“Marlon Brando changed the way to act, but James Dean changed the way to live.” Martin Sheen
James Dean, décembre 1954, New York © Roy Schatt
Raw jeans with lapels, a white T-shirt and sometimes a little red leather jacket. This silhouette is known to all, almost the emblem of a generation. It’s that of James Dean, the sacred monster of American cinema, who died too soon, became the symbol of a rebellious youth and imposed a style, a fashion, that endures more than fifty years after his death.
James Dean, La Fureur de vivre,1955, Los Angeles © Michael Ochs Archives / Getty Images
We often wonder how an actor becomes a myth. For James Dean, the answer lies in three titles:Elia Kazan‘s East of Eden, George Stevens ‘ Giant and, above all, Nicholas Ray‘s Rebel Without a Cause. It took three films and a life tragically cut short at the height of his fame to make James Dean a legendary figure in American cinema. On September 30, 1955, the famous actor was accidentally killed at the age of 24 at the wheel of his Porsche 550 Spyder, thus eternally entering the legend. Skinned alive on screen, endowed with mad charm and a rare elegance, he was the perfect embodiment of the rebellion and revolt of a self-doubting American youth.
James Dean avec le chat Louis XIV chez le photographe James Dean sculpte chez Pegot Waring, Sanford Roth, 1955, Los Angeles © Sanford Roth
James Dean began his acting career by starring in a Pepsi commercial. He soon left university to devote himself entirely to his passion for acting. After taking a few courses at the Actors Studio in New York, James Dean enjoyed his first success in the theater at Broadway, playing the role of the young Arab Bashir inAndré Gide ‘s play L’Immoraliste, which won him the award for most promising young actor of the year.
James Dean A l'Est d'Eden - 1954 Michael Ochs Archives / Getty Images
But it was the silver screen that catapulted him to stardom: the character of Cal Trask in Elia Kazan’s East of Eden earned him his first Oscar nomination in the Best Supporting Actor category. His portrayal of Jim Stark in La Fureur de vivre shocked the teenagers of his day and developed his passion for motor racing. Giant was his last film, for which he was posthumously nominated for an Oscar in the Best Supporting Actor category; he died two weeks after shooting ended.
James Dean sculpte chez Pegot Waring, Sanford Roth, 1955, Los Angeles. Août/septembre1955, Los Angeles © Sanford Roth
The actor would have turned 80 on February 8. To mark the occasion, Maurice Renoma is paying tribute to the actor with the James Dean exhibition “On the road…Une vie programmée” at the Renoma boutique until May 09, 2011. For the occasion, the designer has brought together rare pieces retracing the great actor’s formidable career. And as a nod to the myth that inspired him in both style and fashion, Maurice Renoma chose February 08 for the opening.
James Dean et Pegot Waring, James Dean, septembre 1955, Los Angeles © 1987 by Seita Ohnishi / Oscar for Jimmy, Inc, © 1987 by Seita Ohnishi / Oscar for Jimmy, Inc, photo by Sanford Roth
Beyond his undisputed acting talent, James Dean had many other artistic talents. A car racer in his spare time, a dancer and a draughtsman, James Dean was also passionate about sculpture, painting, photography and music, and was attracted to directing. It’s these lesser-known aspects of the artist that Maurice Renoma has chosen to highlight, with the help of writer Jean-Noël Coghe, author of Jimmy the Kid. This biography, published in 2007, describes the actor as a free electron with a thirst for professional and amorous conquests, a cultured reader and a passion for the arts, painting and music.
James Dean, tournage de The Thief pour la télévision, décembre 1954, New York © Roy Schatt
This ground-breaking exhibition brings together images by the greatest photographers of the era and friends of James Dean: Sanford Roth, Roy Schatt, Dennis Stock and Phil Stern, as well as a selection from the Getty Images archives. But it’s also an opportunity to discover James Dean through more intimate portraits taken in his own home. Paintings, sculptures and personal objects by the actor are also on display, as are his drawings, and the display cases containing the cameras he loved, which are veritable period gems.
© Conception Graphique Maurice Renoma
In a final thumbing of the nose at fate, Maurice Renoma has brought together the two greatest icons of American cinema in subtle photomontages: James Dean and Marilyn Monroe. Made for each other, their mythical quality can only bring them closer for eternity.
James Dean, septembre 1955, Los Angeles © 1987 by Seita Ohnishi / Oscar for Jimmy, Inc, photo by Sanford Roth photo by Sanford Roth
Maurice Renoma’s exhibition is truly rich in images – over fifty of them – each showing the complexity and beauty of an extraordinary actor. For me, James Dean’s personal objects are quite moving, like the typewriter on the table or the cameras that bear witness to the life of a man with an extraordinary destiny. A camera immortalized in black and white by Sanford Roth as a testament to James Dean’s photographic talents. A real pleasure to finally understand what the fury of life was all about…
Exhibition James Dean “a programmed life…” from February 09 to May 09, 2011
Renoma store
129 bis avenue de la Pompe 75016 Paris
Marie-Odile Radom
Cette publication est également disponible en : Français (French)
