Melvin Sokolsky

Mar 10

About Melvin

Melvin Sokolsky was born and raised in New York City, where he started his distinguished career as a still photographer. At the age of twenty-one, he was invited to join the staff of Harper's Bazaar. Within the next few years, he worked as a significant contributor to four prestigious magazines: Esquire, McCall's Newsweek, and Show. His photographs of internationally famous personalities have appeared in many major museums and magazines worldwide.

Harper's Bazaar and the 'Bubble' Series

Melvin Sokolsky began his career at Harper's Bazaar after being recruited by the prolific art director Henry Wolf at twenty-one. By age twenty-five, Sokolsky was already a regular contributor, and it was for this publication that he produced his most iconic and inventive series in 1963. His shoot of the 1963 Paris collection, later known as the Bubble series, depicts models floating in giant transparent plastic bubbles, apparently suspended in mid-air over streets in Paris. Sokolsky's innovative series anticipated the language change that would later emerge in fashion photography. The series combines surrealism and the world of high fashion with a nod to street photography's increasing popularity. Sokolsky's series is widely credited for launching the trend of bold, artistic visions within fashion photography and has inspired many fashion photographers working today.

Melvin Sokolsky's first inspiration for the shoot was a detail from Hieronymus Bosch's Garden of Earthly Delights, an image that had fascinated him for years. In the painting, a couple appears trapped in a bubble emerging from the earth below. Determined to bring this evocative image into reality, Sokolsky set himself to build his own Surrealist 'bubble.' It was produced in ten days using Plexiglass and aircraft aluminum, and the design was based on a Fabergé Egg. Suspended by an eight-inch aircraft cable, the 'bubble' was hoisted above street scenes in Parisian villages and suspended above the Seine, with Sokolsky's favorite model, Simone Vaillancourt, encased within. The cable is often squarely in the shot but is occasionally positioned or illuminated so it remains unseen. Sokolsky is firm that there is minimal retouching in the photographs. In some cases, the cable was removed from the frame by hand in the darkroom. The morning that Sokolsky shot the now-iconic image on the Seine, the 'bubble' was lowered overzealously by the crane into the water, flooding it up to Simone's ankles and, in turn, ruining an essential pair of designer shoes.

Sokolsky has been awarded twenty-five Clio Awards for his advertising work. His work is included in numerous private collections throughout Europe and the United States. He currently lives in Los Angeles.