Product Code Database
Example Keywords: apple -house $14
   » » Wiki: Norman Seeff
Tag Wiki 'Norman Seeff'.
Tag

Norman Seeff
Search for photography seeff
 ( ) 

 C O N T E N T S 
Rank: 100%
Bluestar Bluestar Bluestar Bluestar Blackstar
  1. Wiki
  2. Comments
  3. Media

Norman Seeff (born 5 March 1939) is a South African and . Since moving to the United States in 1969, his work has been focused on the exploration of human creativity and the inner dynamics of the creative process.

Early life
Seeff graduated with honors in science and art at King Edward VII School in Johannesburg. At the age of 17, he was drafted as the youngest player in the South African national soccer league.

Seeff qualified as a medical doctor in 1965. For three years he worked in emergency medicine at the Chris Hani Baragwanath Hospital in , focusing on the management of . In 1968, he immigrated to the to pursue his creative passions and artistic abilities.

Career
New York
Soon after Seeff arrived in New York City, his photographs of the people he encountered on the streets of were discovered by the famed graphic designer . As the former Vice President of Creative Services at Columbia Records, Cato was renowned for his design which had won two . Cato became an important mentor to Seeff and gave him his first major photographic assignment producing images for 's Stage Fright album. Seeff's iconic image of the group was re-produced as a poster inserted under the album's shrink wrap, which when unfolded, became a hugely popular collector's item. This brought him immediate recognition and launched his career as a "rock" photographer. His early work also includes images of , , Robert Mapplethorpe, as well as other New York City personalities.

In 1971, Seeff spent a year as Professor of Photography at Bennington College in .

Los Angeles
At the end of 1971 and on the recommendation of Cato, Seeff relocated to Los Angeles to become creative director of United Artists Records. His innovative approach to collaborative art-direction resulted in multiple nominations for graphic design.

Two years later, he opened an independent studio on the 'strip' on . His photographic sessions soon became legendary and attracted audiences of 30–40 at each session, swelling to over 200 on some occasions.

In his evolution as a photographer of public personalities, Seeff realized that to accomplish the vitality and authenticity he was looking for in his images required a paradigm shift in his interaction with artists and innovators.

Creating the session as both a nurturing and challenging environment for a co-creative relationship with artists, it evolved as a laboratory for the exploration of the fundamental dynamics of creativity from the "inside" out. Responding to the emotional authenticity and depth of the creative communication between himself and artists, Seeff brought a film crew into a session for the first time in 1975, beginning with Ike and Tina Turner.

For Seeff, the session became the art-form itself, transforming into a multi-disciplinary process of photography, filmmaking and creative communication. Shifting his focus from ends to means and creating an authentic experience in the moment revealed that optimal experience flowed elegantly into optimal performance. For Seeff it was a personal paradigm shift in his understanding of the creative process.

Seeff has documented over 500 sessions with artists of many disciplines including musicians, actors, writers, directors, actors, scientists, entrepreneurs, and politicians. He has interacted with creators and innovators including , , , Guthrie Thomas, Kiss, , , , , , , will.i.am, , and .

Television commercials
In 1990, Seeff applied the spontaneous and co-creative approach he had developed during his photo sessions to working with actors in television commercials. During the 1990s, he became an acclaimed, award-winning director of hundreds of national commercials for major brands including Apple, Levi's, , , , and .

Recent work
Seeff returned to photography and the documentation of his sessions in 1999 in order to produce a documentary exploration of the artist's journey for the opening of 's Experience Music Project and sessions with the stars of Paramount Television and 's many .

It was the latter assignment that led to Seeff being invited to work with the space explorers at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory () and to the production of his documentary film Triumph of the Dream. The documentary reveals the human face of the Mars Exploration mission that landed two rovers on in 2004. In the film, Seeff uses the he developed in his photo sessions as the underlying narrative structure.

Seeff's recent sessions have included an exploration of the world of with participants of the 2013 Red Bull Music Academy and the production of a web series for Media House.

Exploration of creativity
As a consequence of 35 years of research and development of creativity in action, Seeff has developed a body of content exploring the roots of creativity, innovation and optimal performance, and has identified schematics describing the archetypes of the creative process that function across all creative disciplines. The fundamental tenet of his work is that all creation is sourced in the inner resources of consciousness and that everyone has access to the same innate resources.

