Anton Corbijn Quotes

Powerful Anton Corbijn for Daily Growth

About Anton Corbijn

Anton Corbijn (born August 20, 1955) is a renowned Dutch photographer, film director, and musician, best known for his striking black-and-white portraits of musicians, particularly those associated with the alternative rock scene. Born in Strijen, Netherlands, Corbijn grew up in a small village where there was little cultural stimulus. His creative spirit emerged through self-taught photography and painting. In 1979, he moved to London, seeking inspiration from the burgeoning punk scene. This move proved pivotal as it provided him with his first opportunities to photograph bands like Joy Division, Siouxsie and the Banshees, and The Cure. The tragic death of Ian Curtis, lead singer of Joy Division, deeply affected Corbijn, influencing his dark, evocative style. This emotional connection to music would continue to permeate his work throughout his career. In 1986, Corbijn shot his first cover for The Face magazine featuring U2. This marked the beginning of a long-standing collaboration with the Irish band. His iconic images graced numerous album covers, including U2's Achtung Baby (1991) and Rattle and Hum (1988), solidifying his reputation as a master in music photography. Corbijn expanded into film directing in the late 1990s with the music videos for Depeche Mode's "Enjoy the Silence" and U2's "Mysterious Ways." His first feature-length film, Control (2007), a biopic of Joy Division's Ian Curtis, won critical acclaim. Throughout his career, Anton Corbijn has captured the essence of music in striking images, establishing himself as one of the most influential figures in contemporary photography and music video production. His work continues to inspire generations of artists and photographers alike.

Interpretations of Popular Quotes

"I like the idea of the mystery that surrounds the image after it's been made."

This quote by Anton Corbijn emphasizes the enduring allure of an image, long after its creation. It highlights the intrigue that envelops a photograph once detached from its immediate context or backstory. The mystery serves to engage viewers' imaginations, inviting them to create their own narratives and interpretations about the subject matter. This element of uncertainty can foster a deeper emotional connection between the audience and the image.

"There is something more interesting about an unanswered question than an answer."

This quote by Anton Corbijn highlights the value of mystery, intrigue, and exploration that comes with questions, rather than the finality and potential constraints of answers. It suggests that the process of questioning and seeking understanding can be more enriching than simply receiving an answer, as it stimulates curiosity, critical thinking, and personal growth.

"If you want to see a different perspective on things, you have to keep changing your angle."

This quote by Anton Corbijn underscores the importance of adopting diverse viewpoints to gain a deeper understanding of the world around us. By continually shifting our perspective – metaphorically, 'changing our angle' – we can break free from traditional or limited ways of seeing things and reveal new insights and meanings. This is especially relevant in creative fields, where fresh perspectives often lead to groundbreaking ideas and art, but it applies universally, encouraging us to be open-minded, curious, and adaptable in all aspects of life.

"I think every portrait I make is a self-portrait in some way."

This quote suggests that, for photographer Anton Corbijn, each photograph he takes of someone else (a portrait) reflects aspects of himself as well. It implies that the creative process, personal biases, and emotional state of the photographer can significantly impact the final image, imbuing it with their unique perspective. In essence, every portrait serves as a mirror, reflecting both the subject and the artist.

"A good photograph is one that communicates a idea (that) not only moves me but stays with me."

This quote by Anton Corbijn emphasizes the importance of impact and longevity in photography. A great photograph should convey an idea or emotion that resonates deeply, stirring emotions within the viewer. It's not just about capturing a moment; it's about evoking feelings and thoughts that linger beyond the initial viewing. The power of a good photograph lies in its ability to communicate ideas in such a way that they remain etched in our minds.

I've gotten used to not looking too far into the future; it's best when you can begin each day anew.

- Anton Corbijn

Best, Used, Gotten, Anew

I think Amsterdam is to Holland what New York is to America in a sense. It's a metropolis, so it's representative of Holland, but only a part of it - you know, it's more extreme, there's more happening, it's more liberal and more daring than the countryside in Holland is.

- Anton Corbijn

America, I Think, Part, Metropolis

I have such a love of good music that I find even melancholic music uplifting. Maybe I'm a rare breed.

- Anton Corbijn

Love, Good, Maybe, Breed

There's only one music video that had an emotional impact on me, and that's 'Hurt' by Johnny Cash. That's exceptional. There is no music video I can think of apart from that one that really reaches you inside.

- Anton Corbijn

Inside, Had, Video, Johnny

In 1979, I moved to England and photographed Joy Division and Bowie and Beefheart. At that time I got images that I felt had that special, well - power is a big word to say - more like intimacy and ambition that outlasted the photo shoot. I felt that they would have a longer life.

