- Dennis Morris
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Dennis Morris is a British photographer best known for his images of Bob Marley and the Sex Pistols.[1][2] In 1979, he created the logo for the band Public Image Limited (P.I.L) and the legendary and innovative Metal Box album packaging.[3] He then became Art Director of Island Records[4] and designed album covers for the likes of Linton Kwesi Johnson, Marianne Faithfull (Broken English) and Bob Marley. Mid- 1979, he replaced Don Letts as vocalist of Basement 5, the avant-garde punk rock reggae band. He created their logo, image, photography and graphics and successfully gained a recording contract with Island Records; their albums ("Basement 5 - 1965 to 1080" and "Basement in Dub") were produced by Martin Hannett.[5] He has held exhibitions worldwide (Sydney Opera House, Laforet Museum Tokyo,[6] Contact Toronto and in galleries in London, New York, Paris, San Francisco, Stuttgart ...). In June 2005, the Spectrum London gallery had a show of photographs by Morris documenting the daily lives, ceremonies and rituals of the Mowanjum Australian Aborigine community.[7] The gallery was blessed by Aboriginal tribe leader, Francis Firebrace, wearing body paint and tribal dress.[7] He was commissioned to show a new body of work at the Today Art Museum in Beijing in 2008 to coincide with the Olympic Cultural programme.[8] A large installation of his punk images (part of the “I am a cliché, Echoes of the Punk Aesthetic” exhibition curated by Emma Lavigne) was shown at the 41st Rencontres d’Arles (France) during the summer of 2010.[9] His photographs have become highly collectable, including one body of work (“Southall – a home from home”) bought by English Heritage, on permanent display at the “ Gunnersbury Park Museum ” in London. “Growing Up Black” a collection of his photographs from the Black community in Hackney is also part of the permanent collection of the Hackney Museum (London).[10] The V&A Museum has also acquired some photographs from the "Growing Up Black" collection. His photographs have appeared in numerous prestigious publications including: Rolling Stone, Time, People magazine, V magazine, GQ, I-D, Vogue and the Sunday Times, amongst others. His work has been used in books such as:” Lipstick Traces”, a secret history of the 20th century by Marcus Griel, published by Harvard University Press; “Century”, by Bruce Bernard, published by Phaidon Press; “Punk” by Steven Colgrave and Chris Sullivan; “Rolling Stone”, The complete covers 1967-1997. He has been the subject of various documentaries and TV programmes in the UK and America; His photographs have been used by televisions around the world.
Contents
Books
- (1999) Bob Marley: A Rebel Life: A Photobiography, 1973-1980. Plexus Publishing. ISBN 0859652688.
- (1996) Destroy: Sex Pistols 1977. Creation Books. ISBN 184068058X.
- (1999) "Southall - a Home from Home". Olympus. ISBN 1840680547
Exhibitions
- 2010: Les Rencontres d'Arles festival, France.
References
- ^ "Marley snapper captures Jamaica's jukebox of music". BBC News. 7 July 2002. http://www.bbc.co.uk/london/entertainment/news/reggae_240702.shtml. Retrieved 2008-07-25.
- ^ "Shooting the Sex Pistols". BBC News. 28 September 1998. http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/entertainment/179218.stm. Retrieved 2008-07-25.
- ^ metal box stories from John Lydon's public image limited book by Phil strongman published by Helter skelter - isbn 978-1-900924-66-5
- ^ "Destroy: Sex Pistols 1977" [1] The Guardian London 7 June 2002 retrieved 2010-04-21
- ^ http://www.nme.com/artists/basement-5
- ^ http://www.tokyoartbeat.com/event/2004/EBB5
- ^ a b "Gallery is blessed by Aborigine", BBC, 6 June 2005. Retrieved 18 January 2010.
- ^ http://en.artron.net/exhibit/zl.php?zlid=7416
- ^ www.rencontres-arles.com/A09/C.aspx?VP3=CMS&ID=A09P1155
- ^ http://www.hackney.gov.uk/museum-newsletter-winter-2009.pdf
External links
- Dennis Morris Official Website
- "UK contemporary exhibition opens in Beijing". CCTV.com. 6 July 2008. http://www.cctv.com/program/cultureexpress/20080706/101097.shtml. Retrieved 2008-07-25.
Categories:- Living people
- English photographers
- Artists from London
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