles Times art critic Leah Ollman proclaims that Zelman's guiding principle is having an intense proximity to his subject, "He doesn't shoot in a war zone but in the realm of ordinary life--on the street, at parties, in restaurants and stores. Working aggressively close to his subjects, and rapidly, intensifies whatever is in front of the camera".[3] Ollman also points out that Zelman "revels in the burlesque opportunities of such split-second glimpses, the particular oddities that give way to general truths".[4]

Zelman regularly engages in pro bono work for selected charities around the world and describes using the camera as a tool for social change during an interview with Rob Haggard from A Photo Editor, "The positives to taking on these types of projects are endless. To improve the lives of others, to better your community, to art direct your own piece and have total creative freedom, to travel, to see and experience things you may have never thought possible- to be reminded that not everyone is middle class".[2]

Personal life

Bil Zelman's first marriage lasted from 1996-2000, to makeup artist, Kimberlie Reszetucha. Bil Zelman then married producer Megan Power in 2004 and lives in Southern California with two dogs and a bunch of old motorcycles.[9] In between shoots Zelman spends time with his daughter Alex Smith who lives in Maine, he loves good Scotch whisky, camping and travels as often as possible. His parents, both prior educators, live in upstate New York along with his sister, Suzy.

Selected Exhibitions and Permanent Collections

References

  1. ↑ Hughes, Holly Stuart. Photo District News. "A Hands-Off Approach to Real-People Shoots" 17 August 2009
  2. 1 2 Haggart, Rob. "Bil Zelman Shoots Pro Bono, But Not For Free" A Photo Editor. 8 December 2008 (/) 8 December 2008.
  3. 1 2 Ollman, Leah. In `No Single Truth,' Humanity's Potential for Good and Bad Los Angeles Times. 16 November 2001.
  4. 1 2 Ollman, Leah. Saatchi Online
  5. 1 2 Hobby, David. "Hanging Loose with Bil Zelman" Strobist. 10 February 2009.
  6. 1 2 3 Ahrens, Chris. "Bil Zelman Has Never Been to a Pep Rally" Risen magazine. Jan/Feb 2007.
  7. ↑ Zelman, Bil. Guest Lecture. "Bil Zelman: Celebrating the Mistakes and Those In-Between Moments" Columbus Society of Communicating Arts CSCA Meeting. Ohio State University, Columbus, Ohio. 22 July 2010.
  8. ↑ Billboard.com
  9. 1 2 Process magazine, 23 September 2009. Pg 48
  10. ↑ Watson, Albert. "Art Directors Club"
  11. ↑ Duford, Daniel. "Bil Zelman and Kirk Thompson at Oregon Center for Photography" Artweek. Feb 2008

External links

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