Elizabeth Heyert
Encyclopedia
Elizabeth Heyert is an American photographer and author. She received her Masters Degree in photography and the history of photography from the Royal College of Art
, London, where she studied with Bill Brandt
. She is known for experimental portrait photography, most notably her trilogy The Sleepers (2003), The Travelers (2005), and The Narcissists (2008).
Heyert is the author of numerous books of and about photography including The Glass-House Years (Allanheld and Schram, 1979), Metropolitan Places (Viking Studio Books, 1989), The Sleepers (Sei Swann, 2003), and The Travelers (Scalo Verlag, 2006).
, New York Magazine, Vogue
and British Vogue, Elle Decor
, and Architectural Digest
, and for clients including Ralph Lauren
, Cartier
, American Express
, and Tiffany & Co.
her successful career allowed her to close her commercial studio in 1999, to return to a more personal exploration of photography. She began The Sleepers with the idea of experimenting with unconventional forms of portrait photography. Within three years she was offered her first one-person show of these works, which opened at the Edwynn Houk gallery in New York, in January 2003.
The Sleepers, a series of monumental toned black and white photographs of sleeping nudes, is a meditation on the mystical world of sleep and the emotional journey we travel in our unconscious state. Reviewing the exhibit The New Yorker wrote that the work: "conjures thoughts of human fragility and impermanence even if the sleepers have become heroic sculptures rising from a deep slumber." Sei Swann published a monograph of The Sleepers, with an essay inspired by the works, written by the playwright John Guare
, in January 2003.
Heyert's obsession with sleep and the unconscious led her inevitably to photograph The Travelers, a series of large-scale color post-mortem portraits. The photographs stirred discussion and controversy when they were first exhibited in New York. The New York Times, in a feature article about the works, described these photographs as a "peek beneath the surface at the vibrant, living face beneath the mask of death." Scalo Verlag published her book, The Travelers, in March 2006. At the end of the year Photo-Eye Magazine named The Travelers one of the best photography books of 2006.
The 30 x 40 inch photographs have been widely exhibited internationally: at the Musee de L'Elysee in Switzerland; at the Hayward Gallery
in London; in Austria in New Art/New York: Reflections of the Human Condition; and in a solo museum show at the Malmo Museer in Sweden. In May 2007, 18 life size prints of The Travelers were exhibited on a small island in Naarden, The Netherlands, accessible only through an ancient stone tunnel, as part of an exhibition entitled In Memoriam. The works have also been the subject of television programs by ARD Kulturweltspiegel in Germany and by TVE Spain, a National Public Radio program, and feature articles in Sueddeutsche Zeitung, El Mundo
, in the Swiss publications Le Temps and Femina, and Vrij Nederland among others.
Heyert's work has been extensively reviewed and discussed in leading international publications such as The New York Times, the Times of London, Le Monde
, and Stern
and in contemporary publications such as nest and Dazed and Confused. Her photographs are part of the permanent collections of the Metropolitan Museum of Art
and the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art
, as well as numerous private collections.
She has just completed the third part of her portrait trilogy, The Narcissists, a series of life size, color triptychs, taken through a two-way mirror.
Royal College of Art
The Royal College of Art is an art school located in London, United Kingdom. It is the world’s only wholly postgraduate university of art and design, offering the degrees of Master of Arts , Master of Philosophy and Doctor of Philosophy...
, London, where she studied with Bill Brandt
Bill Brandt
Bill Brandt was an influential British photographer and photojournalist known for his high-contrast images of British society and his distorted nudes and landscapes.-Career and life:...
. She is known for experimental portrait photography, most notably her trilogy The Sleepers (2003), The Travelers (2005), and The Narcissists (2008).
Heyert is the author of numerous books of and about photography including The Glass-House Years (Allanheld and Schram, 1979), Metropolitan Places (Viking Studio Books, 1989), The Sleepers (Sei Swann, 2003), and The Travelers (Scalo Verlag, 2006).
Career
After shooting around the world for publications such as The New York TimesThe New York Times
The New York Times is an American daily newspaper founded and continuously published in New York City since 1851. The New York Times has won 106 Pulitzer Prizes, the most of any news organization...
, New York Magazine, Vogue
Vogue (magazine)
Vogue is a fashion and lifestyle magazine that is published monthly in 18 national and one regional edition by Condé Nast.-History:In 1892 Arthur Turnure founded Vogue as a weekly publication in the United States. When he died in 1909, Condé Montrose Nast picked up the magazine and slowly began...
and British Vogue, Elle Decor
Elle Decor
Elle Decor is a magazine published by Hearst Magazines, who bought Hachette Filipacchi Media U.S. in 2011, that focuses on home decor.-Featured designers:...
, and Architectural Digest
Architectural Digest
Architectural Digest is an American monthly magazine. Its principal subject is interior design, not — as the name of the magazine might suggest — architecture more generally. The magazine is published by Condé Nast Publications and was founded in 1920, by the Knapp family, who sold it in 1993...
, and for clients including Ralph Lauren
Ralph Lauren
Ralph Lauren is an American fashion designer and business executive; best known for his Polo Ralph Lauren clothing brand.-Early life:...
