Michael Somoroff, the son of the eminent commercial photographer Ben Somoroff, was born in New York City in 1957. Michael studied art and photography at the New School for Social Research and assisted his father in his studio, on the set, on location and in the darkroom. In October 1979 the first exhibition of Somoroff's photography was held at The International Center of Photography in New York City under the personal supervision of Cornell Capa launching young Somoroff's career. In 1978, at the age of twenty-one, he opened his own photography studio and shortly thereafter began working for virtually every major magazine in New York and Europe.
As a student of the legendary art director Alexey Brodovitch, Ben Somoroff introduced Michael at an early age to Brodovitchʼs revolutionary philosophy, which influenced a generation of photographers, artists and designers including Richard Avedon, Irving Penn, Robert Frank, Louis Faurer, Lillian Bassman, Henry Wolf and Milton Glaser, encouraging him to make unexpected images and push the boundaries of conventional ways of seeing. Brodovitch urged his students to "Show me something I haven't seen before.", thus creating an exciting period of experimentation and innovation in media of all kinds. His influence remains a dominant force, even today, in all areas of cultural production.
Through Absence of Subject, Michael Somoroff honours the monumental work of the legendary photographer August Sander entitled People of the 20th Century (Menschen des 20 Jarhunderts). It is a thoughtful and passionate meditation on memory, imagination, human resilience and creativity .
The originality in this body of work is based on Somoroff’s keen sense of observation and interpretation. Absence of Subject lets you revisit August Sander’s work allowing you to understand the richness of Sander’s intent. In each of August Sander’s pictures Michael Somoroff has erased the subject retaining only the background. The unprecedented digital revolution has brought the potential for manipulation into focus. Through the use of software Somoroff has taken out what we have always believed to be the &l...
Michael Somoroff A Moment. Master Photographers: Portraits
« These images were a labor of love, an homage to my teachers, friends, and mentors. And, they are my roots, roots that are firmly grounded in the history of photography; that is my history.» Michael Somoroff
Feroz Galerie is pleased to announce A Moment. Master Photographers: Portraits, the first complete exhibition of a new series by Michael Somoroff. Introduced in book form October 2012 by Damiani, closely followed by a presentation of select portraits by Feroz Galerie in November at Paris Photo.
© Michael Somoroff, Horst P. Horst, Oyster Bay New York, 1980
A Moment. Master Photographers: Portraits comprises 34 works, an inspired project that began thirty-five years ago, these portrai...
De 1977 à 1983, Michael Somoroff, jeune photographe new-yorkais d’une vingtaine d’années, a photographié quelques uns des plus grands photographes du 20e siècle, parmi lesquels Brassaï, Elliot Erwitt, Andreas Feininger, Ralph Gibson, André Kertész, Duane Michals, Arnold Newman, Helmut Newton ou Jacques Henri Lartique, auxquels il avait été introduit par son père Ben Somoroff, ancien étudiant d’Alexey Brodovitch, et célèbre photographe publicitaire.
André Kertesz, Paris, 1082 © Michael Somoroff
Jamais publiés depuis, ces portraits font aujourd’hui l’objet d’un livre, A Moment: Master Photographers, Portraits by Michael Somoroff (Damiani), qui sera ...
De 1977 à 1983, Michael Somoroff, jeune photographe new-yorkais d’une vingtaine d’années, a photographié quelques-uns des plus grands photographes du 20e siècle, parmi lesquels Brassaï, Elliot Erwitt, Andreas Feininger, Ralph Gibson, André Kertész, Duane Michals, Arnold Newman, Helmut Newton ou Jacques Henri Lartigue, auxquels il avait été introduit par son père Ben Somoroff, ancien étudiant d’Alexey Brodovitch, et célèbre photographe publicitaire.
Jamais publiés depuis, ces portraits font aujourd’hui l’objet d’un livre aux éditions Damiani , A Moment: Master Photographers, qui sera lancé à New York et à Paris, capitales artistiques qu...