Bursting Prosaic Bubbles

Each person interacts with the world though his or her senses, many having a dominant sense they rely on more heavily than others. Melvin Sokolsky is most keenly aware of his sense of sight and this awareness motivates him to do whatever it takes to create images that break from established practices.

Sokolsky is always taking photographs; whether he has a camera in his hands or not, he is constantly framing the scene. It’s a basic instinct for him. Sokolsky says, “I can remember watching my mother in the kitchen when I was 6 years old and moving the chair around to find a better, more interesting angle and squinting to get it just so.” Sokolsky has been enthusiastically using a camera since the age of 10, developing his own vision while learning about the technical aspects of photography by direct observation. Through trial and error, rather than academic or mentored instruction, Sokolsky developed his own lighting techniques. He broke from standard practices by circumventing a stint as an assistant to a recognized photographer and worked directly for a magazine, Harper’s Bazaar. Understanding the cataclysmic social changes that were taking place in the 1960s, he boldly expanded the visual language by playing with scale and proportion, gravity and physics, and conventional vision. Later in his career he took this same spirit of adventure from the still photographic world to the cinematic world of television commercials.

Sokolsky maintains a bottomless well of creative visual approaches to his imagery by drawing from the worlds of fine art, dreams, psychology and social observation. Believing that “without the idea the image means nothing,” Sokolsky continually looks for concepts that can be communicated visually in both social situations and current events. In this way he stays ahead of the editorial and advertising photography curve.

Origin of Concepts
Sokolsky is known for a number of iconic images, the first of them being the bubble pictures he did for Harper’s Bazaar in 1963. Sokolsky got the idea for using a plastic bubble floating over New York and Paris cityscapes from a painting by Hieronymus Bosch called “The Garden of Earthly Delights.” As a child he was a frequent visitor to museums where he developed an eye for light and composition, which fed his imagination.
He also writes down his dreams when he first awakes. In fact, knowing that the best ideas often come when the mind is not engaged, Sokolsky has developed the habit of writing down any and all ideas at the moment they do come to him.

Once Sokolsky engenders an idea intriguing to him, he begins to work with it by sketching a visual and figuring out how to build the set or make the props. He researches and contacts the people who can help him do so, then when a job comes along in which he can use the idea, Sokolsky is ready to produce it fairly rapidly. Once an opportunity arises, he must be ready to make the image quickly because good ideas are often dismissed when less imaginative and less courageous people think they are not feasible.

For example, when Harper’s Bazaar offered the opportunity to shoot the 1963 Spring Collection in Paris, Sokolsky immediately thought of using his plastic bubble over the streets of Paris and the Seine River. He envisioned placing the models—wearing the clothes from the spring collection—in the huge plastic bubbles and having them float over the streets and river. When he discussed his idea with the editor, though, he began hearing detractors. Without delay Sokolsky requested permission to shoot a dress to be featured in the next issue and did a trial run with the Hudson River and Manhattan in the background. The image was so successful that it made the cover. His accomplishment quieted all the critics and he was able to use the idea in Paris.

Along with the ability to know when a good idea has come to him, Sokolsky is willing to go beyond expectations to make sure his visions are fully realized. He is willing to accept the risks that keep some photographers from trying new techniques that challenge the status quo.

The success of these images lies in the creation of a new visual language. As visual blockbusters, his work created new symbols that go beyond the content of the images themselves. The models floating in the bubbles explore how a woman might feel while wearing the clothes from the collection—lighter, protected and esteemed.

Again in 1965 Sokolsky was responsible for another triumphant concept, “Fly,” in which he suspended models in the air over Paris. The series included interior and exterior compositions in black-and-white and color. These photographs conveyed the idea that a woman who dressed this way would feel lighter than air. Always the inventor, Sokolsky designed a corset with a steel ring in the spine that allowed the model to be suspended in the air by a thin aircraft wire attached to a kind of aircraft aluminum retractable fishing pole.

