FEATURE:
You’re the One
IN THIS PHOTO: Kate Bush in 1982
Kate Bush in Front of the Camera
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A little earlier this year…
IN THIS PHOTO: Kate Bush in 1993/PHOTO CREDIT: Guido Harari
I wrote a feature regarding two excellent Kate Bush photograph books: Gered Mankowitz’s WOW!, and Guido Harari’s The Kate Inside. Both are excellent volumes that are worth getting but, as they are a bit on the pricey side, I want to relaunch a question that I recently asked: Will we see a new volume of Kate Bush photographs in 2021? I know this is a subject that I have investigated a bit over the last year or so, but I am always stunned by the sheer variety and wealth of photographs featuring her. Whilst a lot of the photographs online are owned by press agencies, there are many from various photographs that people would love to see! I know that Bush’s publicity drive decreased after 1993’s The Red Shoes, so there are fewer press images and photoshoots of her from that time onwards. I have also previously mentioned how the definitive photobook out there, KATE: Inside the Rainbow by John Carder Bush, is a must-own. With photos taken by her brother from childhood through to 2011, we get to see Kate Bush through the years. The reason for reigniting the theme of photographs is to highlight the way Bush can bring the best from photographers. Although, by her own admission, she is quite shy and private, I have sourced countless photos through the years when putting together features about her.
IN THIS PHOTO: Kate Bush in 1979/PHOTO CREDIT: Gered Mankowitz
Whether it is a simple press shot or a more creative concept, there are so many wonderful images of Bush. I do wonder whether we will get more volumes and books in future years. I have mooted this before, but a new book of photography need not be the work of a single photographer: I feel a wider collection from several sources would be hugely popular. When I am writing different features about Kate Bush, I look for images that are related to a particular year – if I am discussing a particular album or song -, or it might tie into a particular theme – if I am investigating her love of literature and film, I’ll seek images where there is a more filmic concept. Although I have written recently about how the media often sexualised Bush and there was this idea of her as a ‘sex symbol’, I think it is just her innate beauty and versatility in front of the camera that is one of her biggest assets. With her brother, John, being a photographer, I guess the childhood household was a very comfortable and natural space where she could have photos taken by someone she trusted. Not to say that Bush was well-trained when it came to working with other photographers, but I think that this early exposure helped. Whether it was working with Gered Mankowitz in 1978/1979 or Guido Harari through her career – there are some especially fine images from the filming of The Line, the Cross and the Curve in 1993 -, we got to see Bush provide so many iconic shots and wonderful moments.
PHOTO CREDIT: Mondadori Portfollio/Getty Images
I think a lot of the biggest artists are hugely engaging when they are photographed, I guess, because they have a lot of experience and it is a big part of promoting their music. I feel, when Bush decided to wind down promotion and came to dislike that side of things, it was more to do with interviews and traveling as opposed to photoshoots. I think we get the best shots of Bush when she worked with trusted photographers like her brother and Guido Harari, thouigh one only need to do a Google search for images to see phenomenally engaging photos through the years. In terms of period, I really like some of the images around 1982 – when she released The Dreaming -, but I am a big fan of the promotional images from 1993 – both for The Red Shoes, and The Line, the Cross and the Curve. I guess it can be hard defining why some artists are particularly striking in front of camera…whether it is their smile, the well-chosen photographers they work with, or a natural ability to convey a range of emotions without much provocation. Maybe a lot of the photos of Kate Bush from 1978 – when her debut album, The Kick Inside, was released – are a little reliant on her sexuality and youthfulness, but I can see that she was exploring a range of guises and looks that early on; an ability that she had as a songwriter too.
PHOTO CREDIT: John Carder Bush
I will wrap it up soon, but I think I take for granted photographs of Kate Bush when I use them for various features. Whether it is an image of her engaged in a dance move or displaying huge physicality or something more classic and subtle, she never fails to fascinate me! The same can be said of so many people around the world because, as I often see photos of Bush shared, there is such a huge reaction. It does sort of put back to mind the idea of collating images that have not already been published into a handsome book. I am not sure whether it would be an expensive and implausible thing to realise, but I am often stumbling on images I have ever seen of Kate Bush that tells a story. I think people underestimate how powerful and important photography is in general. I feel a great photo can reveal so much mystery and truth; there are so many contrasting and broad emotions that can be elicited from the photographer. I love how a photo can paint so many words and provoke so much discussion - but it can also leave questions in the mind and a sense of mystique. I guess a more vivid and moving representation of Kate Bush’s photographic quality can be seen through her videos. I keep coming back to Kate Bush as a photographic subject and why she is so captivating. Maybe I shall explore it in more depth further down the line, but I have stopped and thought about all the images I have used for my Kate Bush features and the sheer sense of beauty, fascination and variety that is abundant. From her earliest shoots at the start of her career, to her more recent images for 50 Words for Snow (2011), Kate Bush is…
IN THIS PHOTO: Kate Bush in 1979/PHOTO CREDIT: Claude Vanheye
A dream for any photographer.