Anton Corbijn is a genius. The list of failed attempts to copy the shy Dutchman’s style and colour aesthetics is sheer endless. The problem is, the copying already begins in the wrong place. The raw graininess and spontaneous blurring in his pictures are not the only things that make them unique. Anton Corbijn constantly tries to find faintly perceptible fractures within a staged scene and shows musicians, artists and cultural icons in moments of deep vulnerability and intimate closeness. His portraits refrain from the usual glamour and idolize the anti-pose and the anti-star. In close and long-term relationships with the artists, he carefully explores the ambivalences between image and authenticity, between staged scene and reality, between the subject of the photograph and the viewer. This quality remains inimitable. His portraits of musicians and bands such as Tom Waits and Joy Division defined their own visual identity and the aesthetics of that time. For over thirty years, Corbijn has been influencing the look of U2, and since 1993, he has created the stage design for many of Depeche Mode’s shows as well as most of their videos and concert films. He also directed the legendary video to Nirvana’s „Heart Shaped Box“ and many more. His first film „Control“ told the story of the life and death of Joy Division’s Ian Curtis with hypnotising images. „The American“, „A Most Wanted Man“ starring Philipp Seymour Hoffman and most recently „Life“ – the story about the relationship between a photographer and James Dean – were to follow. To mark Anton Corbijn’s 60th birthday, C/O Berlin is presenting a retrospective of his oeuvre encompassing around 500 photographs, with some films, and other materials. Hollands Deep portrays his artistic development and reflects the extraordinary diversity of his themes and techniques – from his early b/w iconic photographs to his personal projects and conceptual series. 1-2-3-4 is a celebration of Anton Corbijn’s unique position within the music world and is showing many images for the first time. The exhibition opens this Friday at 7pm at Amerika Haus. Besides Corbijn himself, some of his famous companions will be present, too. Live music will be provided by RY X. On Saturday, an artist lecture will be held at Delphi Filmpalast. Let the games begin.

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