Modern myths have been constructed by the image. That of the eternal feminine through that of a girl propelled goddess in Hollywood and baptized Marilyn.
While there are many documentaries, press articles and books on the life and films of Marilyn Monroe, the relationship to the image of one of the most photographed stars has paradoxically never been staged. This is the focus of this exhibition, bringing together some sixty photographic prints (largely from private collections) and numerous multimedia materials. From the first spontaneous and unadorned photographs of André de Dienes who discovers the beauty of the young Norman Jean Baker and tries to capture it on a beach in California, to the glamorous and sophisticated clichés of that which became Marilyn by the most Great American photographers, one discovers the fascinating relationship of the young woman with the image.
It is with the photographers (who make him choose the photos on contact sheet) more than with the journalists or the directors of Hollywood that she will build relationships of trust. Until this last session realized in 1962 with Bert Stern for the Vogue where she revealed entirely herself, literally and figuratively.
(EF)
