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Jill Furmanovsky

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Jill Furmanovsky
Born1953 (age 70–71)
Southern Rhodesia
NationalityBritish
Alma materCentral Saint Martins
Known forPhotography

Jill Furmanovsky (born 1953) is a British photographer who has specialised in documenting rock musicians.

Life and work

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Born in Southern Rhodesia, Furmanovsky emigrated with her parents - her father subsequently worked at an architecture practice[1] - and brother Michael to London in 1965.[2] She studied textile and graphic design at Central Saint Martins College of Art and Design from 1972 to 1974. In 1972, she became the official photographer at the Rainbow Theatre, a significant venue for rock performances in the 1970s.[3]

Furmanovsky has photographed many major rock musicians, including Bob Dylan, Led Zeppelin, Pink Floyd (a young Roger Waters had briefly been a colleague of her father[1]), Mike Oldfield, The Ramones, Bob Marley, Amy Winehouse, Eric Clapton, Blondie, The Police, The Clash, The Undertones, The Sex Pistols, The Pretenders and Oasis. Her book, The Moment – 25 Years of Rock Photography was published in 1995, and an exhibition of Oasis photographs, Was There Then, toured the UK and Ireland in 1997. The exhibition was followed by publication of the book Was There Then – A Photographic Journey with Oasis.[4]

Photograph of Charlie Watts

Furmanovsky has received several awards for her music photography, including 'The Jane Bown Observer Portrait Award' for her portrait of Charlie Watts in 1992.[3] Following in the lead of the photographic co-operative Magnum Photos, Furmanovsky established a website, rockarchive.com, in 1998. The aim was to make the work of Furmanovsky and photographic colleagues and visual artists more accessible to fans and collectors. To launch the project, Furmanovsky selected 30 classic black and white images of major rock artists from her 30-year archive, to make into an edition of 30 darkroom prints.[3][5]

Exhibitions

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Chunk of Punk opened at the Barbican Music Library in April 2016 [6] to celebrate 40 years of punk putting together an exhibition combining the visceral anarchy of her favorite and many never before seen photographs with a selection of memorabilia, album artwork, and clippings. The show included shots of the Sex Pistols, Generation X, The Slits, Undertones, Debbie Harry, Joe Strummer, Paul Weller or The Ramones.

In April 2023 Furmanovsky presented Photographing the Invisible: 50 Years of Rock Photography at Manchester Central Library[7] [8] [9] an exhibition about her half-century career photographing the world’s biggest artists and bands. Noel Gallagher, who helped curate the show, said: "She's the best". By December Proud Galleries[10], hosted Jill Furmanovsky: No Music, No Life an exhibition that exuded Jill’s passion for music and her superb ability to capture its soul. The exhibition showcased some of the most celebrated shots from her extensive archive including images of Amy Winehouse, Pink Floyd, Joy Division, Miles Davis, Leonard Cohen, her award-winning portrait of Charlie Watts, and a whole area of the gallery was dedicated to her unique and intimate collection of Oasis photographs that reflect her close relationship with the band.

In Japan and coordinated by Sony Music Japan team, two exhibitions highlighted her key role on Oasis legend and imagery. Roppongi Museum celebrated the 30th anniversary of Oasis debut with the special show Live Forever consisting of rare memorabilia from the archives of the band's management including Furmanovsky's amazing photographs[11]. At the same time, New Gallery presented Oasis Origin + Reconstruction, a collaboration between the photographer and artist Kosuke Kawamura[12] .

Street Level Photoworks presented REBELS & RENEGADES in Glasgow, a two-part exhibition featuring the amazing work of Jill Furmanovsky and Sheila Rock, two pioneering women photographers who captured the zeitgeist of punk and the post-punk unfolding in music and style[13].

Awards

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Jill Furmanovsky was honored with three awards in 2024: Amateur Photography Magazine gave her a Lifetime Achievement Award[14]; So.Co crowned her Legend of the Year for her contribution to music photography[15] , and in October she was awarded with the prestigious Abbey Road ICON Award that celebrates her long-standing connection with Abbey Road Studios. Noel Gallagher, primary songwriter, lead guitarist and a co-lead vocalist of the rock band Oasis, gave her the Award[16]

Throughout her career, Furmanovsky has captured some of Abbey Road's most iconic moments, including Pink Floyd’s ‘Wish You Were Here’ recording session (1975) and Oasis recording ‘Be Here Now’ (1997), and years later became the studio’s first-ever Photographer in Residence (2017–2018). She then joined the judging panel for the inaugural MPAs in 2022 [17] continuing her mission of encouraging and inspiring new generations of music photographers.

Books

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  • The Moment: 25 Years of Rock Photography, 1995, London, Paper Tiger, ISBN 978-1850281498
  • Was There Then Oasis. A Photographic Journey, 1997, London, Ebury Press, ISBN 978-0091863180

Footnotes

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  1. ^ a b Shepherd, Harriet (13 April 2023). "'I had a reckless feeling of destiny': photographer Jill Furmanvsky on Blondie, Bob Marley and rock's boys' club". The Guardian. Retrieved 15 April 2023.
  2. ^ "Jill Furmanovsky". Analogue Gallery. Archived from the original on 3 July 2022. Retrieved 26 January 2023.
  3. ^ a b c Watts, Halina (14 May 2015). "Photographer who snapped icons Oasis, Bob Dylan and Amy Winehouse opens up her archive". Daily Mirror. Retrieved 5 May 2016.
  4. ^ Was, There, Then: Oasis Photo Tour, Ebury Press, 1997, ISBN 978-0091863180
  5. ^ "Rock Archive, About Us". Rock Archive. Retrieved 5 May 2016.
  6. ^ Kawalik, Tracy (17 March 2017). "The First Lady of Punk Photography Looks Back on Years of Beer, Piss, and Spit". Vice. Retrieved 22 November 2024.
  7. ^ Adamson, David (18 April 2023). "David Adamson meets legendary music photographer, Jill Furmanovsky, about her Central Library exhibition and grabs an autograph". Confidentials. Retrieved 22 November 2024.
  8. ^ "Jill Furmanovsky's rock photography exhibition to open at library". BBC. 25 March 2023. Retrieved 22 November 2024.
  9. ^ "Interview: MPB Meets Iconic Music Photographer Jill Furmanovsky". MBP. 25 June 2024. Retrieved 22 November 2024.
  10. ^ "Jill Furmanovsky". Proud Galleries. 9 December 2023. Retrieved 22 November 2024.
  11. ^ "Oasis Live Forever". Roppongi Museum. 1 November 2024. Retrieved 11 November 2024.
  12. ^ "Oasis Origin Reconstruction". New Gallery. 31 October 2024. Retrieved 11 November 2024.
  13. ^ "Rebels&Renegades". Street Level Photoworks. 16 November 2024. Retrieved 22 November 2024.
  14. ^ Harris, Geoff (6 March 2024). "Rock of ages – exclusive Jill Furmanovsky interview". Amateur Photographer. Retrieved 22 November 2024.
  15. ^ Lambert, Guy (22 March 2024). "Jill Furmanovsky: 'I couldn't photograph The Beatles - but I captured Oasis'". BBC. Retrieved 22 November 2024.
  16. ^ Peplow, Gemma (4 October 2024). "Noel Gallagher surprises 'dear friend' Jill Furmanovsky with icon prize at Abbey Road Music Photography Awards". BBC. Retrieved 22 November 2024.
  17. ^ "Meet the Judges: Jill Furmanovsky. Abbey Road Studios Music Photography Awards 2022". Abbey Road. 26 February 2022. Retrieved 22 November 2024.
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