I Turn My Camera On : Julian Wasser Interview
WDCB’s Gary Zidek sits down with renowned photographer Julian Wasser for a wide-ranging conversation about his five decade career taking pictures of some of the most interesting people in the world.
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“The thing is, at that time there were no paparazzi, and I was working for TIME, one of the most prestigious publications in the world, in which all these actors and actresses wanted to be in there. So, it was no problem, there was no VIPs, no nothing. If TIME wanted to run a story on somebody, Katherine Hepburn or whoever, they welcomed you right away. Not like today, you didn’t have to pay for anything, kiss anyone’s butt, you were welcome.” - Julian Wasser on what it was like taking pictures of celebrities in the 1960s.
Julian Wasser
Renowned photographer Julian Wasser has lived a life. Working as a freelance photojournalist for over five decades, Wasser has captured candid images of some of the most interesting people in the world.
Jack Nicholson & Anjelica Huston. Photo credit Julian Wasser
Jayne Mansfield at the Whiskey a Go-Go, Photo credit Julian Wasser
The LA-based photographer was recently in Chicago for the opening of an exhibit of his work at the River North gallery, Hilton | Asmus Contemporary. The show titled JULIAN WASSER: THE WAY WE WERE features a collection of the photographer’s most iconic images. During his illustrious career, Wasser photographed a variety of fascinating people. The new Chicago show includes photos of Steve McQueen, Barbara Streisand, Andy Warhol, David Bowie, John F. Kennedy and Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.
Visitors will also be able to see one of Wasser’s most famous pictures, a photo of artist Marcel Duchamp playing chess with a nude Eve Babitz at the Pasadena Museum of Art.
Writer Eve Babitz playing chess with artist Marcel Duchamp in 1983. Photo credit Julian Wasser.
Also on display is a photo of Robert Kennedy with somber undertones, Wasser took the picture minutes before the Presidential candidate was assassinated at the Ambassador Hotel in 1968.
Wasser’s photo of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. speaking to a crowd at a stadium in Los Angeles in 1963 is one of President Barack Obama’s favorites. The former President purchased a print of the photo and hung it in the White House during his two terms in office.
Martin Luther King in LA, photo credit Julian Wasser
JULIAN WASSER: THE WAY WE WERE is on display at Hilton | Asmus Contemporary through October 4.
Go to hilton-asmus.com for more information.
WDCB’s Gary ZIdek and photographer Julian Wasser