, Cartier
Cartier SA
Cartier S.A., commonly known as Cartier , is a French luxury jeweler and watch manufacturer. The corporation carries the name of the Cartier family of jewellers whose control ended in 1964 and who were known for numerous pieces including the "Bestiary" , the diamond necklace created for Bhupinder...
, American Express
American Express
American Express Company or AmEx, is an American multinational financial services corporation headquartered in Three World Financial Center, Manhattan, New York City, New York, United States. Founded in 1850, it is one of the 30 components of the Dow Jones Industrial Average. The company is best...
, and Tiffany & Co.
Tiffany & Co.
Tiffany & Co. is an American jewelry and silverware company. As part of its branding, the company is strongly associated with its Tiffany Blue , which is a registered trademark.- History :...
her successful career allowed her to close her commercial studio in 1999, to return to a more personal exploration of photography. She began The Sleepers with the idea of experimenting with unconventional forms of portrait photography. Within three years she was offered her first one-person show of these works, which opened at the Edwynn Houk gallery in New York, in January 2003.
The Sleepers, a series of monumental toned black and white photographs of sleeping nudes, is a meditation on the mystical world of sleep and the emotional journey we travel in our unconscious state. Reviewing the exhibit The New Yorker wrote that the work: "conjures thoughts of human fragility and impermanence even if the sleepers have become heroic sculptures rising from a deep slumber." Sei Swann published a monograph of The Sleepers, with an essay inspired by the works, written by the playwright John Guare
John Guare
John Guare is an American playwright. He is best known as the author of The House of Blue Leaves, Six Degrees of Separation, and Landscape of the Body...
, in January 2003.
Heyert's obsession with sleep and the unconscious led her inevitably to photograph The Travelers, a series of large-scale color post-mortem portraits. The photographs stirred discussion and controversy when they were first exhibited in New York. The New York Times, in a feature article about the works, described these photographs as a "peek beneath the surface at the vibrant, living face beneath the mask of death." Scalo Verlag published her book, The Travelers, in March 2006. At the end of the year Photo-Eye Magazine named The Travelers one of the best photography books of 2006.
The 30 x 40 inch photographs have been widely exhibited internationally: at the Musee de L'Elysee in Switzerland; at the Hayward Gallery
Hayward Gallery
The Hayward Gallery is an art gallery within the Southbank Centre, part of an area of major arts venues on the South Bank of the River Thames, in central London, England. It is sited adjacent to the other Southbank Centre buildings and also the Royal National Theatre and British Film Institute...
in London; in Austria in New Art/New York: Reflections of the Human Condition; and in a solo museum show at the Malmo Museer in Sweden. In May 2007, 18 life size prints of The Travelers were exhibited on a small island in Naarden, The Netherlands, accessible only through an ancient stone tunnel, as part of an exhibition entitled In Memoriam. The works have also been the subject of television programs by ARD Kulturweltspiegel in Germany and by TVE Spain, a National Public Radio program, and feature articles in Sueddeutsche Zeitung, El Mundo
El Mundo (Spain)
El Mundo is the second largest printed and the largest digital daily newspaper in Spain and one of the newspapers of record in that country, with a daily circulation topping 300,000 readers for the printed edition and 24 million unique web visitors per month for the...
, in the Swiss publications Le Temps and Femina, and Vrij Nederland among others.
Heyert's work has been extensively reviewed and discussed in leading international publications such as The New York Times, the Times of London, Le Monde
Le Monde
Le Monde is a French daily evening newspaper owned by La Vie-Le Monde Group and edited in Paris. It is one of two French newspapers of record, and has generally been well respected since its first edition under founder Hubert Beuve-Méry on 19 December 1944...
, and Stern
Stern (magazine)
Stern is a weekly news magazine published in Germany. It was founded in 1948 by Henri Nannen, and is currently published by Gruner + Jahr, a subsidiary of Bertelsmann. In the first quarter of 2006, its print run was 1.019 million copies and it reached 7.84 million readers according to...
and in contemporary publications such as nest and Dazed and Confused. Her photographs are part of the permanent collections of the Metropolitan Museum of Art
Metropolitan Museum of Art
The Metropolitan Museum of Art is a renowned art museum in New York City. Its permanent collection contains more than two million works, divided into nineteen curatorial departments. The main building, located on the eastern edge of Central Park along Manhattan's Museum Mile, is one of the...
and the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art
San Francisco Museum of Modern Art
The San Francisco Museum of Modern Art is a modern art museum located in San Francisco, California. A nonprofit organization, SFMOMA holds an internationally recognized collection of modern and contemporary art and was the first museum on the West Coast devoted solely to 20th century art...
, as well as numerous private collections.
She has just completed the third part of her portrait trilogy, The Narcissists, a series of life size, color triptychs, taken through a two-way mirror.
Books
- The Glass-House Years (1979) ISBN 0860431991
- Metropolitan Places (1989) ISBN 0670817430
- The Sleepers (2003) ISBN 1564661059
- The Travelers (2006) ISBN 3908247934
External links
- elizabethheyert.com
- http://www.houkgallery.com/heyert-travellers/heyert.html
- Kind Assassin, Essay by John Guare, The Sleepers
- Interview by Stacey D'Erasmo, The Sleepers
- Interview by Stacey D'Erasmo, The Travelers
- The New York Times, Bringing Back the Dead