tech
‘What if I come out with nothing on?’ Marilyn Monroe and the defiance of her final photoshoot
For the star’s 100th anniversary, Lawrence Schiller relives the nude photoshoot that showed, far from being a ‘messy’ blond bombshell, Monroe was a shrewd controller of her image
TL;DR
- Marilyn Monroe actively directed and vetoed images during her photoshoots, demonstrating control over her own image.
- Photographer Lawrence Schiller recalls Monroe cutting up film negatives she disapproved of, showing her critical eye.
- The National Portrait Gallery exhibition highlights Monroe as an active architect of her image, countering the 'messy blond bombshell' myth.
- Monroe's actions, like jumping into a pool for better lighting or posing suggestively, show her directing the photography.
- Despite personal turmoil, Monroe sought to reclaim herself through photography, aiming for global magazine covers to rival Elizabeth Taylor.
- Monroe viewed still photography as a way to 'write the script as it went along,' exercising control not possible in film.
- While she controlled still photography, her film career was unstable, leading to her firing and a lawsuit from Twentieth Century Fox.
- Schiller describes Monroe as fragile and elusive, like a deer in the woods, capturing her before tragedy struck.
- Monroe's death was followed by intense media attention and her body being removed from her home.
- Schiller continues to feel Monroe's presence, indicating her lasting impact.