STARCHIVES
Jodie Foster
Articles - American Photo 1995
March 1, 1995
by Sudie Redmond


JODIE FOSTER
Actress/Filmmaker

Jodie Foster fell for her first photograph in 1988. The image, by Eastern European photographer Karel Hajek, showed the hands of a laborer, "marked by work and time but still so beautiful and delicate," Foster says. Since that purchase, her growing passion for photography has led her to acquire works by Mario Giacomelli, Mary Ellen Mark, Max Yavno, and Alfred Cheney Johnston. "I like the idea that photography captures a moment that can never be repeated again," Foster says. "Just one ephemeral piece of a life that gets to live and breathe forever."

The word "collecting," however, doesn't appeal to Foster. "If feels too removed," she explains, "like a financial relationship. I only own what I love, which tends to be anything that has a strong emotional connection." One such piece is Giacomelli's "Scanno," which Foster bought from the James Danziger Gallery in New York. "I love the way the camera makes a distinct emotional choice, choosing to focus on something you might have dismissed," she says. "Giacomelli makes this small boy the center of his universe. Of course, in the process the boy feels totally cut off from the people and places around him."

Another prize of her collection is Yavno's "Mother and Child." Foster saw the image in 1991 at the Kesner Gallery in Los Angeles. It was made in 1981 shortly before Yavno's death; only three prints of the image exist. Foster wanted the photograph but was disappointed in her quest: The piece had already been sold.

But Kesner told Foster she'd see what she could do, then got in touch with another collector who had bought one of the rare prints years earlier; he was willing to sell, and Kesner struck a deal. In the end, however, the gallery sold the piece not to Jodie but to her mother, Brandy Foster, who presented it to her daughter when she was nominated for an Oscar as Best Actress for The Silence of the Lambs.

On her wish list for the future, if she could have any photograph in the world, Jodie Foster says she would choose "Satyric Dancer" by Andre Kertesz. "Wouldn't everyone?"

Starchives - Jodie Foster - Articles - American Photo 1995
STARCHIVES
   HOME  BIO  FILMS  IMAGES  DOWNLOADS  BOOKS  MUSIC  VIDEO  AUDIO  NEWS  LINKS  STORE 
Join FriendFinder - Largest Premium Personals Site!