Exhibition of Unseen Michael Jackson Photo Portraits

On Friday in Paris, an exhibition of Arno Bani’s photography of the King of Pop was reopened to the public. The exhibition had welcomed journalists the week before, on October 15. Four portrait photos from four images, plus 55 prints of the photos on contact sheets, will be sold at auction on December 13.

The “Blue Eye,” “Silver Hand,” “Red Curtain,” and “Golden Cape” photos were created at Michael Jackson’s request in July 1999 during a two-day marathon in Paris—and until now, no one had seen them.

Michael wanted the Golden Cape for the cover of his album “Invincible,” but Sony disagreed.

Michael and Bani gathered in a large studio near Paris—where the King of Pop had access to both a helicopter and a bulletproof car.

Bani says: “Unlike other stars, Michael Jackson always created his own image.”

During the two days of shooting, Bani saw Michael both happy and sad. While applying makeup, he would stare at his reflection “in the mirror” for long minutes and:

“Then someone would come and tell him, and in an instant he would become Michael Jackson again.”

After the work was finished, Bani received a message from Michael expressing satisfaction. He was “in love” with the photos that were created. But Bani was very disappointed, and Michael’s album was released without his photos.

Michael said that after 10 years, Bani would own the photos. And now he has put them up for auction.

Bani says:

“Michael Jackson’s approval and satisfaction are behind every single one of these photos. But I didn’t want to create a media spectacle.”

So the idea of the auction came up. And of course, Michael’s fans will get to see the photos.

The auction amount for each of the four Michael Jackson photo portraits starts at $1,410. The contact sheets are, of course, cheaper. Bani says the reason for this lower pricing is to prevent “big-shot arrogance.”

Source: eMJey / AFP