Alia book mockup 5

P

O

Forward

R

T

R

A

by

Sebastian

I

T

S

Copeland

for Ma ndana & Na sser

A

ccording to one legend, drawing began

with portraiture, the simplest gesture of capturing a unique likeness. A great portrait, whether drawn, photographed, or painted, can be at once beautiful, majestic, haunting, and even shocking; for what we see is not just a representation, but the face of one who is utterly at the mercy of our gaze. The subject is robbed of every defense with which they habitually fend off intrusion. Portraits have the potential to reach-in and awaken us in a personal way. We are drawn to their immobility as the masquerade of one's gesture–pose, eyes, and facial expression has all stopped before us. • For me personally, the eyes and face are the most interesting aspects of my subjects. These are the human features that invite us inward. They reveal everything. Photography evokes a powerful voice. Every image viewed is an encounter, an intimate, reciprocal confession. In a larger sense, photographs are also frozen moments in time, going beyond the limits of reality and dreams and brushing up against time, another life, even another dimension. They reveal not only what is there, but also what is not seen. • When shooting, I'm more at home in places outside the studio and stages which are so commonplace for the most in my craft. Instead, I prefer to shoot where my subjects find comfort: their homes or work places. These are the studios that invite personal authenticity. But I am never limited to these surroundings. For the world at large is my true studio. Anywhere I put my camera on my tripod, and my tripod on the ground, my heart is liberated, and my soul and my mind follow.

Alia Mohsenin, Los Angeles, California

•

19 June, 2013

I N T R O D U C T I O N

F

or the portrait photographer, a talent

session is a conversation; and a discovery. A fleeting moment of intimacy, suspending time while stretching it all at once: the instant that lasts forever. In the best of circumstances, this requires navigating the layers of contaminants that separate a head shot from a portrait; a snapshot from a statement. Subtlety is the magic sauce: hard to define, but you see it when it’s there. Bring in celebrity talent, and the stakes shoot up. • The celebrity is to portrait photographers what the flame is to the moth: bright, irresistible, and a booby traps in, well, celebrity clothes. Unlike their civilian counterparts, stars bring precedence to the game. A lot of it. The bigger the name, the bigger the pitfalls. This won’t be their first picnic; and their agenda— whether implied or verbalized—will be to let you know that their time is precious, and their boundaries understood: no trespassing! Ubiquitous to the celebrity orbit is the choir of professionals whose raison d’être it is to carefully construct—or protect— their client’s image. In today’s media saturated world and digital captures, the once exacting and intimate process of blending lighting and character exploration has come under assault by hurried schedules and diverse priorities. It is the portrait photographer’s job to neutralize these outside forces and find resonance for the duration of the exchange, whether a day, an hour or just a few minutes. • Naturally, these subjects come in all shapes and form, reflecting every facets of humanity.

Some are gregarious and generous, others image conscious and calculated. Some are creative and spontaneous; others withdrawn and predictable. But with a portrait there is no escape. The click of the shutter is the final arbiter. And despite the noise,

the fame and the peanut gallery, the only protagonists involved in that brief narrative are the two sitting on each side of the camera. For the talent, the vulnerability begins the moment they say “yes” to a session that will reveal them to the scrutiny of the lens whose primary function is to make one instant live forever, whatever the consequences.

Drawing honesty from that moment is the Holy Grail of portraiture. • In this book, Alia shares his conversations with many of Los Angeles’ luminaries; women and men whose works are familiar from both sides of the camera. Bent on capturing some inalienable truth about his subjects, Alia displays his delicate and nostalgic approach: shooting black & white film (yes, they still make film) often choosing to integrate them into their own environment. Individually, that choice draws the talents into the moment, cushioning at least their first line of defense. But collectively it paints a narrative that says as much about the subjects as it does about the photographer: self-effacing, observant and unpretentious. • Eye2Eye accomplishes just that: a quite visit that peers into the soul of the celebrated, long enough to hear the faint sound of their thought as they ponder the shutter’s final gavel. And the rest is history!

