Jill Greenberg Explained

Jill Greenberg
Birth Date:10 July 1967
Birth Place:Montreal, Quebec, Canada
Nationality:American
Field:Photographer
Alma Mater:Rhode Island School of Design

Jill Greenberg (born July 10, 1967) is a Canadian-born American photographer and Pop[1] artist. She is known for her portraits and fine art work that often features anthropomorphized animals that have been digitally manipulated with painterly effects. Her photography of animals is regarded for its capability to show a wide range of expressions and feelings that are comparable to that of a seasoned actor or actress. Some of the primates she has captured on film are actually celebrates in their own right, having been featured in different TV shows or movies. She is also highly recognized for her distinct, and stylized photography of celebrities including well known performers such as Gwen Stefani, Arnold Schwarzenegger and Clint Eastwood. She is also known for inserting her own strong opinions into her work.[2] In reference to her work Greenberg states "They're portraits and they're personal but there's a little twist going on. An edge."[3]

Greenberg is frequently employed by companies including Sony Pictures, Interview, Rolling Stone, Time, GQ, DreamWorks, Target, Microsoft, and HBO.[4]

Biography

Greenberg was born in Montreal, Quebec, Canada, and grew up in a suburb of Detroit, Michigan.

Greenberg began photography when she was 9 years old. According to a 1998 New York Times article, Greenberg's mother was a computer programmer and her father was a doctor.[5]

Greenberg took classes at Cranbrook Academy of Art and the Detroit Institute of Arts. In 1984, she attended the Photography Summer Session held by Parsons School of Design in Paris. In 1985, she won a Traub Memorial Scholarship Travel Fund[6] from Andover High School in Bloomfield Hills, Michigan.

In 1988, Greenberg completed coursework on "Semiotics in Media" with Mary Ann Doane at Brown University. In 1989, she graduated with honors from the Rhode Island School of Design with a BFA in Photography.

Photography career

In 1992, Greenberg began working for Sassy magazine, doing commercial photography while working on getting her artistic career off the ground.

Greenberg is known for celebrity portraits, using painterly effects that are drawn using computer technology.

2011's Glass Ceiling series involved shooting under water, using scuba gear. She hired professional synchronized swimmers and photographed them in a pool in Culver City.[7] The Glass Ceiling series was featured as a billboard installation in Los Angeles, on the northwest corner of Sunset Boulevard at Fairfax (viewable while driving east).[8]

In October 2012, Greenberg published a book of photographs called Horse that features images of horses.[9] Greenberg built photo studios within horse rings to take the photographs. Shooting took place in Los Angeles in an area called Walker's Basin and also in Vancouver at Danny Virtue's ranch, a man who supplies horses to the film industry.

In January 2014, Greenberg had an exhibition in Canada of images from "Horse."[10]

In August 2008, The Atlantic asked her to photograph John McCain for the magazine's October 2008 cover. Greenberg said they didn't have enough money to pay her so she gave them license to use one of her photos for the cover (while she retained ownership of the photo) for free, for one time use. Greenberg decided to make some personal images of the pictures. "I really didn't want there to be another Republican in the White House, so I decided to put my McCain pictures out on voting day." Saying she saw the work as political cartoons. "I thought it was the Artist Jill Greenberg appropriating the work of the Commercial Photographer Jill Greenberg."[11]

Contributions and influence

Artistic style

Greenberg is credited by some within the commercial photography industry as having produced several unique styles that have since been emulated by other photographers. "Like LaChapelle and Avedon, Jill has pioneered a new style of photography, and her impact can be seen throughout the entertainment industry", the creative director of a Los Angeles creative agency told Brief magazine, with the publication itself characterizing her work as employing "distinctive ethereal backlighting."[12] A president of NBC Entertainment Marketing who has employed Greenberg on a number of occasions due to what he terms her "distinct and innovative aesthetic" observed that "many other photographers follow her lead."[12]

In 1995, Greenberg branded her first website the moniker "The Manipulator" after the 80s German photography magazine'[13]

