UNITED KINGDOM: Legendary British photographer and 1960s superstar David Bailey talks about his "Stardust" exhibition at the National Portrait Gallery in London

Record ID: 190065

  • Title: UNITED KINGDOM: Legendary British photographer and 1960s superstar David Bailey talks about his "Stardust" exhibition at the National Portrait Gallery in London
  • Date: 3rd February 2014
  • Summary: LONDON, ENGLAND, UNITED KINGDOM (JANUARY 31, 2014) (REUTERS) VARIOUS EXTERIORS OF TRAFALGAR SQUARE, NATIONAL GALLERY EXTERIOR OF NATIONAL PORTRAIT GALLERY (A SIDE ENTRANCE TO NATIONAL GALLERY) SIGN READING (English) "BAILEY'S STARDUST" MICK JAGGER PHOTOGRAPH WITH VEIL OVER HEAD VARIOUS OF HALL FILLED WITH PHOTOS PHOTO OF DAVID BOWIE AND SUSAN SARANDON PETE TOWNSHEND OF "THE WHO" PHOTO DAVID BAILEY TALKING TO INTERVIEWERS BAILEY'S EYES BAILEY'S HANDS (SOUNDBITE) (English) DAVID BAILEY SAYING: "Well everything I do is personal. I mean, everything you do is personal - if it's not personal, it's probably no good. You don't want to do something impersonal, stealing from somebody - if you're going to copy, don't copy, steal. I mean, steal from somebody else, don't copy them." YOKO ONO SITTING ON STOOL PHOTO ROLLING STONES PHOTO BOB DYLAN PHOTO MICHAEL CAINE PHOTO MAN IN GLASSES PHOTO MICK JAGGER PHOTO (SOUNDBITE) (English) DAVID BAILEY SAYING: "I wake up and think, how can I not get bored today? I'll do a little film, make a sculpture, do some pictures, have 200 cups of black coffee, and hope to get a few things done." VARIOUS BLACK AND WHITE PICTURES IN GALLERY PAUL MCCARTNEY AND JOHN LENNON PHOTO MAN HOLDING CAT BLACK AND WHITE PHOTOGRAPHS DISPLAYED IN GALLERY BAILEY BOOKS IN DISPLAY CASE, INCLUDING "BAILEY: BLACK AND WHITE MEMORIES" DIGITAL CAMERA READING ON LABEL (English) "BAILEY COLOUR CAMERA" (SOUNDBITE) (English) DAVID BAILEY SAYING: "Everyone thinks I'm against digital, in fact I was the first to have digital because I had the experimental ones from a camera company. And all my artist friends used to - because I was the first to have Macs as well, you know, Apples - and all the people would say, 'why've you got those? They're just for accountants', and I said, 'you wait and see what you're going to be able to do with this stuff.' So it's just another toy, it's another paintbrush, digital." WOMAN LOOKING AT PHOTOGRAPHS IN GALLERY COLOUR PHOTOGRAPHS AND SCULPTURE DISPLAYED IN GALLERY PHOTO OF WOMAN IN PINK WIG DRESSED IN RED VARIOUS OF PHOTO OF WOMAN WITH ELABORATE FEATHER HEADDRESS PHOTO OF ROLLING STONES WALKING IN FIELD (SOUNDBITE) (English) DAVID BAILEY SAYING: "It (Instagram), well, it's certainly not distracting, I mean it's just a silly moment, isn't it. People won't be doing it in six months' time, there'll be another craze. I only just found out what selfies were, I thought it was something entirely different!" PHOTOS DISPLAYED IN GALLERY
  • Embargoed: 18th February 2014 12:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: United Kingdom
  • Country: United Kingdom
  • Topics: Arts / Culture / Entertainment / Showbiz
  • Reuters ID: LVA78F5IV2RMT3QK0K0TIOO6MVBL
  • Story Text: David Bailey rose to fame as a Vogue photographer in the 1960s. During a career spanning half a century he has become a celebrity in his own right, shooting some of the world's most iconic faces.
    The "unbelievably good-looking" photographer (in the words of Grace Coddington, creative director for US Vogue) defined the 1960s with his snaps of the likes of the Rolling Stones and David Bowie, and has maintained his influence with modern subjects such as Kate Moss. Now, a new exhibition at the National Portrait Gallery in London is to showcase over 250 photographs taken over the years, personally selected by Bailey himself.

    "Everything I do is personal. I mean, everything you do is personal - if it's not personal, it's probably no good," Bailey said. The photographer has arranged the rooms thematically, including a whole room devoted to his wife, the model Catherine Dyer.
    Famed for his photos on black and white film, Bailey emphasised that he was also at the vanguard of new technology: "everyone thinks I'm against digital, in fact I was the first to have digital... it's just another toy, it's another paintbrush," he said.
    But while digital may have caught his eye, he dismissed more modern innovations such as Instagram. "It's just a silly moment, isn't it. People won't be doing it in six months' time, there'll be another craze."
    The National Portrait Gallery exhibition is open from February 1 to June 1 2014.
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