George Holz Hollywood – Hollywood portraits – words Alan Woods
Meet a photographer who has had a remarkable life and career. Imagine shooting up close and personal some of the greats of film and music? His images are known the world over for capturing the unique personality of his subjects. George Holz creates Hollywood portraits that are super slick and stylish; way beyond your usual celebrity snaps. He’s proved himself to be one of the world’s greatest portrait photographers. You can see the inner soul of the real person shining straight back at you.
A graduate of the Art Center College of Design, George Holz fashion editorials have appeared in Harper’s Bazaar, Vogue Italia and Vanity Fair. He has shot countless advertising campaigns, movie posters and album covers. His nudes have been shown in gallery and museum exhibitions around the world.
The great thing about his latest book ‘Holz Hollywood: 30 Years of Portraits’ are of course the lavishly produced shots of the famous people he’s shot over the years. Equally fascinating is the text from Holz himself. He recalls how each photograph evolved. His memories of the subject themselves are retold, and how they reacted to him on the day.
We get to see an iconic shot of a young Madonna as she was starting out on her career. We can see the bright spark in her eyes long before she became a worldwide star. We also get a glimpse into the world of the brilliant Kevin Spacey. Holz got to photograph Spacey on the release of the great but controversial American Beauty. It’s a great book to ponder over and get to know more about the shot and the subject themselves. Other subjects include Angelina Jolie, Jack Nicholson, Cameron Diaz, Mariah Carey, Brad Pitt, Sigourney Weaver and Antonio Banderas. Some of the most fascinating photos are the pictures of celebrities without makeup.
Then there’s that super enigmatic shot of Dennis Hopper on the cover. Holz Hollywood portraits book gets across the intensity and energy of these well know subjects in a series of fascinating Hollywood portraits that fizz off the page.
