| Olivia Bee | |
| Birth Date: | 5 April 1994 |
| Birth Place: | Portland, Oregon, U.S. |
| Occupation: | Photographer |
Olivia Bolles (born April 5, 1994),[1] better known as Olivia Bee, is an American photographer.[2] Bee's book Kids in Love was published by Aperture in 2016.[3]
Bee is the daughter of a hairdresser mother and a high-tech worker. She grew up in Portland, Oregon, where she attended Da Vinci Arts Middle School.[4] [5] She moved to Brooklyn, New York when she was 18 years old.[6]
Bee's interest in photography began at the age of 11 when she first took a photography class.[6] In 2013 she summarized her early work as "like, stuffed animals and a picture of my mom in the kitchen."[4] Afterwards, Bee began taking photos independently and uploading them to the image hosting website Flickr, where the footwear company Converse saw her work and asked her to photograph for their company.[6] Her work was used in an advertising campaign for Converse when she was 14.[7] Her work was also used in campaigns for Adidas, Fiat, Hermès, Levi Strauss & Co., Nike and Subaru, and published by The New York Times and Le Monde.[4] [6] [8] Bee decided to pursue photography as a full-time career after unsuccessfully applying to study at Cooper Union in New York City.[4]
Kurt Soller of New York described her work as "dreamy, seventies-inspired photographs of maybe-wasted, increasingly famous young people who just want to have fun, injected with ombré washes of color (often pink)",[4] while Kathy Sweeney of The Guardian observed that "Bee finds a dreamlike, innocent colour in her friends' gently dissolute experimentation."[6] In an interview with Paper Magazine, Bee characterized her work as "real, obsessive emotions put in a pop context."[9] The subjects in her photographs are often placed in the center of the frame.[4]
In 2011 she cited Ryan McGinley, Annie Leibovitz and Nan Goldin as influences,[10] and attributed her inspiration to her younger brother, mother and father's musical and artistic talents.[8]
Bee's book Kids in Love was published by Aperture in 2016.[3] [11] The book is divided into two sections, one featuring predominantly staged shots and the other focusing on "slice of life" material.[3]
In 2018 Bee featured in the short film A Kid From Somewhere: Olivia Bee, directed by Paul Johnston and Adam Beck. The film depicts Bee's photographic process, focusing in part on a project completed in honour of her sister, who died before she was born.[12] In 2021 she directed the music video for Olivia Rodrigo's song "Traitor".[13] In 2022 she directed the music video for Ingrid Andress's "Feel Like This".[14]