ORMOND GIGLI
Ormond Gigli was born in New York City in 1925. He is a celebrated American photojournalist with a career spanning over forty years. Gigli worked for the most famous magazines in the world, such as Time, Life, Paris Match, and Colliers. Gaining global recognition in the 1950s for his photographs of theater, film, and dance, Gigli distinguished himself from his peers with his mastery of technically difficult images. He has photographed stars and celebrities throughout his career, including Sophia Loren, Gina Lollobrigida, Anita Ekberg, Marcel Duchamp, Willem de Kooning, John F. Kennedy, Halston, Marlene Dietrich, Leslie Caron, Judy Garland, Liza Minelli, Barbra Streisand, Laurence Olivier, Alan Bates, Richard Burton, Louis Armstrong, Miles Davis, and many more.
GIRLS IN THE WINDOWS
80X80 CM PIGMENT PRINT EDITION EDITION 45/75 PRINTED 2014 SIGNED ON THE EDGE OF THE MARGIN BY THE AUTHOR IN PEN
Gigli remembers that in 1960, as a construction crew was demolishing a few stone buildings in front of his studio, he felt an overwhelming desire to photograph the structures. All at once, he imagined 43 women in official dress gracing the windows of the façade. The photography team had to work very quickly. They had to obtain permission from authorities and find models, among whom were a number of celebrities, the supervisor’s wife (third floor, third from left), and the photographer’s wife (second floor, far right). The team also had to locate a Rolls-Royce to park on the sidewalk in front. Everything was planned meticulously, as the shooting had to take place during the workers’ lunch hour. A day before the buildings were demolished, 43 women entered the building, climbed the old stairs, and took their places in the windows. Gigli climbed the fire escape, adjusting the frame with a bullhorn in hand. He was, of course, very worried about his models’ safety, as some of them were standing on the dilapidated windowsills. The image turned out to be just what the photographer had envisioned, and what he had thought to be too dangerous and tricky became his fantasy coming true. © Ormond Gigli