Vol 1/ Spring 2016
In The
Now
Edge Vol 1.
31
w
Photography by Nick Knight
EDGE
“Conception to artist, the audie
Edge Vol 1.
completion is beneficial for the ence and the art itself.”
N
ick Knight is among the world’s most influential and visionary photographers, and founder and director of award-winning fashion website SHOWstudio. com. As a fashion photographer,
he has consistently challenged conventional notions of beauty and is fêted for his groundbreaking creative collaborations with leading designers including Yohji Yamamoto, John Galliano, Alexander McQueen. Advertising campaigns for the most prestigious clients such as Christian Dior, Lancôme, Swarovski, Tom Ford, Calvin Klein or Yves Saint Laurent as well as award-winning editorial for W, British Vogue, Paris Vogue, Dazed & Confused, Another, Another Man and i-D magazines have consistently kept Knight at the vanguard of progressive image-making for the past three decades. He has directed award winning music videos for Bjork, Lady Gaga and Kanye West. His first book of photographs, Skinheads, was published in 1982, winning a DandAD award in 1996. He has since produced Nicknight, a twelve year retrospective, and Flora, a series of flower pictures, both published by Schirmer Mosel. His latest book entitled Nick Knight was published by Harper Collins in 2009 .His work has been exhibited at such international art institutions as the Tate Modern, Victoria & Albert Museum, Saatchi Gallery, the Photographers' Gallery, Hayward Gallery and the Gagosian Gallery. In 1993, he also produced a permanent installation, Plant Power, for the Natural History Museum in London.A long-standing commitment to experimenting with the latest technologies led to Knight launching his fashion website SHOWstudio in 2000, with an aim, in Knight's own words, of 'showing the entire creative process from conception to completion.' SHOWstudio has pioneered fashion film and is now recognised as the leading force behind this new medium, offering a unique platform to nurture and encourage fashion to engage with moving image in the
digital age. Since its inception, SHOWstudio has worked with the world’s most sought-after filmmakers, writers and influential cultural figures to create visionary online content, exploring every facet of fashion through moving image, illustration, photography and writtenword. Knight lives with his wife and three children in London. Hewas awarded the OBE in 2010 for his services to the arts. He is an honorary professor of the University of the Arts London and was awarded an honorary PHD by the same university.Director of SHOWstudio. com, is among the world’s most influential and visionary photographers. As a fashion photographer, he has consistently challenged conventional notions of beauty and is fêted for his groundbreaking creative collaborations with leading designers including Yohji Yamamoto, John Galliano, Alexander McQueen. Advertising campaigns for the most prestigious clients such as Christian Dior, Lancôme, Swarovski, Levi Strauss, Calvin Klein or Yves Saint Laurent as well as award-winning editorial for W, British Vogue, Paris Vogue, Dazed & Confused, AnOther, Another Man and i-D magazines have consistently kept Knight at the vanguard of progressive image-making for the past three decades. His first book of photographs, Skinheads, was published in 1982. He has since produced Nicknight, a twelve year retrospective, and Flora, a series of flower pictures, both published by Schirmer Mosel. Knight's work has been exhibited at international institutions such as the Victoria & Albert Museum, Saatchi Gallery, The Photographers Gallery and Hayward Gallery. He has also produced a permanent installation, Plant Power, for the Natural History Museum in London and was the first of Channel 4's 'Big 4' 50-foot installations outside its London HQ in 2007. A long-standing commitment to experimenting with the latest technologies led to Knight launching his award-winning fashion website SHOWstudio in 2000. the groundbreaking Knight was one of the first and most high profile imagemakers to adopt digital film as a medium for
31
showing fashion.SHOWstudio collaborates with some of the most influential and acclaimed figures of contemporary fashion, including John Galliano , Kate Moss , Rick Owens , Comme des Garçons and Alexander McQueen . Alongside these established names, SHOWstudio has also supported and nurtured emerging talent, including Giles Deacon, Gareth Pugh , Rodarte and Mary Katrantzou , offering exciting new designers an important global showcase for creative expression.His first book of photographs, ‘Skinheads’, was published in 1982, whilst a student at Bournemouth and Poole College of Art and Design. He was then commissioned by i-D editor Terry Jones to create a series of 100 portraits for the magazine’s fifth anniversary.
EDGE
Edge Vol 1.
31
“The most brilliant thing about photography is that it’s a passport into any social situation whatsoever.”
