Stéphane Sednaoui
By Sophiya Ali
Biography ‘Sednaoui has transcended genres, techniques and categories.’ (Photo magazine, 1991) Stéphane Sednaoui is a French-American photographer, director and producer whose work includes music videos, art projects, photographic essays, portrait photography, fashion photography and photojournalism. Sednaoui established himself as a photographer at the age of 18 and shaped his artistic approach by working with artists that trusted him. After a successful start of his career in fashion and pop culture publications, Stéphane Sednaoui covered the Romanian Revolution of 1989 and September 11 attacks. Afterwards, he moved to America to explore new horizons, stating that he had witnessed the trauma of these events ‘from too close.’ After re-locating to the USA, Sednaoui put his photography on hold and began to focus on directing. He has directed more than 50 music videos for artists such as the Red Hot Chili Peppers, The Smashing Pumpkins, Björk, Madonna and U2. He is noted for his inventive visual style and his multi-medium approach.
More than his start in the fashion world (modelling and providing photography for Vogue Italia), it was his 1988 explosive contribution debut to the iconic pop culture magazine The Face and Annie Flanders' Details publication (initially an underground magazine) that set the standard for Stéphane Sednaoui's world. He experimented his skills further by transcending genres and mixing pop culture with fashion references in an artistic unconventional way. Building on his success, Sednaoui started creating visuals and albums covers for artists such as Björk, Mick Jagger and Madonna. His energetic style would lead him to direct music videos a few years later. Sednaoui’s composition captures the vibrant, electronic essence of Björk’s album. The star is dressed to resemble ‘mail’ relating to the album title ‘Post’. This is an example of how Sednaoui incorporated artistic fashion references into his work.
Post – Björk (1995) Photographed by Sednaoui
The Very Best of Mick Jagger (2007) Photographed by Sednaoui
Sednaoui has directed music videos for: Suprême NTM Ziggy Marley Red Hot Chili Peppers U2 The Black Crowes P.M Dawn Madonna The Smashing Pumpkins Björk MC Solaar Youssou N’Dour & Neneh Cherry Massive Attack Isaac Hayes Garbage Traci Lords Tricky Tina Turner
Towa Tei & Kylie Minogue Fiona Apple Alanis Morisette R.E.M. Keziah Jones Eagle-Eye Cherry Sheryl Crow Ben Lee Texas Bush Beck Alain Souchon Q-Tip Mirwais Depeche Mode Jamiroquai YAS
Music Videos After his first breakthrough in France for NTM (1990) his next success was in the US with the 1992 MTV Video Music Award for the Red Hot Chili Peppers' "Give It Away" (1991) video.
Give It Away – Red Hot Chili Peppers http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mr_uHJPUlO8&ob=av3e Warner Bros. sent the band reels of video directors’ material to chose from and Anthony Kiedis claimed that ‘everything was the same, boring and homogenized’ until he discovered Sednaoui’s work, stating that it was ‘like nothing else. It was slower and poetic, shot in black and white. It seemed like authentic art, not something shot for MTV.’ The director proposed a ‘very desolated, very graphic landscape’, while heavily focusing on the band members with little to no outside influence. This is an example of how Sednaoui’s visual language presented in this iconic video translates directly from his portrait photography and album covers, where the aim is to draw all focus to the star. However, Warner Bros. executives were worried that Sednaoui’s experimental approach would be ‘too weird’ or ‘too artsy’ for the general public. Despite this, the video has been widely credited as being a considerable factor in the Red Hot Chili Peppers' success and greatly increased their international popularity.
Sednaoui’s signature experimental and artistic style is derived from his background in photography and fashion which he fuses together in order to create iconic images within music video that have become internationally renowned. ‘I wanted to work with Stéphane for a long time since I saw the video that he did with Björk for ‘Big Time Sexuality’’ – Michael Stipe from R.E.M.
Mysterious Ways – U2 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TxcDTUMLQJI&ob=av3e
Lotus – R.E.M. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vu2jN3d2zzU&ob=av2e Big Time Sexuality – Björk http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-wYmq2Vz5yM
Ironic – Alanis Morisette http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jne9t8sHpUc&ob=av2e Fever – Madonna http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QCC2GnbE7P4
Additionally, Stéphane is noted for his impressive translation of music in terms of connecting a creative visual motif to the lyrics of a song.
Scar Tissue – Red Hot Chili Peppers http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mzJj5-lubeM&ob=av2e Sednaoui was instantly inclined to portray the band driving through an isolated desert, appearing battered and beaten whilst playing on broken instruments. In a short interview with Flea and Sednaoui (see link below), they explain that the reason they collaborated on this music video is because during that period in time, they had both endured problematic experiences and felt they could vividly express this in ‘Scar Tissue.’ The lyrics could be interpreted as metaphorical for the struggles the band had experienced in the past and the visual concept of the band being beaten and playing broken instruments ironically juxtaposes with the fact that they are continuously driving on, symbolising how they prevailed through a difficult chapter in their career. Flea and Sednaoui: Filming ‘Scar Tissue’ http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PX90ZuUFzxU
Stéphane emphasises the importance to establish an effective, creative relationship with an artist as he has directed numerous music videos for Red Hot Chili Peppers, Björk, Alanis Morisette and U2. By sharing a close working relationship with the musicians, it seems more likely that he would be asked to direct prospective projects for them. Moreover, Sednaoui showcases his diversity well, since he has also collaborated with a variety of artists in different mediums such as portraiture and fashion photography.
Anthony Kiedis – Vogue Italia (2011) Photographer: Stéphane Sednaoui
Red Hot Chili Peppers – Interview Magazine (2011) Photographer: Stéphane Sednaoui
Garbage – Spin Magazine (2007) Photographer: Stéphane Sednaoui
Influence on the industry The Work of Director Stéphane Sednaoui (Interview) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tKwbKgdZRJc Sednaoui’s work is celebrated in The Work of Director Stéphane Sednaoui (2005) from the ‘Directors Label’ series, a collection of DVDs devoted to the most creative music video directors, along with Spike Jonze, Michel Gondry, Anton Corbijn, Jonathan Glazer, Chris Cunningham and Mark Romanek.