New York

Τα φωτογραφικά άλμπουμ του William Klein περιλαμβάνουν σειρές ακατέργαστων, θολών φωτογραφιών για την αστική ζωή γεμάτες ενέργειες και κίνηση που έδειχναν ελάχιστο ενδιαφέρον για την παραδοσιακή φωτογραφική σύνθεση. Οι κυρίως ασπρόμαυρες λήψεις του παίζουν με μη κεντρικά θέματα και ενισχύουν την αντίθεση. Με εντελώς αυτοσχεδιαστικές μεθόδους λήψεις, κύριος στόχος του ήταν να γίνει ο θεατής ενεργός συμμετέχων στη σκήνη, γι’ αυτό επεσήμαινε: «Αλληλεπιδράστε με τους ανθρώπους, ακούστε τις συνομιλίες τους, και κατά κανόνα να είστε αρκετά κοντά για να δείτε τα χρώματα των ματιών τους».

William Klein was born in 1926 in Manhattan, New York. He came into contact with art from a young age, as he frequently visited the city's art museums. He enlisted in the U.S. Army and found himself in Europe during World War II. He was transferred to Germany and later to France, where he settled after his service. He studied painting at the Sorbonne and later with Fernand Léger.

His early artworks were in painting and sculpture, but he eventually turned to photography when he won his first camera in a poker game. He began capturing unposed street scenes and everyday life, which was a departure from the traditional rules of academic photography. These efforts caught the attention of Vogue's artistic director, Alexander Lieberman, who commissioned him to dress fashion editorials with his photographs. Klein challenged the prevailing trend of stylized studio shots and started photographing models on the street, amidst crowds and taxis, creating almost surreal scenes.
Furthermore, he created a series of books that are photographic city albums, featuring dreamlike images of city life with blurred faces amidst bustling crowds. He published books on New York, Rome, Moscow, and Tokyo. Besides photography, he also delved into filmmaking, directing 27 documentaries and both short and feature films. He exhibited his work in numerous exhibitions and received several prestigious awards, such as the Century Medal from the Royal Photographic Society in London in 1999 and the Infinity Award for Lifetime Achievement from the International Center of Photography in 2007. He passed away in Paris in 2022.