Seeff views himself as a conduit for the voices of the hundreds of creative and innovative individuals working at the higher reaches of human potential he has interacted with over many decades. He is now preparing this multi-media and multi-disciplinary content for global release via multiple interactive digital platforms.

Personal life
Seeff lives in with his wife Sue Kiel and works out of his studio in Burbank. He has two children. His daughter, Tai Power Seeff, whom he shared with actress , is a photographer.

Famous photo sessions
  • & Robert Mapplethorpe 1969 : Seeff and Mapplethorpe met soon after arriving in New York, and Mapplethorpe asked jim if he could some of his prints. Seeff loved what Mapplethorpe had done and offered to photograph Mapplethorpe and Smith. Patti Smith and Robert Mapplethorpe. Interview Magazine. Retrieved on 2 October 2010. These shots have been featured widely since the release of Smith's book "". Patti Smith discusses her relationship with Robert Mapplethorpe . PBS. Retrieved on 2010-15-02.
  • 1969 : Seeff was commissioned by the late to take the liner images for the Band's 1970 release Stage Fright. However, Cato loved Seeff's image so much it became the major design feature of the album as a poster insert. The poster rapidly became a collector's item and helped launch Seeff's career as one of rock n roll's leading photographers and album cover designers.
  • 1970 : Seeff photographed Taylor who was building a home on Martha's Vineyard. Taylor and singer-songwriter were later to live in the house.
  • 1970 : Seeff photographed Warhol and members of at Warhol's studio in New York.
  • 1971 : Seeff photographed Jagger and the Rolling Stones for the Exile on Main Street album, in which Seeff was the .
  • 1971 : Seeff also took a number of individual shots of Richards during the Exile on Main Street shoot.
  • 1971 : The Stones commissioned Seeff to shoot an iconic series of 12 images that were featured as an insert of 12 postcards. The postcards are to be re-released in 2010.
  • 1972 : Seeff worked with Womack numerous times, but perhaps the best-known photograph by Seeff of Womack is featured on the cover of his 1972 album Understanding.
  • 1974 : Seeff shot his iconic image of Davis who at the time was recovering from a throat condition and had just come off stage.
  • 1974 : Seeff's shot of Sly Stone kissing his then wife Kathy Silva was included in the 2009 exhibition Exhibitions: Who Shot Rock & Roll: A Photographic History, 1955 to the Present. . Retrieved on 2010-23-02. Who Shot Rock & Roll: A Photographic History, 1955 to the Present. Random House, Inc. Retrieved on 2010-23-02.
  • 1974 : Seeff's cover shot of dressed in a teddy for her album was thought to be 'racy' and was featured in Sheila Weeler's book Girls Like Us. Girls Like Us. Amazon.com, Inc. Retrieved on 2010-23-02. In fact, it came from a series of shots of Simon doing yoga poses.
  • Kiss 1974 : Much has been written about Seeff's shoot with Kiss for their 1974 album Hotter Than Hell although by all reports, it is more fiction than .
  • Ike and Tina Turner 1975 : Seeff was a great admirer of the artistry of both Ike and Tina and many of his shots from this session illustrate the edge in their relationship. This session was the first that Seeff documented on 16mm film.
  • 1975 & 1976 : Seeff had a long working relationship with Mitchell with whom he did 7 sessions.
  • 1976 : This series of shots features in his late teens.
  • 1976 : Seeff photographed Zappa multiple times. The images were used for album cover art (see cover of Strictly Commercial) and were featured extensively in the February 1994 issue of Musician magazine in observation of Zappa's recent passing in late 1993. Prior to his death, Seeff's photos of Zappa and his daughter were also featured in a 1989 article.
  • 1976 : This session was also filmed on 16mm film.
  • 1976 : Seeff shot for her album I'd Rather Believe in You. The shots captured Cher's iconic '70s look.
  • Eagles 1976 : Seeff shot the Eagles for their album One of These Nights.
  • 1976 : Seeff photographed and filmed Travolta who was preparing for his starring role in the 1977 film Saturday Night Fever.
  • & 1977 : Seeff shot a series of images of Cher and Gregg Allman while they were married.
