Britain's Answer to Helmut Newton: Beautiful and Sensual Photos by Bob Carlos Clarke (28 photos)

Today, 10:00

Category: photographs and photographic works, England, 0+

Renowned English photographer Bob Carlos Clarke was born in Cor, Ireland, in 1950. In 1969, he moved to England to study art and design. There, his interest in photography developed. In 1975, Clarke earned an MFA from the Royal College of Art.

During this time, largely thanks to the advice of his friend, the renowned artist Allen Jones, he began photographing women dressed in tight rubber suits. This image earned him fame as one of the "founders of fetishistic imagery."

"Killer Dress." From a Wallis advertising campaign, 1997

Clark was a "master of all trades." He worked in almost every field of photography and won numerous awards, including for his successful advertising campaigns. His rare celebrity portraits, taken in various locations between 1971 and 1998, are housed in the National Portrait Gallery. Among them are portraits of Elton John, Marco Pierre White, Rachel Weisz, Mick Jagger, Ronnie Wood, and Bryan Ferry.

Как садят рис

Смотреть видео

Portrait of the photographer by his daughter

Advertising work attracted him because of its high pay. Bob Carlos shot for Smirnoff and Wallis, Volkswagen and Pirelli, UrbanStone, and Levi's. But he always returned to his favorite subject—photographing nude women.

British actress Rachel Weisz, 1993

When organizing photo shoots in his favorite nude genre, Clark preferred to photograph models "from the street."

"A prepared model is like a semi-finished product, as if you're receiving something half-cooked by other chefs," the photographer explained his choice.

Model Elle Macpherson, 1990s

He preferred to shoot in an expressive manner. Bob Carlos's photographs most often featured provocatively sexy women. And while the average conservative viewer was often unimpressed by his billboard masterpieces, his clients were more than pleased.

Bob had always worked with film, but he understood the inevitability of the digital era:

"I think this is both the best and the most terrible thing that ever happened to photography."

In life, Clark was a vulnerable person.

"Creating a photograph requires a great deal of inner effort. When everything goes right, you feel like a winner. But if it doesn't work out, you just want to kill yourself," the photographer said.

In 2006, he died tragically after jumping under a train. Bob Carlos Clarke published six photo books. Our selection includes works from various collections.