9.15.2010

PHOTOGRAPHER: PETER KNAPP
The Sunday Times Magazine, 1967


BEHIND THE LENS: PETER KNAPP

(1931) Swiss photographer, art director, film maker, and stage designer. Peter Knapp was one of the first art directors to inject artistic creativity into mainstream magazines. His career began as a graphic artist, but Knapp soon became a highly versatile photographer, shooting everything from portraiture, fashion, and editorial. As the Artistic Director of Elle France from 1960-1964 and 1974-1978, Knapp helped commission famous photographers Sarah Moon, Jeanloup Sieff, and Oliviero Toscani. 

Knapp's most influential contribution was combining his love for film with photography and editorial. Experimenting with new photo processes, specifically working with 16 mm, Knapp extracted photo grammes or film stills and produced a new form of photography as film. 

Peter Knapp as an artist explored visual composition in editorial, combining text and image as one. His layouts are graphic displays of photo and line, sometimes breaking outside the boundaries of traditional publishing. He also loved to work with color, during a time when black and white was the preferred norm.