–Sebastian Copeland

P L A T E S

Z

H AN S Z I M M E R

Composer

|

Sept 1, 2000

|

Santa Monica

G

EL L I O T G O L D E N T HAL

Composer

|

March 7, 2003

|

Hollywood Hills

L

EA R N E ST L E H M AN

Screen Writer

|

April 23, 1999

|

Brentwood

C

B I L L CO N TI

Composer

|

April 23, 1999

|

Hancock Park

W

D I AN E WAR R E N

Songwriter

|

Oct 11, 2000

|

Los Angeles

K

JA N U SZ K AM I N S K I

Director of Photography

|

August 8, 1998

|

Culver City

E

DAN N Y E L F M AN

Composer

|

March 15, 2001

|

Malibu

B

EL I BROAD

Philanthropist

|

April 12, 1999

|

Century City

R

MA R K RY D E N

Artist

|

February 15, 2014

|

Los Angeles

S

LAL O SCH I F R I N

Composer

|

December 12, 2006

|

Beverly Hills

R

B R E T T R AT N E R – W I TH BABY

Director

|

September 10, 2001

|

Beverly Hills

H

D E N N I S H O PPE R

Actor / Director

|

October 8, 1999

|

Venice

K

DA R I U S K H O N D J I

Director of Photography

|

August 8, 1997

|

Hollywood Hills

H

GR E G O RY H I N E S

Dancer / Actor

|

August 16, 1997

|

Burbank

G

JO E G O O D E

Painter

|

March 17, 2009

|

Venice

G

RO BE RT G R AH AM

Sculptor

|

September 1, 1999

|

Venice

G

JER RY G O L D S M I T H

Composer

|

August 18, 1999

|

Beverly Hills Park

F

W I L L I AM F R I E D K I N

Director

|

March 15, 1998

|

Bel Air

E

S T E V E N E H R L I CH

Architect

|

July 13, 1998

|

Culver City

S

DA N TE SPI N N O T TI

Director of Photography

|

September 26, 2008

|

Brentwood

B

S T E PH AN I E BAR RO N

LACMA Curator

|

February 18, 2000

|

Los Angeles

A

RO N AL D N E AM E

Director of Photography

|

September 14, 1999

|

Los Angeles

T

RO SE TAR L OW

Designer

|

August 24, 2004

|

West Hollywood

S

B RYAN SI N G E R

Director

|

October 1, 1998

|

Santa Monica

Z

V IL M O S Z S I G M O N D

Director of Photography

|

February 3, 2001

|

Palos Verde

P

A L AN PAR K E R

Director

|

August 23, 1999

|

Hollywood

R

A N D R E A R I CH

Director, LACMA 1999–2005

|

December 21, 1998

|

LACMA–Los Angeles

V

A N D R E A VAN D E K AMP

SVP, Southeby’s

|

November 9, 1999

|

Beverly Hills

P

A N N PH I L BI N

Director, UCLA Hammer Museum

|

September 4, 2003

|

Westwood

S

B I L L SI M O N

Philanthropist

|

June 24, 2009

|

Los Angeles

B

B I L LY AL BE N G S T O N

Painter

|

November 1, 1999

|

Venice

S

W

LO U I S STE R N & BI L LY W I L DE R

Writer, Director, Producer

|

May 16, 1998

|

Beverly Hills

W

B I L LY W I L D E R

Writer Director Producer

|

May 16, 2008

|

Beverly Hills

D

D I N O AN D M ARTHA DE L AUR E NTI S

Producer

|

June 4, 2003

|

Burbank

E

D R . CH AR L E S E L ACHI

Director, JPL

|

April 6, 2004

|

Pasadena

N

D R . F I RO O Z N AD E R I

Scientist, JPL

|

October 1, 2011

|

Pasadena

C

S EBASTI AN CO PE L AND

Photographer/Environmentalist

|

April 22, 2015

|

Hollywood

Z

D R . AH M E D Z E WA I L

Nobel Laureate, Cal Tech

|

May 2, 2006

|

Pasasdena

M

D R . RU DY M ARCU S

Nobel Laureate, Cal Tech

|

April 19, 2006

|

Pasasdena

M

ED M O S E S

Painter

|

March 16, 1998

|

Venice

R

ED RU SCH A

Painter

|

March 20, 1998

|

Venice

S

P HI L STE R N

Photographer/Environmentalist

|

April 22, 2015

|

Hollywood

B