- Anton Corbijn

Big, Had, Moved, Joy Division

My first pictures are from 1972, and my first proper camera dates back to 1973. During the first year I used my father's camera. It had a flash on it, which I don't like, but I didn't know anything about photography back then, so it was just what I did.

- Anton Corbijn

Father, Year, About, Flash

I have never understood models. I find it really hard to find beauty in that or to discover beauty because the beauty was so obvious.

- Anton Corbijn

Never, Discover, Models, Understood

The only advantage of the CD is that you have a booklet that can tell a bit of a story, but the little covers are just boring. I love vinyl, and I have loads of it. It's the same thing as digital photography versus film photography. It's a quality thing.

- Anton Corbijn

Love, Tell, Same Thing, Versus

My photography changed from being more documentary-like to arranging things more, and that came into being partly because I started doing music videos, and I incorporated some things from the music videos into my photography again, by arranging things more.

- Anton Corbijn

Doing, More, Some, Arranging

I think if you don't feel passionate about the first movie you're doing, in the end the project will lack something because you don't have enough experience to make the movie something special.

- Anton Corbijn

Doing, Think, I Think, Something Special

For many years I wanted to do a film, but I never had the courage to clear my desk and say, 'OK I'll take a year off and do a film.'

- Anton Corbijn

Year, Clear, Had, OK

If you're an artist, it's OK to put your money into your art. The advantage, in hindsight, is that you become the film, and the film becomes you; you breathe it.

- Anton Corbijn

Art, Artist, Advantage, OK

A lot of scripts that I was given I didn't feel were right for me, because I didn't feel anything for them - I didn't feel like I was going to change in life and start directing.

- Anton Corbijn

Like, Going, Given, Scripts

Mandela is just the eternal man. You want that man to be around forever. It's the closest thing we have to God, I think. He's the father of mankind, almost.

- Anton Corbijn

Think, Mankind, I Think, Mandela

Film was something that I didn't see as a step up from music videos, though obviously, music videos, the fact that you work with a crew and a film camera, are the closest to film I've ever been. That is the only schooling I've ever had.

- Anton Corbijn

Fact, Videos, Been, Closest

I never really enjoyed getting a portfolio together then sending it out; whereas, putting up the website is quite an enjoyable experience. The net's just a much faster and more modern way to distribute things, and you have to embrace it.

- Anton Corbijn

Experience, Out, Putting, Whereas

I photograph artists, and some of them are very well known, but if you ask the average man on the street, 'Do you like Anselm Kiefer?' He would stare at you with a blank stare, because these are not celebrities. They are celebrated in a specific circle.

- Anton Corbijn

Average, Some, Very, Celebrated

Once you make decisions, you can't go back, but in photography, that process can continue. With film, you have to eliminate all the possibilities and make the one possibility work the best for you, so you have to become very creative with the direction you've chosen.

- Anton Corbijn

Process, Possibilities, Very, Possibility

When I was younger, I'd buy a vinyl album, take it home and live with it, and I think that attachment's largely gone for the file-sharing generation.

- Anton Corbijn

Generation, Think, I Think, Vinyl

I'm not totally blind to the fact that I like people to see my work, but if it's not something I would enjoy seeing in a magazine, then I think I shouldn't be making it. I think that I don't represent only myself, I represent more people; I mean, if I like it, then I think more people will like it because I think I'm quite a normal guy.

- Anton Corbijn

Blind, Fact, I Think, Represent

I don't have lights, I don't have assistants, I just go and meet somebody and take a photograph. That's really basic, and that's how I used to work when I was 17 or 18 in Holland.

- Anton Corbijn

Work, Assistants, Holland, Lights

I had no agent, and I was getting approached by so many people that I tried to escape for a while because I couldn't believe that world. Photography is not an industry, and suddenly an industry came to me, so I sort of had to accept it in the end and get an agent.

- Anton Corbijn

Industry, Had, Agent, In The End

Apart from photography and music videos, I also do graphic design.

- Anton Corbijn

Music, Design, Videos, Apart

I don't want to knock photography, and I don't feel that film is up there but photography isn't. I think they're next to each other really, you know. There's an incredible strength to a still picture. Or there can be an incredible strength to a still picture that can outlive you. That can outlive a film.

- Anton Corbijn

Think, Next, Other, Outlive

I've always thought photography was a bit of an adventure, so to come home with the film, develop it, then look at the results has more of a sense of excitement.

- Anton Corbijn

Thought, More, Always, Excitement

I'm not educated as a filmmaker, so it's quite a jump for me.

- Anton Corbijn

Me, Educated, Quite, Filmmaker

Directing film is the hardest thing I have ever done.

- Anton Corbijn

Hardest, Ever, Hardest Thing, Directing

For me N.M.E. was a very big thing. When I first came to the United Kingdom I started taking pictures for them and I became their main photographer for five years, and that's really been the basis of everything I've been doing since.

