PHOTOGRAPHER RESEARCH:
LEE MILLER
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Lee Miller, photograph by Arnold Genthe (1927) Museum no. PH.98-1984, © Victoria and Albert Museum, London
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“One of the most remarkable female icons of the 20th century – an individual admired as much for her free-spirit, creativity and intelligence as for her classical beauty (V&A, 2008).
Following an in-class presentation on the topic 'Gender,
Gaze and Otherness' by fellow students, I was greatly inspired to research the
work and life of Lee Miller further.
Lee Miller first became affiliated with photography when
modelling in New York for great photographers such as Edward Steichen and
Arnold Genthe (pictured left) in the mid-late 1920s.
Miller contributed to Vogue as both a model and
photographer throughout her career, but it is her surrealist work and harsh
documentation of life during World War II that I am most astounded by.
In 1929, Miller sought out photographer Man Ray in Paris,
becoming his lover, pupil and muse. It is here that she learned and mastered
techniques of lighting, printing and the 'solarization' process - one that
reverses highlights into blacks (a technique which the influence of can be seen
in her clever use of light contrasting evident in all her black and white
photographs) (V&A, 2008).
War, 1940-45
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| Children celebrating the liberation of Paris, France, 1944. (Lee Miller Archives) |
By 1943, Miller had signed on as the official war
correspondent for British Vogue. The above images show a selection that I find
particularly touching and resonant.
Her photographs are simply haunting. Yet even amidst the
war Miller was able to seek and capture laughter and warmth, shown in the photo
Children celebrating the liberation of Paris, France, 1944.
Her son Antony Penrose (Son of Miller and Roland Penrose)
described in his 1998 biography of his mother, The Legendary Lee Miller:
Photographer, 1907–1977, her unique background capturing uncanny moments and
haunting, bizarre portraits during the heyday of the Surrealist movement served
her well in war photography. “Unexpectedly, among the reportage, the mud, the
bullets, we find photographs where the unreality of war assumes an almost
lyrical beauty,” wrote Penrose. “On reflection I realise that the only meaningful training of a war correspondent is to first be a Surrealist—then nothing in life is too unusual.” (Weiss, H., 2018, for Artsy).
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| Lee Miller in Adolf Hitler's Bathtub, Munich, 1945 - David E. Scherman |
"Her photojournalism is hard-hitting, but even in
documenting one of the bleakest chapters of human history, shows evidence of
her artistic, Surrealist eye" (Williams, H., 2015, for The Independent).
The above quote can be read in reflection of one of
Miller's most famous photographs from the War period, the self-portrait of
Miller washing herself naked in Hitler's bath (image above). Still as powerful
and unsettling as any war photograph, this image highlights Miller's satirical
angle and approach to visual storytelling.
I am inspired by Miller's ethic, moral persuasion and
dedication to her work - the fact that she was a woman photographing horror's
of war must not be undermined, and is in itself testament to her character and
emphasises the importance of her legacy. She succeeded in a man's world, and
her work transgresses gender boundaries of war and journalism at that time.
Miller provides a crucial document of the life behind propaganda during mid-war
Germany. Her choice of perspective behind her photographs allows us an insight
into the terrors that occurred, through her gentle yet demanding gaze.
I aim to harness the same unapologetic boldness of
photography in my own work, being always mindful of my message and my
intentions behind my photographs content, to be confident and not limited in my
thinking or practice to allow my work to showcase its message justly.
All images of Lee Miller's work available and accessed
through Lee Miller Archives via her website:
https://www.leemiller.co.uk/mediasearch/Picture-Library/
Lee Miller (2018) Lee Miller Archives. Available at:
https://www.leemiller.co.uk/component/Main/17ToA3p1yfaBss9G2InA3w..a (Accessed
23 May 2019).
V&A South Kensington (2008) Lee Miller: The Art of
Lee Miller. Available at: http://www.vam.ac.uk/content/articles/l/lee-miller/
(Accessed 23 April 2019).
Williams, H. (2015) When Picasso Met Lee Miller.
Available at: https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/art/features/when-picasso-met-lee-miller-10269263.html
(Accessed 23 April 2019).
Weiss, H. (2018) The Vogue Model Who Photographed World
War II—and Became a Surrealist Icon. Available at:
https://www.artsy.net/article/artsy-editorial-vogue-model-photographed-war-ii-surrealist-icon
(Accessed 23 March 2019).
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