FEATURE:
Kate Bush: The Tour of Life
IN THIS PHOTO: Kate Bush in 1989/PHOTO CREDIT: John Carder Bush
All Emotion and with Devotion: Is Kate Bush the Most Visually Engaging and Arresting Artist Ever?
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THIS is not a question that asks…
IN THIS PHOTO: Kate Bush in 1978/PHOTO CREDIT: Gered Mankowitz
whether Kate Bush is the most beautiful artist ever. Though, if you look objectively, there is not many who can challenge her! It would be slightly prurient and debasing reducing Kate Bush to her looks. However, as so many of her early interviews revolved around (mostly men) fantasising, objectifying and discussing her beauty and sex appeal, luckily the narrative did change. However, there is no getting around the fact that Kate Bush is one of the most beautiful women ever! Breath-taking and a goddess, she was a crush and pin-up for so many people. However, this feature relates more to the photographic side. I know I spend a lot of time in this area. I am going to move to other areas in future features. This is a question I posed a while back, so I wanted to update and revisit. Not many people have discussed this. In terms of thew photos and videos. How you get this impact and effect that you do not get from other artists. To do with the clothing, the poses and the looks. David Bowie might be seen as the most visually engaging and memorable artist ever. However, think about Kate Bush. From the very start when there were promotional photos of Wuthering Heights and The Kick Inside (1978) by Gered Mankowitz. Remarkable photos for 1985’s Hounds of Love by Guido Harari. Some gorgeous photos around Aerial’s release in 2005 by Trevor Leighton. Kate Bush looking remarkable and so engaging for 2011’s Director’s Cut and 50 Words for Snow. The latter was released when she was fifty-three. Still one of the most photogenic and remarkable artists ever. How she can grab your soul and heart with a simple look!
IN THIS PHOTO: Kate Bush in promotional shot for 2011’s 50 Words for Snow
Perhaps it is not a surprise that she could seduce and drop the jaw. Having been photographed professionally since she was a teenager and shot by her brother John as a young child, Kate Bush and the camera had this relationship that went back to the 1960s. Even if there has not been a public or professional photos of her for over a decade, you only have to look at the archives to see how Kate Bush commands the visual media. It is not only her remarkable photos. Her videos too are so visually rich. In photos, she can look everyday and girl-next-door but have this aura and potency that I have not seen from another artist. In other shots, she is almost this classic Hollywood actress! One has to credit the photographers she collaborated with and their concepts. However, I think the reason why the photos are so stunning and timeless is because of Kate Bush. It is almost hard to explain. Something deep and spiritual. One also has to recognise Kate Bush’s natural beauty. It is hard to get around the fact! A timeless beauty, her promotional images for her later albums are as striking and heart-melting as those for her earlier albums. However, to me, it is the dynamics and layers of each photo that resonate. In terms of the outfits worn and the expressions. The poses and emotions that come out of her. The same for videos. You watch Running Up That Hill (A Deal with God) (Hounds of Love), The Sensual World (The Sensual World), Wuthering Heights (The Kick Inside) or Babooshka (Never for Ever) and the sense are overwhelmed There is something magical and mystical. This allure that Kate Bush has. You watch these videos and they stay in your mind forever. An exceptional dancer and someone whose physical movements connect with the music and bring the songs to life, this was also evident for anyone who has seen her perform live.
I guess David Bowie and Madonna have that same ability. They can adopt a manner of looks and personas and make them feel unique and ageless. Inspiring artists decades later. The same with Kate Bush. I have long-argued that there needs to be an exhibition or new volume of photos. Looking through the years, maybe shots that people have not seen. There are so many photos that either have not been seen or are reserved to more expensive coffee table books – that most cannot afford to buy. When you read interviews from photographers who have worked with her – from John Carder Bush to Brian Griffin to Gered Mankowitz -, they always commend Kate Bush’s commitment, kindness, professionalism and passion. How she is so patience, collaborative and inspiring. Making them better photographers! I don’t feel there is another artists whose photos and videos will create a bigger impact than Kate Bush’s. I would love to see a series of photos of her now, though I can understand Bush wants her privacy. When she does release an eleventh studio album, promotional photos might not even feature her. It is unlikely she will ever feature in a video. There will be no T.V. interviews. 2014, and for those who saw her Before the Dawn residency, would have witnessed the end of Kate Bush as a visual (or visible) artist. In terms of seeing her in the flesh. That is not to say that we will never see a new photo of Kate Bush. However, when we talk about her photographic, cinematic and visual legacy, we are probably ending the story at 2014.
IN THIS PHOTO: Kate Bush rehearses her song, The Red Shoes (for the 1993 short film, The Line, the Cross and the Curve), while the crew are setting up lights and camera/PHOTO CREDIT: Guido Harari (via the BBC)
Perhaps Kate Bush would balk at the thought of this incredible retrospective or exhibition. However, she cannot argue against the fact that her visual output is among the most distinct, beautiful, nuanced, emotion-provoking and important in all of music history. There are photos of her that I first saw years or decades ago that are still in my mind. The fact the Wuthering Heights video has stayed in my brain for thirty-something years is because of the expressions. The wide eyes and the choreography. The way Kate Bush somehow draws you into the video and the song! The same with the photos. Even if it is a shot of her on location or a simple portrait, there is something undeniably electric and seductive. You are fascinated and entranced! Again, this is not about the beauty of Kate Bush. It goes beyond the surface. A deeper and rare quality. Few artists have that Midas look. The innate and natural ability to not only immerse and transfix those who see her photos. She does the same to the photographers! The fashion throughout the years is also a major reason. She can be this divine and Hollywood-esque star or someone in jeans and boots. She can be quirky and eccentric (she has been photographed with a stuff/fake crocodile before!) but also so unvarnished and bare. Everything coming from her eyes or something she does with her mouth. Like I said, it is so hard to explain how she does it or what that secret ingredient is! To me, there is no other artist whose promotional photos and album covers are as visually remarkable. Those that stir the senses! The same with her captivating music videos. Even if she is made up to look dirty as in the case of There Goes a Tenner (The Dreaming) or shot from the waist up for King of the Mountain (Aerial), these videos linger long in the memory. Those artists that have almost this supernatural or divine sense of gravity, wonder and something that stops the heart, Kate Bush is very much in a league of her own. I don’t think that there is another artist…
WHO comes close.