MR . AN D M R S. E L M E R BE R STE I N

Composer

|

Septem ber 13, 1999

|

Montecito

B

GL E N BAL L AR D

Songwriter, Producer

|

April 26, 2001

|

Beverly Hills

A

C HAR L E S AR N O L D I

Painter

|

June 20, 2009

|

Venice

A

K AT E AR N O L D I

Writer

|

October 18, 2014

|

Venice

W

IRW I N W I N K L E R

Producer, Director

|

February 5, 2001

|

Palos Verde

V

JAC K VAL E N TI

MPAA President, Director

|

December 15, 2003

|

Beverly Hills

D

JA N D E BO N T

Director, Producer

|

September 14, 1999

|

San ta Monica

F

JEA N PI CK E R F I R STE NBE RG

Director, CEO-AFI

|

September 15, 1999

|

Hollywood Hills

B

JO H N BAL D E S S AR I

Artist

|

September 22, 2000

|

Venice

S

JO H N SCH L E S I N GE R

Director

|

September 17, 1998

|

Beverly Hills

S

JU L I U S SH U L M AN

Photographer

|

July 14, 1999

|

Hollywood Hills

B

LAR RY BE L L

Painter

|

October 4, 2011

|

Venice

L

N O R M AN L E AR

Producer

|

October 18, 2000

|

Beverly Hills

C

PAU L CO N R AD

P u litzer Prize Winning Cartoonist

|

August 24, 2004

|

Palos Verdes

A

P E TE R AL E X AN D E R

Painter

|

May 4, 1998

|

Venice

C

P E TE R CRO F T

Cim ber

|

December 12, 2004

|

Bishop

L

P E TE R L O DATO

Painter

|

September 18, 2011

|

Venice

M

RICH AR D M E I E R

Architect

|

October 5, 1998

|

Westwood

W

RO BE RT W I SE

Director

|

August 10, 1998

|

Century City

M

RO N M AY E R

President, Universal Studios

|

August 16, 2007

|

Universal City

T

ROY TH U R S T O N

Artist

|

July 14, 2011

|

Los Angeles

L

S HE R RY L AN S I N G

|

March 28, 2007

|

Bel Air

W

S TAN W I N STO N

Special Effects

|

November 30, 2004

|

Burbank

H

A N G E L I CA H U STO N

Actress, Director

|

June 6, 2001

|

Beverly Hills

N

WE STO N N AE F

Curator of Photography, J. Paul Getty Museum

|

March 18, 1998

|

Los Angeles

W

JO H N WAL S H

Director, J. Paul Getty Museum, 1983 - 2000

|

July 29, 1998

|

Los Angeles

C

WI L L I AM CL AX TO N

Photographer

|

January 29, 1999

|

Culver City

P

WO L F GAN G PU CK

Chef

|

April 26, 2006

|

Beverly Hills

F

DAV I D FAH E Y a n d son NI CK

David Fahey, of Fahey/Klein G allery

|

August 28, 2008

|

Los Angeles

V

LAR RY V I G O N

Designer, Dreamer

|

September 18, 2004

|

Los Angeles

P

D R . DAV I D BALT I M O R E

President, Cal Tech Nobel Laureat

|

December 3, 2004

|

Pasadena

S

D R . E D STO N E

Former JPL Director

|

February 4, 2004

|

Pasadena

In l o ving Mem or y of m y pa rents: Par vin & Ma nsour Moh senin, + Rober t Gra ham , Ronni Sue Ch a sen, Hel m ut Ne wton.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS For Brian Jackson, I thank you for making this book possible.

And with sincerest gratitude to Seba stian Copeland, for his suppor t

Lori Gates Ea st Alain Labbe Noriko Fujinami Jil l Perr y Carol & Nazi Mohsenin Armond Shah Michael Bar tsch Louis Ster n Marie Chambers Dean Factor Da vid Fahey Gisele Schmidt Col leen Karis Brian English Rober t Ferrone Jimmy Fike Al Sadrpour Drs.Abraham & Edythe Wa gner Da vid Greening John Col lazos Jeff Sanderson Jeff Duna s Firooz Zahedi Paul Hook , ICM Cha sen & Company PMK media Relations The J Paul Getty Media Relations The JPL Media Relations Caltech Media Relations Sma sh Box Studios