Greenberg has acknowledged having made particular use of digital post production, adapting the nickname "The Manipulator" early in her career due in part to her relatively early adoption of Photoshop, a product she has used since its release in 1990. Nonetheless, she told an interviewer in 2011 that some of what her fans believe to be post production is instead the result of close attention to lighting, merely supplemented with minor "flourishes" afterwards.[12]

Feminist theory

Greenberg's work and career has focused intermittently on feminist issues, starting with her senior thesis at RISD, "The Female Object". Her more recent Glass Ceiling series stems from a commercial shoot in which Greenberg was asked to photograph members of the U.S. Olympic Synchronized Swim Team swimming in high heels, an element that heightens sexuality while also hampering ability. According to a press release/bio released ahead of an exhibition and talk, "The result is a sadly relevant series of shots depicting women struggling to keep head above water in a context defined by the constraints pressed upon them by others."[14]

Awards

Controversy

End Times

Greenberg's End Times, a series of photographs featuring toddlers, was the subject of controversy in 2006 (April 22 – July 8). The work featured stylized hyper-real closeups of children's faces contorted by various emotional distresses. The pieces were titled to reflect Greenberg's frustration with both the Bush administration and Christian Fundamentalism in the United States.

The children were either professionally hired or were the children of friends (and included her daughter). All were accompanied by their parents, who assisted in getting the children to cry.

The series resulted in active, often heated online discussion[16] [17] [18] [19] and news coverage,[20] and resulted in hate mail which continued for several years.

The images, meanwhile, have been imitated and used without permission for unrelated campaigns.[21]

Personal life

Greenberg met her now ex husband Robert "Rob" Green in Los Angeles after moving there in 2000.[22] [23] [24] Greenberg moved back to New York City in 2013 with her family for her husband's position as SVP, Creative-Digital at Condé Nast Entertainment.[25]

Greenberg and Green have two children, daughter Violet and son Zed.[26] [27] [28]