- Anton Corbijn

Big, Very, Became, Big Thing

I am a village boy, and Amsterdam for me was always the big town.

- Anton Corbijn

I Am, Big, Always, Village

I feel a responsibility to myself, and not so much for the world at large. Because of my Calvinistic upbringing, I was trained to think that what you do has to have a purpose.

- Anton Corbijn

Think, Large, Trained, Upbringing

I only make storyboards for action scenes. Once you make a storyboard, you don't film; it can be a stiff move.

- Anton Corbijn

Film, Move, Stiff, Scenes

I love body language.

- Anton Corbijn

Love, Language, I Love, Body Language

I wanted to move away from Holland for my work because I felt that things would be better for me in England. But when I heard Joy Division's 'Unknown Pleasures', that pushed me towards making the move and making it real. I met them within 12 days of moving to England.

- Anton Corbijn

Division, Away, Would, Unknown

'Control' had to do with my own life a lot, and that's why that seemed to be a film I could be the director of, because I had an emotional attachment to the whole story. And because of that experience, I feel that I can try other films. I didn't set out to become a director.

- Anton Corbijn

Own, Why, Other, Attachment

I happen to take photographs, and they happen to be used for a lot of things, but they're not really made to order. They're paid for, but they're not made for order. I've never really done real commercial work.

- Anton Corbijn

Happen, Commercial, Made, Paid

I didn't really know how to make a film when I made 'Control'. I had to create my own language, just as I did when I started taking photographs. I never studied either one.

- Anton Corbijn

Language, Own, Had, Photographs

Generally my focus has been on people who make things, whether it's writers or directors or painters or musicians.

- Anton Corbijn

Musicians, Been, Directors, Painters

My world is much bigger than music, and that's why I always fight the 'rock' label.

- Anton Corbijn

Bigger, Why, Always, Label

It's so easy for people to stick a label on you, and then that taints everything you touch.

- Anton Corbijn

Touch, Stick, Then, Label

There are some elements of digital photography that I don't really like, such as the fact that you see the results immediately.

- Anton Corbijn

Digital, Fact, Some, Elements

I wanted to do a film for a while, but I never found a script that I felt I was going to be the right person for; because if you've never made a film, you're not taught how to make a film, and you feel like you lack skills.

- Anton Corbijn

Like, Going, Made, Script

If you make something with love and, you know, passion and you tell a real story, I think it will always find an audience somehow, you know.

- Anton Corbijn

Love, Think, Always, Real Story

There's a lot about records that you cannot feel from a CD.

- Anton Corbijn

Records, About, Lot, CD

When you make a movie, you know you're making a long-form thing, so the visuals are different than for a video where it has to be more obvious or in your face, I think, a little bit.

- Anton Corbijn

Movie, I Think, Video, Visuals

In England, I'm already labeled a rock photographer, which is a little insulting, because I'm not a rock photographer at all.

- Anton Corbijn

Rock, England, Which, Labeled

I didn't make music videos in order to make a movie. Music videos were the goal for me, so it was never a step to something else. I approached it seriously.

- Anton Corbijn

Goal, Movie, Something Else, Seriously

You always want to come back with an image that's interesting visually, and you hope to get something from the person you photograph that's different than other images you know of these people.

- Anton Corbijn

Always, Other, Image, Photograph

I don't want to continue to do what I did when I was 20. I would like to continue to develop myself and not continue to hang around with bands.

- Anton Corbijn

Want, Like, Hang, Bands

The really simple approach to photography is a great balance to making the films.

- Anton Corbijn

Balance, Making, Films, Photography

With photography, you are lucky if you get people to look at your pictures at some point. There's no formal way to show them.

- Anton Corbijn

Lucky, Some, Show, Photography

My life changed incredibly when I moved from Holland to England.

- Anton Corbijn

My Life, England, Holland, Incredibly

I do have an ego, but I acknowledge the help I get.

- Anton Corbijn

Ego, Help, Get, Acknowledge

Analog is more beautiful than digital, really, but we go for comfort.

- Anton Corbijn

Beautiful, Digital, More, Analog

I don't like fast editing.

- Anton Corbijn

Fast, Like, Editing

I'm not famous; I am simply very well-known to certain people. Famous is something different.

- Anton Corbijn

I Am, Famous, Very, Well-Known

Working with actors is something I've never done before. I find it tremendous. It's hard work.

- Anton Corbijn

Work, Done, Before, Tremendous

I've finally become an old guy.

- Anton Corbijn

Old, Guy, Old Guy, Finally

With a film, you try to keep your vision in it. I think with 'The American' and 'Control' I managed to do that.

- Anton Corbijn

Think, Keep, I Think, Vision

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