I
posted a Blog about MM for the "La Diva Marilyn Monroe" group as well
as here on my Blog page, on the 22nd of March. Before that I hadn't
thought about her for quite some time. But since then I have been
thinking of her often. None of the thoughts are new. What more can one
say about MM that hasn't been said, written about, shown on films and
TV programmes and documentaries thousands of times already?
She
and Elvis Presley gave the most illustrative definition of the word
immortality. I love Elvis mainly for his music and songs; maybe not
even so much the songs but the unique way he sang them. A revolutionary
style at the time, all his own, creating the still live and well Rock
& Roll. But MM, I just adore her, even with all her defects. There
have been hundreds of other women more beautiful, more talented, with
shapelier figures, amazing personality ... and many have contributed to
even more memorable film works, but MM was more than unique, precisely
for the many defects she had, the mistakes she made, the
vulnerability, the innocence mixed with a certain wickedness, the
child-woman, perfect because she was imperfect.
I
picked up the book " The Last Sitting " by Bert Stern again last
night, one of those nights when sleep seemed impossible, so I gave up
trying and flipped through the pages, which now showing signs of the
years it had been sitting amongst other books, also neglected for
longer than I could remember. I
read this page written by the author/photographer of the book,
describing a sitting where he intended to take a very special head shot
of MM, being extremely sexy without showing any curves. I like to
share this with some of you who might not have come across it before
.... And remember, it was in the 80's. Taking a picture then was not as
simple and easy as it is today.
Extract from "The Last Sitting"
"
....A lot of pictures I take are not the real picture. They're the
picture before the picture, the picture leading up to the picture ....
and then I get the picture. I see it through the lens as I am shooting
and I know it's the one. Exactly how I see it depends on the camera. On
the Nikon and the HasselblaId you are looking right through the
lens, so the shutter goes black when the actual picture is taken. On
those cameras I don't see the picture itself. I keep shooting right up
to that instant when I feel, I know, it's about to happen. Then I pushed
the button and on that black space I project the picture. The
Rolleiflex
doesn't
do that, because it has a twin lens. But then you don't see the
picture either, because you are seeing through the upper lens, and the
angle is slightly different.
Either
way you never see the picture you are taking. At that perfect moment
you just have to close your eyes and jump. And when that moment comes,
it's a zillionth of a second. It will never be repeated again. It could
take all eternity to get it back. You have to grab it.
Looking
down on Marilyn, I could see it happening. I was entering that space
where everything is silent but the clicking of the strobes. She was
tossing her head, laughing, and her arm was up, like waving good-bye.
I saw what I wanted, I pressed the button, and she was mine. "
Bert Stein, the photographer who took a series of the most sensuous pictures of Marilyn Monroe in a room of a hotel
in 1962, just days before she died. Those photos were later put in his
book, 'The Last Sitting', published with his very personal thoughts and
comments. He has just presented his demand to claim his right and
recognition of his work. 
He
sold the pictures to the magazine 'Eros', but the originals had never
been returned. According to his demand presented on Wednesday to the
Tribunal High Court in the state of New York, he never knew the images
were lost, until three individuals intended to register / patent the
rights of these. 
Now
he is claiming an indemnification or compensation of 700,000 €. As
these last photos of Marilyn Monroe are amongst the most famous and
sought after of the much imitated but never equalled actress. 
amused
