FEATURE:
Kate Bush: The Iconic Shots
PHOTO CREDIT: Gered Mankowitz
‘Hollywood’, 1979 (Gered Mankowitz)
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I am not going to…
IN THIS PHOTO: Gered Mankowitz
repeat photographers too much in this feature but, as Gered Mankowitz was responsible for more than a few iconic Kate Bush photos, I wanted to highlight another one. There is debate and contrast when it comes to deciding which photo of Bush is the most striking. I think few summon as much awe as his stunning 1979 shot. It is Kate Bush looking like a Hollywood star. It is hard to put my finger on who Bush resembles in the photo, though there is that attempt to replicate the classic portraits of actresses from the 1940s and 1950s. It is a black-and-white photo that is very different to other shots of Kate Bush. Look at other Gered Mankowitz images he took of Bush in 1978 and 1979 and there is a marked change. Earlier photos of her are in colour, where she tends to be youthful and teenage. The 1979 is more mature and almost classic. Maybe trying to cast her in a more serious light, it shows the range of moods and expressions that Bush was capable of summoning. I am not sure whether Mankowitz himself regards his ‘Hollywood’ shot as the best one with Kate Bush. Maybe, before the series ends, I will select another one of his photos for inclusion. I feel the best photographers can get something very special from their subjects. In this case, there is a smoky and elegant expression that helps lodge the photo in your mind.
There are so many reasons to love the 1979 photo. It was taken at a time when Bush was popular but still rising. She had released two studio albums – The Kick Inside and Lionheart of 1978 -, and I think the media had a particular image of her. Maybe there was a feeling that she was quite kooky or strange. Some saw her as the singer of Wuthering Heights: strange, high-pitched and a slight novelty. Some press photos of 1978 sort of cast Bush as an ingenue; that or they played up to that perception of her as someone who was easy to ridicule. I hate reading any article or interview where Bush is cast condescending or mocking tones. As we can see from the Gered Mankowitz photo, she was someone who should be taken seriously. Capturing something classy, beautiful and timeless, here is a photographer who showed a vast range and imagination. Matching Kate Bush’s maturing and evolving sound and the fact that she was complex and hard to peg, one can look at the ‘Hollywood’ photo for ages! It is so indelible and classy. I love the composition and the pose Bush gives. She would be involved with a lot of wonderful photos through her career, but I think the bond and trust she had in Gered Mankowitz is clear. He managed to get something special from her. His 1979 ‘Hollywood’ shot is proof of that. To me, it is one of the greatest photos of Kate Bush…
THERE has ever been.