Works or publications

Books

Videos

Selected exhibitions

Notes and References

  1. Web site: ProQuestDocuments-2016-06-20-14.pdf. 2016-06-26.
  2. Web site: ProQuestDocuments-2016-06-20-14.pdf. 2016-06-26.
  3. Web site: ProQuestDocuments-2016-06-20-16.pdf. 2016-06-26.
  4. Web site: Opposing Viewpoints in Context- Print.pdf. 2016-06-26.
  5. News: 5 Women Gamers Rediscover Lost Loves . Joseph. Regina . . April 16, 1998 . October 9, 2011.
  6. Web site: Webster. Matthew. Traub Candidates Await Selection . Lahser Knight Life. 31 January 2014. March 23, 2011.
  7. Web site: Jill Greenberg: Glass Ceiling American Girl Doll Billboard. LA>
  8. News: Dive Into Jill Greenberg's 'Glass Ceiling' Photography (Photos). 31 January 2014. Huffington Post. October 6, 2011.
  9. Web site: Pasori. Cedar. Interview: Photographer Jill Greenberg Discusses Her New Rizzoli Book "Horses". Complex. 31 January 2014. October 1, 2012.
  10. Web site: Hardwick. Linda. Jill Greenberg: Horse. Happy Friday. 31 January 2014. January 30, 2014.
  11. Web site: Cortellucci. Romina S.. July 26, 2012. Jill Greenberg Delivers a Controversy Keynote. Trend Hunter. 31 January 2014.
  12. Green . Shanna . Spring 2011 . The Manipulator: Jill Greenberg Uses Light, Emotion and a Little Photoshop to Make Marketing Magic . Brief: The International Journal of Media Marketing, Promotion and Design . 3 . 2 . 8–10 . October 9, 2011 .
  13. Web site: Jill Greenberg, Works 2001–2011 . https://archive.today/20140131091420/http://en.fotografiska.eu/The-Museum/Current-Exhibitions/Works-2001-2011 . dead . 2014-01-31 . Fotografiska (Swedish Museum of Photography) . 31 January 2014 . Stockholm, Sweden . December 13, 2013 – February 9, 2014 .
  14. Web site: Women Talk: 10 Questions With Visionary Artist Jill Greenberg. November 29, 2012. Women You Should Know. June 10, 2015.
  15. Web site: Info . Jill Greenberg Studio . December 2015 . 2016-06-26 .
  16. Web site: Reid. Chris. Jill Greenberg: It's Not Like Taking Candy From a Baby. FullyM. 1 February 2014. June 4, 2013.
  17. Web site: Hawk . Thomas . Jill Greenberg is a Sick Woman Who Should Be Arrested and Charged With Child Abuse . Thomas Hawk's Digital Connection . 31 January 2014 . blog . April 13, 2006 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20140201232235/http://thomashawk.com/2006/04/jill-greenberg-is-sick-woman-who.html . 1 February 2014 .
  18. Web site: Hawk . Thomas . The Post About Where Jill Greenberg Thinks She Can Intimidate Me by Contacting My Employer . Thomas Hawk's Digital Connection . 31 January 2014 . blog . June 27, 2006 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20140201232238/http://thomashawk.com/2006/06/post-about-where-jill-greenberg-thinks.html . 1 February 2014 .
  19. Web site: Photographer Jill Greenberg Controversy!.... Time to Buy?. Modern Art Obsession. blog. June 28, 2006.
  20. News: Mitchell. Dan. Apple's Got a Secret: Cry Babies. 31 January 2014. New York Times. July 1, 2006.
  21. Web site: Teicher. Jordan G.. Stunning Portraits of Crying Children That Brought the Photographer Hate Mail . Slate. The Slate Group LLC. September 27, 2013. August 4, 2013.
  22. Web site: Green Greenberg Green House / New Theme. ArchDaily. 31 January 2014. September 10, 2012.
  23. Web site: Green Greenberg Green House . New Theme . 31 January 2014 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20140205125204/http://www.newtheme.net/index.php/architecture/residential-projects/green-greenberg-green-house . 5 February 2014 .
  24. Web site: Green House: Residential (cut sheet) . New Theme. 31 January 2014. Spring 2009.
  25. Web site: Condé Nast Entertainment Group Names Robert Green SVP, Creative-Digital. Condé Nast. 31 January 2014. January 8, 2013. dead. https://web.archive.org/web/20140227060435/http://www.condenast.com/press/press-releases/2013/01/08/cond%C3%A9-nast-entertainment-group-names-robert-green-svp-creative-digit. 27 February 2014.
  26. News: Nakano. Craig. Home Tour: Photographer Jill Greenberg's hillside escape. 31 January 2014. L.A. Times. October 7, 2011.
  27. News: Prinzing. Debra. Jill Greenberg's Hollywood Hills escape. 31 January 2014. L.A. Times. October 8, 2011.
  28. News: Photographer Jill Greenberg's L.A. escape (photo gallery). 31 January 2014. L.A. Times. October 8, 2011.
  29. Web site: Monkey Portraits, Jill Greenberg. ClampArt. 31 January 2014. October 12 – November 11, 2006.
  30. Web site: End Times, Jill Greenberg . ClampArt . 31 January 2014 . October 11 – November 24, 2007 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20140201221946/http://clampart.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/10/Press-Release-GreenbgEndT.pdf . 1 February 2014 .
  31. Web site: Ursine, Jill Greenberg. ClampArt. 31 January 2014. October 11 – November 24, 2007.
  32. Web site: New Bears, Jill Greenberg. ClampArt. 31 January 2014. November 5 – December 19, 2009.
  33. Web site: Glass Ceiling, Jill Greenberg. ClampArt. 31 January 2014. June 16 – August 19, 2011.
  34. Web site: Horse, Jill Greenberg. ClampArt. 31 January 2014. October 18 – December 21, 2012.
  35. Web site: Horse, Jill Greenberg . O'Born Contemporary. 31 January 2014. January 31 – March 15, 2014.

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