I leapt at the opportunity to photograph Björk in 2000, as I had been a fan for over a decade, going back to the Sugarcubes days. She was an artist known for making dynamic, exciting-sounding songs, but they also told rich human stories; so I was surprised when she was difficult to connect with on set. There were reasons for this that didn’t become clear for a long, long time.
Initially famous for her powerhouse voice, Björk was now renowned for her bold choices and fresh takes, redefining what Art Rock could be. In the session, I mentioned that the progression of her career reminded me of one of my favorite artists, Peter Gabriel. She looked at me with a blank expression, as to say, “I’ll pretend that I didn’t hear that.“
Nevertheless, I was thrilled to be there, and I hoped to capture even a sliver of her magic on film. We started by shooting some conceptual shots against seamless. She was promoting her starring role in celebrated Danish filmmaker Lars von Trier’s Dancer In The Dark, and Time Out magazine wanted the cover to be idea-driven and inviting.
Like always, I aimed to also do some shots that are more esoteric and personal, and looked to bring her along on that journey. As she was a great visual storyteller, I asked her what she'd like to do for a picture. She said that she’d recently moved to New York, and that she was an immigrant. She would like to make the photograph around that theme.
I wondered: we’re in an all-white studio in midtown Manhattan, and you’re wearing an odd Japanese shirt dress, and you want to be photographed as a Lower East Side-style immigrant? Any thoughts on how we get there?
My capsule write-up of the shoot from the time:
Björk had an almost singular interest in the more superficial aspects of being photographed: the colors used, the clothing worn, etc. She explained that she tries to communicate a sense of her music in photographs (because people are more sophisticated visually than aurally) in order to prepare her audience for the music itself. Driving a portrait session with fashion-shoot trappings (she wanted the fan blowing her hair all of the time, for example) seemed to camouflage more than it conveyed about her as a person, or even as an artist.
The best moments in the shoot came when she moved toward something that was sexual or vulnerable. At one point, she cupped her breasts, and at another, she pulled up her dress toward her crotch.
Indeed, the best picture came at the end of the shoot, when Björk improvized some poses on the balcony that were suggestive, but understated. And, in a visual setting that was texture upon texture, the final black-and-white image was powerful.
Over 15 years later, in the height of the #metoo moment, Björk made some statements on her Facebook page about the experience of making Dancer In The Dark. An excerpt:
i became aware of that it is a universal thing that a director can touch and harass his actresses at will and the institution of film allows it . when i turned the director down repeatedly he sulked and punished me and created for his team an impressive net of illusion where i was framed as the difficult one .
Björk has always struck me as an unusually strong and independent artist, but her work is also collaborative. Much of her evolution has come through her relationships with musicians, producers, filmmakers, and other artists. That receptiveness, and the willingness to be vulnerable that comes with it, seems fundamental to her creative process. What happened with von Trier threatened not only her personally, but also that willingness to trust and work together.
Reading Björk’s statements years later, I was impressed by how much sensitivity she actually had brought to our shoot, when she was promoting the very film that had put her in that position. In retrospect, her openness, even for a few moments, feels monumental.
Top Image: Björk, Polaroid with the photographer. New York, NY, August 28, 2000.
Second Image: An outtake from the setup towards the cover image.
Third Image: The Time Out cover, September 21-28, 2000.
Bottom Image: This portrait was the opening spread of the magazine story and was Buck’s pick for his 2017 book, Uneasy.