Since his first foray into fashion photography, he has shot both editorial and advertising projects for clients including Alexander McQueen, Audi, Calvin Klein , Christian Dior , Jil Sander , Lancôme, Levi Strauss, Martine Sitbon, MercedesBenz, Royal Ballet, Royal Opera House, Swarovski and Yves Saint Laurent. Editorially Knight has been decorated for his editorial work for Vogue, Dazed & Confused, i-D, The Face, W Magazine, Another Magazine, Arena Homme + and Visionaire, and the 2004 edition of the Pirelli Calendar. He has shot album covers for Björk, Elvis Costello and the Attractions, Boy George, David Bowie, Kylie Minogue, The Style Council, Lady Gaga, Paul Weller, Gwen Stefani, Cheryl Cole, Seal, ABC and Massive Attack.Nick Knight directed back in 2001 his first music video ever, the controversial Pagan Poetry video Björk. In 2011 he directed the video for Lady Gaga's single "Born This Way." Knight's work has been exhibited at such international art institutions as the Victoria & Albert Museum, Saatchi Gallery, the Photographers' Gallery and Hayward Gallery. In 1993, he also produced a permanent installation, Plant Power, for the Natural History Museum in London. The photographer has produced Nicknight (1994), a twelve year retrospective, and Flora (1997), a series of flower pictures, both published by Schirmer Mosel. Knight was appointed Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) in 2010. He currently lives with his wife, Charlotte and three children, Emily, Ella and Calum in London. The most brilliant thing about photography is that it's a passport into any social situation whatsoever," says Nick Knight. "It's a ticket to photograph the President of the US, or a heroin addict in Camden, or a prostitute in Paris, or the biggest recording star in the world. Becoming a photographer is a way of finding out about people finding out about life and experiencing what they experience."Over
the past 30 years, Knight has given the world and the world of fashion in particular some of its most arresting, inspiring and innovative imagery. From capturing the extraordinary early designs of Yohji Yamamoto to the equally remarkable curves of a young Sophie Dahl, from still lives of delicate flowers to Kate Moss, Naomi Campbell, Gisele Bündchen and a galaxy of glossy stars this restless spirit has challenged preconceptions of what is possible, or indeed beautiful, both technically and aesthetically. Today, the first major retrospective of his work is published in book form and a luminescently lovely affair it is too. As well it might be. Knight gave up his summer holiday to go to China and oversee the printing – an example of his fanatical attention to detail. "I can tell you, it wouldn't have looked like this if I hadn't," he laughs. It is one of his more admirable characteristics that this near-pathological precision might apply equally to a film he is making for an up-and-coming young designer who's as poor as the proverbial church mouse as it might to a global advertising campaign that will appear on billboards in New York, Tokyo or Beijing. It's not all about money. In the central London, meanwhile, an exhibition celebrating the 10th anniversary of his pioneering website, Showstudio.com, is in full flow at Somerset House. Contributors to the site are varied: as well as just about any designer/model/photographer/stylist worth their credentials, artists, musicians and film directors all feature. At the exhibition, meanwhile, visitors are met by a larger-than-lifesize sculpture of the aforementioned Ms Campbell, and enter a highly interactive world that does much to explode the myths behind a largely impenetrable industry – which guards its privacy just as Knight strives to demystify it.
Project Description
For this project we chose a random picture off the wall when our name was called. We chose our photographer based on the one photo of theirs that was pinned on the wall. Once we chose our photographer, we reaserched them and became experts on our person. We first had to put together 1500 words of information we found reaserching. We would later use this type for our magazine body copy. Next we just started with brain storming possible names for your headline on the first page. Once we narrowed it down to two names, we used those names to start coming up with a type lockup for our opening spreads. Next we started designing our intro pages. We then chose which couple intro pages worked best and used those pages as a base for creating the next set of pages. For the next couple class periods we worked on finding a certain direction that was cohesive with the intro pages and
the style we wanted our magazine to have. Before we chose our direction we made three version of the whole magazine along with covers to go with each version. Then we finally chose the direction we would go with, once we did that, we just refined and worked hard on making our magazines as finsihed as possible. This project was about introducing us into the world of magazine design,and teaching us the rules. During this project I learned about how long of a process it takes to actually find the design you use. I made so many different spreads before I finally chose the set I used for my magazine.
Edge Magazine Designed by: Morgan Dees Printed at Jayhawk ink Fonts used:
Futura & Didot Sources from:
vogue.co.uk/spy/biographies/nick-knight-biography showstudio.com nickknight.com/about