History with its flickering lamp stumbles along the trail of the past, trying to reconstruct its scenes, to revive its echoes, and kindle with pale gleams the passion of former days. ~Winston Churchill

31 October, 2013

The Photographer's Cat

Gjon Mili is one of my favourite photographers, and I've shared photographs of his on many occasions (A general selection, stroboscopic photographs, filming of West Side Story, and 1940s nightlife in Paris). He did a lot of shooting in his own studio where he could control the lighting, of which he was a master. 

Also at his studio was his gorgeous black cat, Blackie. Blackie, it seems, never hesitated to make friends with Mili's sitters, and Mili in turn didn't hesitate to use Blackie in his shots. He also used Blackie as a sitter himself, resulting in the kind of gorgeously lit black-on-black shots only Mili could create. 


Gjon Mili, LIFE © Time Inc.

Blackie and nightclub entertainer Maune de Revel, 1946. Source




Gjon Mili, LIFE © Time Inc.

Blackie joining a model in a bridal fashion shoot, 1945. Source




Gjon Mili, LIFE © Time Inc.

Blackie sitting on a piano as opera star Jennie Tourel plays and sings, 1952. Source





Gjon Mili, LIFE © Time Inc.

Blackie regarding a portrait of himself made by artist Saul Steinberg during a session at Mili's studio, 1947. Source




Gjon Mili, LIFE © Time Inc.

Blackie and Betty Smith, author of A Tree Grows in Brooklyn, 1945. Source




Gjon Mili, LIFE © Time Inc.

Blackie attacking the foot of a young acrobat, 1943. Source




Gjon Mili, LIFE © Time Inc.

Blackie plays with the feathers on the hat of dancer Katherine Dunham, 1943. Source




Gjon Mili, LIFE © Time Inc.

Blackie sitting on a table being held in a man's teeth, 1943. Source




Gjon Mili, LIFE © Time Inc.

Blackie walking amongst the cups and plates left over from an all-night jam session at the studio, 1943. Source




Gjon Mili, LIFE © Time Inc.

A leap. 1943. Source




Gjon Mili, LIFE © Time Inc.

1943. Source




Gjon Mili, LIFE © Time Inc.

A grumpy cat. 1943. Source




Gjon Mili, LIFE © Time Inc.

Blackie playing with a toy mouse, 1943. (The following photographs are also all from 1943).  Source




Gjon Mili, LIFE © Time Inc.





Gjon Mili, LIFE © Time Inc.





Gjon Mili, LIFE © Time Inc.




Gjon Mili, LIFE © Time Inc.





Gjon Mili, LIFE © Time Inc.



1 comment:

K.E. Skedgell said...

Blackie sure was a photogenic sir.

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