Sarah Moon
There are professions that initially involve a very short period of activity, after which it becomes necessary to choose a different path in life. So frenchwoman Sarah Moon, being a model, was actively looking for herself in some other profession. Usually, after leaving the modeling business, women often become actresses or try themselves in the fashion industry, but Sarah Moon is an exception - she has become a sought-after photographer. Quite a rare case when after several years in front of the lens the model would move to the opposite side.
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"When people look at my photographs, they say, 'But there is no clarity in them!' I did not understand this, because I saw things just like that. I didn't wear glasses then."
Sarah Moon
Sarah Moon (real name - Mariel Hadan) was born in France in 1940. Almost immediately, her parents had to flee the German occupation to Great Britain, where Mariel studied painting and art.
In 1960, she began working as a haute couture model in London and Paris for fashion houses and glossy magazines, at the same time taking on the pseudonym Sarah Moon. She soon realized that it was necessary to find some other profession, and her choice fell on photography. At first, she photographed her fellow fashion models for a joke, but soon she became seriously carried away by this and began to spend more and more time behind the camera, mastering the difficult skill of a photographer. In 1967, Sarah retired from her modeling career, focusing entirely on fashion photography.
In 1960, she began working as a haute couture model in London and Paris for fashion houses and glossy magazines, at the same time taking on the pseudonym Sarah Moon. She soon realized that it was necessary to find some other profession, and her choice fell on photography. At first, she photographed her fellow fashion models for a joke, but soon she became seriously carried away by this and began to spend more and more time behind the camera, mastering the difficult skill of a photographer. In 1967, Sarah retired from her modeling career, focusing entirely on fashion photography.
In 1972, she became the first woman invited to shoot the legendary Pirelli calendar, a project at the intersection of fashion and art photography. The unusual style of the images brought great success to the calendar. Enterprising merchants even were buying it, neatly separating the pages, framed them, and were selling each image for £100.
Her style was very unconventional for those times and still makes impression today. In photography, she gradually moved away from the world of gloss to fine art. The study of art was not in vain, and Sarah transferred the style of French impressionism of the early 20th century into her photographs, which became her trademark.
Her style was very unconventional for those times and still makes impression today. In photography, she gradually moved away from the world of gloss to fine art. The study of art was not in vain, and Sarah transferred the style of French impressionism of the early 20th century into her photographs, which became her trademark.
Sarah herself jokes that the reason for the blurry pictures is in her myopia - she simply could not focus the lens during shootings.
As a photographer, Sarah has done advertising campaigns for Christian Lacroix, Sonia Rykiel, Issey Miyake, Cacharel, Comme des Garcons. Her works are periodically published in Vogue, Harper's Bazaar, Elle, Stern magazines.
Around the same time, since 1979, Sarah tries herself as a cameraman and director - first in commercials, and then in documentaries and fiction movies. Her inspiration was Sergey Eisenstein, famous soviet director. Among her works you can find both full-length and short films.
"If it came completely bad, then I will retouch the photograph, but only a little. And I never try to make women prettier. I don't need to do this. They are beautiful, my job is to work with light. I have no moral right to condemn people who choose to work this way (retouch), but I believe it falsifies the approach to the person".
Sara Moon has visited Moscow many times. The Russian classic circus attracts her.. On her first visit, she photographed circus elephants. On the second visit, Sarah conveyed in her photographs the hard everyday life of acrobats, showing the story of their life. From time to time, her work can be seen in Moscow Multimedia Art Museum, as well as at the Camera Obscura gallery in Paris.
The photographer made a series of works based on fairy tales. These black and white textured images look like they've been in a damp basement for decades: blurry outlines, dull sepia, tattered frame edges, decadent aesthetics. "Black Riding Hood" (based on Charles Perrault's fairy tale), "Circus" (based on Andersen's tale "Matchgirl"), "Red Thread" (by Perrault's tale "Bluebeard"), "Auderville's Mermaid" (based on Andersen's "The Little Mermaid").
The photographer made a series of works based on fairy tales. These black and white textured images look like they've been in a damp basement for decades: blurry outlines, dull sepia, tattered frame edges, decadent aesthetics. "Black Riding Hood" (based on Charles Perrault's fairy tale), "Circus" (based on Andersen's tale "Matchgirl"), "Red Thread" (by Perrault's tale "Bluebeard"), "Auderville's Mermaid" (based on Andersen's "The Little Mermaid").
Sarah Moon exhibitions are held all over the world. For her enormous contribution to photography and cinema, Sarah has won numerous awards. In New York in 1984 she was awarded the Clio Prize for her creative approach to advertising. She was nominated for the award for Best Promotional Film for the French National Award Cesar. In 2007, the German Society of Photographers awarded Sarah Moon its prize, and in 2008 France awarded her the Nadar Prize.