For him it is like a resurrection. Accused of sexual touching by several male models at the end of 2017, Bruce Weber, the specialist in iconic sensual photos for Calvin Klein and Abercrombie & Fitch, lost almost everything: contracts and friends like Anna Wintour, the head of the American “Vogue”, who are no longer talk with him. But his wife Nan Bush always supported him.
He settled the dispute amicably in 2021, with a check, but without admitting guilt and doesn’t want to hear any more about it today. He’s back in Paris with an exhibition called “Every Man in His Time” at the aptly named Obsession gallery, tracing a long career around the world. Before us, at the age of 77, he has rediscovered his humor and good humor, even if we feel longing for a bygone era.
Paris game. What is the purpose of this exhibition?
Bruce Weber. It’s a look back at my encounters over the decades, with photos of mostly strangers, Americans who have never set foot in France. It is my personal way of offering you this journey.
One of my greatest prides is being surrounded by very interesting friends today.
Bruce Weber
You have met many people in fifty years. How did you choose these models?
Oh, they’re not all models, although they’d be flattered by that. Most agencies would reject them because they don’t comply with current rules. Most of these people are close to someone on my team. And one of my greatest prides is to be surrounded by very interesting friends today. What wasn’t obvious at first…
For what ?
Because I was very shy as a child. I grew up in a small town near Pittsburgh in a loving, crazy, and dysfunctional family. My father took a lot of photos, so I got involved too and started photographing my parents. Then I came to school with a box and suddenly became popular. My camera opened a new world to me. It allowed me to meet people I found extraordinary, in New York, where I live most of the time, and on my many travels.
The rest after this ad
“Rob Evans wears a Philip Treacy original,” London, 2010 © Bruce Weber
Important meetings, but always fleeting?
Not always. In general, I have kept in touch with most of my photographers. In the exhibition there is this guy in shorts, no shirt, with a bow in his hands and a dog next to him. His name is Johnny. I photographed it last summer. But the first time was twenty years ago!
You often photographed bad boys…
Oh, I think they are very good guys! [Rires.] They have this anger within them, which means that if someone tries to harass you, they will step in and defend you. Like this shirtless black man with a heart-shaped mask over his left eye. He’s a boxer, I enjoyed watching the games. We got along well and he agreed to a shoot. He tried to work as a model but no brands approached him because he had his own ideas. Back then you could say, “I don’t want to wear this thing.”
There used to be more fun and freedom. This is something I miss very much
Bruce Weber
No longer ?
NO. I remember a photo shoot for Calvin Klein’s “Obsession for the Body” campaign in California. In Rio de Janeiro I met a beautiful girl and a man whose father was a Cuban water ski champion. I put them together for the photo. They had to sit naked on a swing, face to face, pressed together. They didn’t know each other, but they played along. And the photos were great. All the magazines carried them. Today this would no longer be the case.
Leonardo DiCaprio, Coney Island, 1994. © Bruce Weber
The relationship to photography has changed significantly. How do you experience it?
It used to be easier to work, walk the streets and meet strangers. Nowadays people often ask you for money, insult you… And if they accept, they are afraid of being judged. You ask yourself a lot of questions. There used to be more fun and freedom. This is something I miss very much.
Yes ! I worked at a time when people were very open
Bruce Weber
You are married to a woman, Nan Bush. For you, do the boys you photograph represent the children you never had?
I would say it’s mainly my assistants who are my children. I often encourage them to look elsewhere, but they stay, five years, ten years… However, I always knew that if I had to have children, I would much rather have had daughters. They are so much easier to manage! Boys are much more fragile, they have so many problems…
Especially now?
Yes ! I worked at a time when people were very open. I loved seeing boys and girls fall in love, even if just for a week, and I was able to seize the moment. I saw them blooming in front of my camera. They felt good. Today they don’t say anything anymore…
Kate Moss in the 1990s. © Bruce Weber
Would you say that it has become more difficult to be a man today?
Absolutely. I’m often asked who the sexiest man I’ve ever photographed is. I answer that it is the actor Robert Mitchum, about whom I made a film. He was 70 years old and loved women. And most women I know have always told me that they love being desired by men. Now you need to ask permission to hold hands.
An ex-girlfriend told me that he had saved one of the photos from that time on his phone. It really touched me
Bruce Weber
What do you think of the #MeToo movement?
At first I thought it was something great that would help women a lot. But now I don’t really know what to think about it…
Which stars still inspire you?
The actors in their beginnings. Because they are incredibly naive, they don’t think about their careers. There is a photo of Leonardo DiCaprio in the exhibition. When I met him he must have been 17-18 years old. We went to Coney Island together [une plage populaire de Brooklyn] and I saw him dance with street children, interact with a policeman, transform into a fairground dealer and then into a frail British actor… He changed every minute! Then I lost contact. But two years ago in Rome I photographed a girl who was his girlfriend. She told me that he had saved one of the photos from that time on his phone. It really touched me. And it gives me the strength to continue shooting the way I always have: based on what I feel.
“Every man in his time”, at Galerie Obsession at Pierre Passebon and Florent Barbarossa, Paris, December 11th to 12th.