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‘We the People’ was shot for Look magazine in 1961 for a story about the US constitution. Art Kane gathered a group of friends together on a distant hillside, then had assistants hold an American flag directly in front him. Through perspective and depth of field, this created the impression that the the people were standing on top of the flag. Its concept, saturated colour and strong composition also reflect an ongoing passion for flags in this early ‘hit’ for Art Kane.
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Wanting to highlight her strong Gospel roots, Kane tried waving the camera in a circular motion to try to make halo shapes from the light in Aretha's eyes. It worked. This photo is also a rare Art Kane crop—as virtually all his images are composed in full frame.
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Art Kane was a huge Bob Dylan fan, and literally stalked a very un-cooperative Dylan around an L.A. rooftop to get the shot. Dylan didn't like being told what to do, and Kane didn't shoot reportage style. Dylan, literally cornered, submitted to the direction and gave up the shot with a smouldering look that says, alright, you win. As Kane later recalled " I told him, "I'm going to stay until I get what I want." I finally manoeuvred him into a corner, he slid down and looked up. I had my shot."
