Hugh Bell
Encyclopedia
Hugh Cecil Lancelot Bell (born 22 June 1927) is an American Photographer born in the west Indies who was raised in Harlem, New York. He is best known for his Jazz photographs from the 50's and 60's. He has photographed fashion and still life images for Esquire, Ebony, Essence, American Visions, among many others as well as taking part in Edward Steichen
's "The Family of Man
" project.
to participate in the Museum of Modern Art
's landmark exhibition, The Family of Man
. Over a period of three years, Steichen edited two million possible photographs to arrive at 503 final images representing 293 photographers from 68 nations. After opening in New York on January 26, 1955, the exhibition continued to 69 venues in 37 foreign countries, making it one of the most successful photographic exhibitions of all time. Its purpose, in Steichen's words, was to seek "photographs covering the gamut of human relations, particularly the hard-to-find photographs of the everydayness in the relationships of man to himself, to his family, to the community, and to the world we live in.
Bell's image, "Hot Jazz" (1952), not only satisfied Steichen's call for photography's humanistic imperative but also embodied the virtuosity of his personal vision. Through the power of detail, "Hot Jazz" transmits the intensity and passion of performance and the excitement of hearing what was then considered the era's most radical musical form. Seen as shadowy silhouettes, each musician is absorbed in his own instrument yet also connected to a shared moment of communal creation. If we read the musicians' body language, we realize that this is an instant of complete fusion between man and music: the pulse inhabits their being, their body is at the service of the beat. More than hear the music fill the space, we can feel it infuse every part of our own being.
From the 1940s onwards, Bell's photography continued to nurture the presence of what Roland Barthes
has named the punctum-the emotional response to a detail that attracts or distresses the viewer-within his photographic production. In the "Jazz Giants" series, he communicates the fervor of the music, from living in the embrace of its spotlight to the experiencing the ruin of its aftermath. His candid portraits of icons like Billie Holiday
Dizzy Gillespie
, Charlie Parker
, Tony Scott
, Louis Armstrong
, Sarah Vaughan
and Lester Young
are both a tribute to their generation as well as a piercing revelation of their emotional truth.
, that Bell developed his talent at capturing life movement and using light to reveal psychological states. Leacock, one of the founders of cinema verite, celebrated ordinary life in its unbridled spontaneity and unscripted density by using a hand-held camera. Bell succeeds at moving beyond the technical limitations of both film and photography by combining the moving aspect of one with the episodic treatment of the other.
Edward Steichen
Edward J. Steichen was an American photographer, painter, and art gallery and museum curator. He was the most frequently featured photographer in Alfred Stieglitz' groundbreaking magazine Camera Work during its run from 1903 to 1917. Steichen also contributed the logo design and a custom typeface...
's "The Family of Man
The Family of Man
The Family of Man was a photography exhibition curated by Edward Steichen first shown in 1955 at the Museum of Modern Art in New York.According to Steichen, the exhibition represented the 'culmination of his career'. The 508 photos by 273 photographers in 68 countries were selected from almost 2...
" project.
Early years
Born in New York in 1927 to parents who emigrated from the Caribbean island of St. Lucia, Bell is an artist who, while never belonging to a single movement or group, is fully of his time. After graduating from New York University in 1952 with a bachelor's degree in Journalism and Cinematic Art, Bell was invited by Edward SteichenEdward Steichen
Edward J. Steichen was an American photographer, painter, and art gallery and museum curator. He was the most frequently featured photographer in Alfred Stieglitz' groundbreaking magazine Camera Work during its run from 1903 to 1917. Steichen also contributed the logo design and a custom typeface...
to participate in the Museum of Modern Art
Museum of Modern Art
The Museum of Modern Art is an art museum in Midtown Manhattan in New York City, on 53rd Street, between Fifth and Sixth Avenues. It has been important in developing and collecting modernist art, and is often identified as the most influential museum of modern art in the world...
's landmark exhibition, The Family of Man
The Family of Man
The Family of Man was a photography exhibition curated by Edward Steichen first shown in 1955 at the Museum of Modern Art in New York.According to Steichen, the exhibition represented the 'culmination of his career'. The 508 photos by 273 photographers in 68 countries were selected from almost 2...
. Over a period of three years, Steichen edited two million possible photographs to arrive at 503 final images representing 293 photographers from 68 nations. After opening in New York on January 26, 1955, the exhibition continued to 69 venues in 37 foreign countries, making it one of the most successful photographic exhibitions of all time. Its purpose, in Steichen's words, was to seek "photographs covering the gamut of human relations, particularly the hard-to-find photographs of the everydayness in the relationships of man to himself, to his family, to the community, and to the world we live in.
His Jazz Photography
From the 1940s onwards, Bell's photography continued to nurture the presence of what Roland Barthes
Roland Barthes
Roland Gérard Barthes was a French literary theorist, philosopher, critic, and semiotician. Barthes' ideas explored a diverse range of fields and he influenced the development of schools of theory including structuralism, semiotics, existentialism, social theory, Marxism, anthropology and...
has named the punctum-the emotional response to a detail that attracts or distresses the viewer-within his photographic production. In the "Jazz Giants" series, he communicates the fervor of the music, from living in the embrace of its spotlight to the experiencing the ruin of its aftermath. His candid portraits of icons like Billie Holiday
Billie Holiday
Billie Holiday was an American jazz singer and songwriter. Nicknamed "Lady Day" by her friend and musical partner Lester Young, Holiday had a seminal influence on jazz and pop singing...
Dizzy Gillespie
Dizzy Gillespie
John Birks "Dizzy" Gillespie was an American jazz trumpet player, bandleader, singer, and composer dubbed "the sound of surprise".Together with Charlie Parker, he was a major figure in the development of bebop and modern jazz...
, Charlie Parker
Charlie Parker
Charles Parker, Jr. , famously called Bird or Yardbird, was an American jazz saxophonist and composer....
, Tony Scott
Tony Scott
Anthony D. L. "Tony" Scott is an English film director. His films include Top Gun, Beverly Hills Cop II, The Last Boy Scout, True Romance, Crimson Tide, Enemy of the State, Spy Game, Man on Fire, Déjà Vu, The Taking of Pelham 123, and Unstoppable...
, Louis Armstrong
Louis Armstrong
Louis Armstrong , nicknamed Satchmo or Pops, was an American jazz trumpeter and singer from New Orleans, Louisiana....
, Sarah Vaughan
Sarah Vaughan
Sarah Lois Vaughan was an American jazz singer, described by Scott Yanow as having "one of the most wondrous voices of the 20th century."...
and Lester Young
Lester Young
Lester Willis Young , nicknamed "Prez", was an American jazz tenor saxophonist and clarinetist. He also played trumpet, violin, and drums....
are both a tribute to their generation as well as a piercing revelation of their emotional truth.
His Film career
Perhaps it is while working as assistant cameraman on the film "Jazz Dance" (1954), with the celebrated documentary filmmaker Richard LeacockRichard Leacock
Richard Leacock was a British-born documentary film director and one of the pioneers of Direct Cinema and Cinéma vérité.-Early life and career:...
, that Bell developed his talent at capturing life movement and using light to reveal psychological states. Leacock, one of the founders of cinema verite, celebrated ordinary life in its unbridled spontaneity and unscripted density by using a hand-held camera. Bell succeeds at moving beyond the technical limitations of both film and photography by combining the moving aspect of one with the episodic treatment of the other.