An analysis of the photo sessions in
which Marilyn Monroe as model portrays
the image of silent screen stars Clara
Bow, Lillian Russell, Theda Bara, as
well as actresses Marlene Dietrich and
Jean Harlow. She also portrays her own
image. Also included are a photo of her
husband the intellectual playwright
Arthur Miller, as well as photos used
in the publicity of her film " Some
Like it Hot" . A limited number of photos which created an image. In the
Theda Bara photo session she portrays
her as Egyptian queen Cleopatra. Marlene Dietrich is portrayed in the
role of Lola in the 1929 film THE BLUE
ANGEL. Concerning the Jean Harlow image,
I think she chose the role of Kitty in the
movie DINNER AT EIGHT. Marilyn not only
captured the stars in their respective
roles, but was able to convey the essence
of their personality. Marilyn may well have
been the most original american movie star
of the 1950s.
The photos were published in the LIFE magazine issue of December 22nd, 1958.
Included with the photos was an essay
by Arthur Miller entitled "My wife Marilyn"
It had been a difficult year for Marilyn
with the filming of SOME LIKE IT HOT,
a miscarriage, and the Avedon photo session.
The photos with the black dress, including the very sad photo, was taken on May 6, 1957. The "sad photo" was made public only after her death. Marilyn paid tribute to those Hollywood legends, perhaps not realizing that she herself would become a legend. songs: I wanna be loved by you The Sheik of
Araby Tico Tico "RICHARD AVEDON (1923--2004) "There was no such person as Marilyn Monroe ... [She was] invented, like an author creates a character." T oday, we all know the backstory: Tragic, beautiful Marilyn, doomed by a swirl of drugs and bad men and her wrecked sense of self. But precisely
50 years ago, at Richard Avedon's studio on Madison Avenue, she could still step into the breathy-blonde persona. "For hours she danced and sang and flirted and did this thing that's—she did Marilyn Monroe," Avedon said later, adding that the white wine helped things along. "Then there was the ine
vitable drop ... she sat in the corner like a child, with everything gone." And he clicked his shutter once more. "I wouldn't photograph her without her knowledge of it. And as I came with the camera, I saw that she was not saying no." The resultant final frame is among the most famous portraits eve
r made—one that is, as the photographer Vik Muniz neatly put it, "a picture of Norma Jean, not Marilyn." It contains what Roland Barthes, praising Avedon, called "the evidence that, within the image, there is always something else."....Even her reflections, a half-century on, have power." ""She g
ave more to the still camera than any actress, any woman I've ever photographed, infinitely more patient, more demanding of herself and more comfortable in front of the camera than away from it." - Richard Avedon" "In the Fall of 1958, Marilyn posed for the photographer, Richard Avedon, in a series
of interpretations of the great sex symbols of the 21st century: Lillian Russell, Theda Bara, Clara Bow, Jean Harlow and Marlene Dietrich. Some of these photos were published exclusively by Life magazine. Miller wote an introduction to the article entitled, My wife, Marilyn. Many have criticized Mi
ller for the contents of this article. Regardless of what Miller said or thinks, these pictures speak for themselves." "Marilyn as Theda Bara Marilyn wanted the role of Cleopatra in the infamous movie with Elizabeth Taylor and Richard Burton. When Avedon was doing these character photos, Marilyn w
as hoping someone would see the "Cleopatra" in her. Had Marilyn been chosen for this role, the movie would have been less expensive and scandalous." "In Marilyn Monroe, Avedon found a virtuoso of theatrical self-impersonation and with her pursued the mysterious point of convergence between actor an
d character, between the private self and the public role. "There was no such person as Marilyn Monroe," he explained in an interview with the filmmaker, Helen Whitney. "Marilyn Monroe was someone Marilyn Monroe invented, like an author creates a character." Recalling a session that took place at hi
s studio on a May evening in 1957, he continued: "For hours she danced and sang and flirted and did this thing that's—she did Marilyn Monroe. And then there was the inevitable drop. And when the night was over and the white wine was over and the dancing was over, she sat in the corner like a child
, with everything gone. I saw her sitting quietly without expression on her face, and I walked towards her but I wouldn't photograph her without her knowledge of it. And as I came with the camera, I saw that she was not saying no." "Are all portraits lies? It is interesting to think about, although
much too deep (what is the truth of a person?) and general to ever actually resolve. Celebrity portraiture, I'd tend to agree, though what do I know? Not celebrities, that's for sure. Then, the next picture that popped into my head was this one, of Marilyn Monroe, by Richard Avedon, from The Metrop
olitan Museum of Art: Richard Avedon And the story behind it goes: "There was no such person as Marilyn Monroe. Marilyn Monroe was an invention of hers. A genius invention that she created, like an author creates a character. So when Marilyn Monroe put on a sequin dress and danced in the studi
o- I mean for hours she danced and sang and flirted, and did this thing. There was no describing what she did, she did Marilyn Monroe... And then there was the inevitable drop because she was someone who went very high up and very way down. And when night was over, she sat in a corner like a child w
ith everything gone. But I wouldn't photograph her without her knowledge of it. And as I came with the camera, I saw that she was not saying no." Then, I thought: Nowadays, you know who probably would be saying no? Her publicists. There would be an army of them, tackling Richard Avedon, all with a
vested interest in keeping "Marilyn Monroe" being seen as "Marilyn Monroe". Thankfully that didn't happen, because this is definitely my favorite out of all the pictures of Marilyn Monroe. I love everything about it: her expression, her posture; down to every little detail from the sad glimmer of th
e sequins on her dress to the flyaway hair at the very top of her head. Then, still thinking: I'm so glad I work with... what are they called? Real people? Non-celebrities? I am interested in people who idolize celebrities, and recently art directed a shoot, exploring the concepts of privacy, surve
illance, and travel using the visual language that millions of people see their photos everyday, paparazzi shots: Essay from the exhibition publication, Richard Avedon: Portraits (Harry N. Abrams, New York, 2002)"" "Richard Avedon réalisa notamment la célèbre séance "Fabled Enchantresses", où
Marilyn apparait transformée en Marlène Dietrich, Jean Harlow, Clara Bow et autres stars, pour le magazine Life en 1958. Marilyn s'amusa follement lors de cette séance, et elle fut un des meilleurs moments de sa carrière. Avedon était subjugé par sa performance en matière de métamorphose.
"Elle donnait plus à l'objectif que toute autre actrice que j'ai eu l'occasion de photographier. Plus patiente, plus exigeante avec elle-même, et plus à l'aise dans le travail que lors des pauses."" "Uno dei suoi servizi più celebri apparve in Italia su dell'8 marzo del 1959. Era intitolato: Ma
rilyn fa rivivere le grandi incantatrici. Ed era presentato da un lungo testo di Arthur Miller. Richard, aveva scattato una straordinaria serie di fotografie a colori e in bianco e nero di Marilyn Monroe, truccata e vestita da Lillian Russel, Marlene Dietrich, Theda Bara, Clara Bow e Jean Harlow. Ne
era uscito un fotoservizio davvero straordinario." "Richard Avedon was born in New York on May 15, 1923 of Russian-Jewish immigrant parents. He attended Dewitt Clinton high school in the bronx, but never completed an academic education." Some Like It Hot (Billy Wilder) Marilyn Monroe as Sugar Ka
ne Kowalczyk. The song sHe sings I WANNA BE LOVED BY YOU is the theme song of 1920s cartoon Character BETTY BOOP, even added the "boop-puh-pih- du" at the end of the song. The Clara Bow photos done by Marilyn in 1958 capture the happy spirit of BETTY BOOP.

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