Beyond the fine art world, Sokolsky observes ordinary people, studying their body language and the gestures they make. Sokolsky says that by watching these movements one can “understand the complete psychological construct” of the person, which is interesting for him to consider. The observation inspires him to capture and communicate how a person going through an experience may respond. It may be a man who meets an attractive woman for the first time, or a girl who spills grape juice on her white shirt. Watching how a person reacts as the events unfold with his or her movements and gestures tells a story about who they are and what is going on inside their head.

Back in the 60s, when Sokolsky worked with Harper’s Bazaar, models were taught and expected to gesture in high class, haughty ways with the turn of a shoulder and the flip of a hand. The models he worked with, Simone d’Aillencourte and Dorothea McGowan, broke the rules one day, turning over their hands and cocking their wrists. They began to shy away from traditional posing, an effect that was groundbreaking for Sokolsky’s images and helped to push them to the forefront of the advertising and editorial world. These models became Sokolsky’s muses, pushing him to higher levels of creativity.

Creating Images
Sokolsky innately understood that the events of the times in the 1960s called for a new approach to the images he was creating. He says, “That was a golden era in photography. The spirit of the times motivated one to be more creative.” He developed his own way of lighting by combining strobe and incandescent lights that was unorthodox at the time he began using it. The palette and the lighting created a new dialogue with the audience. This was one of the things that later gave Sokolsky a path into TV commercials. He lit his photographs in this revolutionary way that was not in-use in Hollywood at the time. When queried about whether he could use the same kind of lighting in a commercial as he had done in his photographs, he acquiesced to try. The result was a cohesive, creative endeavor wherein all elements, the concept, the palette, the lighting, the model, the copy, the set, the props and the wardrobe all worked together. Thus the director-cameraman was born.

Sokolsky believes, “It is a photographer’s obligation to communicate his adventure in life.” That is how he is able to give of himself in the most articulate way. By getting in touch with how one’s adventure affects one emotionally and communicating that experience, a dialogue can be established between the photographer and his audience.
As an observer of life, Sokolsky is always looking for juxtapositions that bring our attention to the important issues. He courageously creates images to bring the audience’s attention to these issues that are important for him.

Iconic Images
In 1963 Sokolsky made another iconic image of Lena Horne for Show Magazine. This image went along with the article called “Breaking the White Barrier.” Lena was achieving major success in markets previously closed to black entertainers. In the image Lena is breaking through a white seamless background. She is dressed in a white evening gown and the paper is ripped in a curve that complements her figure. We see only the left half of her along with her hands. The symbolism of the seamless as the barrier was a simple yet elegant and visually reinforced the article’s title.

Always conscious of staying contemporary, in 2001 Sokolsky came up with a series for The New York Times that he originally called “Endangered Species.” Many of the images show a woman standing in an architectural setting with her double falling, floating or flying. Sokolsky’s intent was to speak to women about finding their centers and following their dreams, as opposed to just chasing fashion trends. In one image from this series there is a light from the sky that is reflected from mirror to mirror until it shines on a small plant. This picture has the clearest message. The New York Times renamed the series “Dreams.”

Creative Workflow
Melvin Sokolsky’s creativity begins with his ability to tune into his basic survival instincts with respect to his sense of sight. By using this primal skill he composes his images in articulate and elegant ways. Tapping into his childhood experiences of observing art at museums, Sokolsky looks for tropes and symbols that communicate the essence of the era. In the 1960s advertising was beginning to break free from the haughty high-class expressions of fashion. The models in the bubbles communicated a hunger for freedom from constraints while maintaining the high quality of the image for the clothing. Today Sokolsky continues to challenge the editorial, advertising and commercial world with his creative and highly visual imagery. View more of his work at https://sokolsky.com.

Barbara Pickles lives in Southern California, with her three sons and Argentine husband, where she has been an art director and a commercial and music video producer. Pickles has taken time off to raise her children and to pursue an MFA at Brooks Institute in Santa Barbara, CA.