Marco Grob has done it. His photographs have appeared in Vogue and Time, Scarlett Johansson has his phone number and he is on a first-name basis with the Clintons. On 13. He will be giving a talk at Photo12 on January 1, and FACES is giving away 2 x 2 tickets.
His portraits are gritty, honest, pure reality, not photoshopped flawless images. Marco Grob is the genius who manages to make even Donald Trump look like a shy deer. For once, the champion is not from Los Angeles or the Big Apple, but from tranquil Olten. There he learned to be a mechanical draughtsman after a photographer – this dilettante – certified that he had “zero talent”. No reason for Grob to wave the white flag, he quickly taught himself the trade. Today he lives in New York and shoots world stars such as Colin Firth, George Clooney, Steve JobsLady Gaga, Obama, Bush and the Clintons. “For me, these jobs are still surreal, I watch what I do with amazement,” says the self-taught photographer. His goal: to portray celebrities, take a good photo, document. Marco Grob elicits the story of his subject, captures their personality and puts their soul on photographic paper. It’s practically a matter of course to have lunch with a top-class actor like Michael Douglas after the shoot. For three hours. So that Marco Grob knows when he wakes up the next day that such encounters are not just the stuff of fairytale dreams, he has his models scribble in his guest book. “Thanks Marco”, says George Clooney, for example. Who else would Grob like to photograph? “Queen Elizabeth“. Well then.
On Friday 13. Marco Grob will be talking about his career and giving young photographers tips for a good portfolio at the Photo12 photography trade fair on January 1. In addition, on 15. In January, he presented his new book “Hundert”, for which he brought just as many Swiss personalities in front of his lens. FACES is giving away 2 x 2 tickets for Friday, you can take part on the next page. The closing date for entries is Thursday, 12. January 2012.
The exhibition takes place from 13. – 17. January at the Maag Areal. Swiss photographers exhibit their work, and international photo aces such as Juergen Teller and Brigitte Lacombe talk about life behind the camera in interesting interviews.