"That's how I
want people to see me," said Ansel Adams to Mimi Jacobs after he
took one look at the portrait she had made of him. Since
then, that portrait of Adams is the only picture he ever uses on
his promotional materials and book jackets. Jacobs was so
delighted with Adams' acceptance of the portrait that she gave
him the original negative as a gift.
Jacobs is a
northern California photographer who has made a project out of
shooting portraits of west coast artists for the past eight
years. The culmination of that work is a just published book
entitled Fifty West Coast Artists Who Work in California
(Chronicle Books, San Francisco). The book features candid
portraits of the artists along with a personal statement from
each one.
A firm believer
in collaboration between photographer and subject, Jacobs would
actually tape-record an interview before each session to gather
information about the person and, more importantly, to observe
their various expressions. "Throughout the years," says Jacobs,
"I have been intrigued that people momentarily reveal something
unique about themselves through a facial expression. My
essential concern is to capture that fleeting moment." So,
by studying her subjects before the shoot, she was generally
ready to catch just the right reaction.
Perhaps San
Francisco art critic Alfred Frankenstein best summed up Jacobs'
talents when he said, "Artists are likely to be great
characters, and Jacobs has discovered exactly how to bring out
their most characteristic attitudes, gestures and expressions.
__________
Keller, Susan
R. "Hot Shots - Mimi Jacobs." Darkroom Photography.
(Volume Four,
Number One. January 1982). p. 15.