‘I learn a lot from these people’: Anton Corbijn photographs artists

From Nirvana to Jeff Koons, Patti Smith to Ai Weiwei, the Dutch photographer explains why shooting musicians and painters is his passion

Lucian Freud, London 2008

Anton Corbijn has produced some of the most powerful pop culture imagery in recent decades. Drawing from three different series, Inwards & Onwards, #5 and Star Trak, a new exhibition places a particular focus on his portraits of visual artists – and features unseen and rarely displayed images. Anton Corbijn: Artists & More Artists at Château La Coste is at Old Store Winehouse, Château La Coste, Provence, France until 13 August 2023. It runs concurrently with the Arles photography festiva

Ai Weiwei, Beijing 2012

Anton Corbijn: ‘I took this portrait in a hurry. In 2012, I flew to Beijing to photograph Ai Weiwei in his compound. Shortly before we began a phone call summoned the dissident artist to a police station with little indication of how long he might be there. This is what gives this shot its air of zen and unease’

Jeff Koons, New York 2011

‘I guess this photo is kind of tongue in cheek. He was known for images of himself naked with Cicciolina so for him to appear to hide his face is quite funny. The work in front of his face is by him and is very heavy to lift. It is nothing like a balloon, more like a lead balloon’

Slash, San Jose 1992

The exhibition also presents Corbijn’s iconic representations of some of the world’s most influential musicians including Bob Dylan, Prince and David Bowie. While Corbijn usually depicts musicians without their instruments in frame, here the likes of Nick Cave, Johnny Cash, Tom Waits and Slash display them as a focal point

Patti Smith, New York 1999

‘I love the body language in this photograph. I had met Patti before but never properly photographed her. I asked her to be part of a project I was doing called 33 Still Lives which were fake-paparazzi shots. It is a long story but I had put the wrong film in the camera and this photo wasn’t what I was after so it never became part of that series, but I love it just as it is. She is very active as a photographer too and there is another photo I took of her in Paris with her Polaroid camera that is the only photo of mine I have hanging in my studio’

David Bowie, London 1993

‘This was the last time I photographed David I believe, not that I knew that at the time of course. I really like this shoot, and I also loved the first time I photographed him, when he was playing the Elephant Man in 1980. He was always great looking, intelligent and charming, and he had a great sense of humour. He was the ideal person in front of the camera. This particular photo was done in the rain, or perhaps it was light snow, but whatever it was it made the end result more interesting’