  • 1977 : This series of images demonstrate the amazing physical comedic talent of Martin early in his career. The images were used as album cover art for his 1977 album Let's Get Small.
  • 1977 : During the shoot, Mehta asked Seeff to play classical music at full volume to illustrate that it could outperform rock 'n' roll.
  • 1977 : This shoot of Morrison performing in a private concert was also filmed on 16mm film. Morrison considers it one of his best examples of performance footage.
  • Santana 1978 : Seeff's shots of Santana were taken for the album.
  • 1978 : Seeff shot Cash on several occasions, including the cover for Cash's 1984 album .
  • 1978 : Taken for the Tusk album, Seeff's images of Fleetwood Mac illustrate the charisma and intensity of relationships between the members of the band.
  • Rickie Lee Jones 1978 : Taken for Jones' first album release that broke her into the music business.
  • 1978 : Former lead singer of ; taken for her debut solo album.
  • Chicago 1978 : Taken for the album, this was the first and only time Chicago had a photo of the band on the cover.
  • 1979 : Taken for the Women and Children First album.
  • 1979 : Featuring was shot for a LIFE magazine article on new music.
  • Blondie 1979 : Seeff photographed the band for their album Eat to the Beat.
  • 1979 : Mayfield wrote an original song during the filmed photo session.
  • 1981 : Seeff photographed Belushi both alone and as part of the Blues Brothers.
  • 1982 : Seeff photographed the Nobel Prize winner, the discover of the , both at the Salk Institute for Biological Studies and at his home.
  • 1983 : Seeff was asked to take a series of images of Turner as she rebuilt her career, launching a string of hits beginning with her 1983 single "Let's Stay Together", which featured Seeff's image on the cover. The photo session with Tina was filmed and featured spontaneous live performances.
  • 1984 : Seeff's shot Quincy Jones with his daughter at his home and was featured in the 2009 book The Art & Soul of Quincy Jones.
  • 1984 : Seeff shot Jobs at the Apple HQ in Cupertino, California, and also at Jobs' home in Woodside. These are iconic images of the young Steve Jobs in the early days of Apple's success and one was chosen by for the cover of his biography that was released in October 2011. Soon after Jobs' death, Seeff's shots also ran on the covers of as well as TIME magazine Time.com(different photos).
  • 1985 : The classic image was used by on the album Genius Loves Company.
  • 1985 : Seeff interviewed and photographed Huston for a series on American film directors. One of the photographs from this session was used by Apple for their "Think Different" campaign and appeared on giant billboards across America.
  • 1986 : Seeff photographed and filmed their conversation on the creative process for a series on American film directors.
  • 1986 : Seeff's photograph of Wilder greets patrons to the Billy Wilder Theater at the in Los Angeles.
  • 1986 : Shot for a series on American film directors including an image which became a US Postal Service stamp.
  • 1986 : Seeff photographed and filmed Fosse for a series on American film directors.
  • 1986 : From a shoot with Stephen Stills and Graham Nash.
  • 1988 : Seeff photographed an entire issue of on authors, which included Mailer.
  • 1989 : Seeff shot the photographic session for their album Pump. The session was also documented.
  • 1989 : Photographed during the session for Aerosmith's album Pump.

Record cover design and photography

Books
Seeff's first book, Hot Shots, published in 1974, was awarded the New York Art Directors Club Gold Medal for photography. His second book, Sessions, was published in 1988. In December 2018, he released JONI: THE JONI MITCHELL SESSIONS featuring images and insights from 12 sessions with the legendary artist from 1972 to 1985.

External links

: , , , , , , , ,
Page 1 of 1
1
Page 1 of 1
1

Account

Social:
Pages:  ..   .. 
Items:  .. 
Click to view the UPC Scavenger App on google play.

Navigation

General: Atom Feed Atom Feed  .. 
Help:  ..   .. 
Category:  ..   .. 
Media:  ..   .. 
Posts:  ..   ..   .. 

Statistics

Page:  .. 
Summary:  .. 
1 Tags
10/10 Page Rank
5 Page Refs
1s Time