Bernard Pierre Wolff (1930 – 28 January 1985) was a French-born American photographer. In the 1950s and 1960s he worked as an art director, and from the 1970s worked as a photographer travelling and taking photographs of people. He made street photographs in New York City in the 1970s. His photographs of monumental sculpture were used as cover artwork for music by

Joy Division Joy Division were an English rock band formed in Salford in 1976. The group consisted of vocalist Ian Curtis, guitarist/keyboardist Bernard Sumner, bassist Peter Hook and drummer Stephen Morris. Sumner and Hook formed the band after atte ...

in 1980. All of his work is held by the

Maison européenne de la photographie The Maison Européenne de la Photographie (MEP; European house of photography), located in the historic heart of Paris, is a center for contemporary photographic art opened in February 1996. Location and activities The Hotel Henault de Cantobre, ...

in Paris, which exhibited it in 2017.

Life and work

From 1955 to 1958 Wolff worked at the

Cinémathèque Française The Cinémathèque Française (), founded in 1936, is a French non-profit film organization that holds one of the largest archives of film documents and film-related objects in the world. Based in Paris's 12th arrondissement, the archive offers ...

in Paris as assistant to its director,

Henri Langlois Henri Langlois (; 13 November 1914 – 13 January 1977) was a French film archivist and cinephile. A pioneer of film preservation, Langlois was an influential figure in the history of cinema. His film screenings in Paris in the 1950s are often ...

. He moved to New York City in the late 1950s and worked as art director at the

Foreign Policy Association The Foreign Policy Association (formerly known as the League of Free Nations Association) is a non-profit organization founded in 1918 dedicated to inspiring the American public to learn more about the world. The Foreign Policy Association aims to ...

for 18 years. From 1974, for more than four years, he made street photographs in New York City. From the mid 1970s he worked as a professional photographer for various

United Nations The United Nations (UN) is an intergovernmental organization whose stated purposes are to maintain international peace and security, develop friendly relations among nations, achieve international cooperation, and be a centre for harmoniz ...

organisations, travelling and photographing people. Designers Peter Saville and Martyn Atkins used Wolff's 1978 photographs of monumental sculpture in the

Monumental Cemetery of Staglieno The Cimitero monumentale di Staglieno is an extensive monumental cemetery located on a hillside in the district of Staglieno of Genoa, Italy, famous for its monumental sculpture. Covering an area of more than a square kilometre, it is one of the ...

in Genoa, Italy as cover artwork for music releases by

in 1980. His photograph of the

Appiani family The Appiani (also Appiano or d'Appiano) were an Italian noble family, originally from Al Piano or Appiano, a now disappeared toponym identified with the modern La Pieve in the ''comune'' of Ponsacco. They held the principality of Piombino from ...

tomb was used for the album '' Closer'' and his photograph of the Ribaudo family tomb was used on the 12" version of the single "

Love Will Tear Us Apart "Love Will Tear Us Apart" is a song by English rock band Joy Division, released in June 1980 as a non-album single. Its lyrics were inspired by lead singer Ian Curtis's marital problems and struggles with epilepsy. The single was released the m ...

Death and legacy

Wolff died as a result of AIDS, age 54, on 28 January 1985. All of his work now belongs to the

in Paris.

Publications

*''Friends and Friends of Friends''. New York:

E. P. Dutton E. P. Dutton was an American book publishing company. It was founded as a book retailer in Boston, Massachusetts, in 1852 by Edward Payson Dutton. Since 1986, it has been an imprint of Penguin Group. Creator Edward Payson Dutton (January 4, ...

, 1978. . With an introduction by John Leonard. *''En Inde'' = in India. Paris: Chêne/

Hachette Hachette may refer to: * Hachette (surname) * Hachette (publisher), a French publisher, the imprint of Lagardère Publishing ** Hachette Book Group, the American subsidiary ** Hachette Distribution Services, the distribution arm See also * Hachett ...

, 1982. . *''New York: Macadam''. Paris: Chêne/Hachette, 1983. . With an essay by Jean-François Chaix. *''Bernard Pierre Wolff''. Paris: Paris audiovisuel, 1986. . Catalogue of an exhibition at Espace photographique de la Ville de Paris, Paris, and at

Musée de l'Élysée Musée de l'Élysée is a museum in Lausanne, Switzerland, entirely devoted to photography. It is a government-supported institution founded in 1985 by Charles-Henri Favrod. It was housed in an 18th-century mansion until October 2020.

, Lausanne. *''Bernard Pierre Wolff – Itinérances (1971–1984)''.

/ A à Z., 2017. Catalogue of an exhibition at Maison européenne de la photographie.

Exhibitions

* Midtown Y Photography Gallery, New York City, 1976 *''Bernard Pierre Wolff – Photographies, 1971–1984'', Maison européenne de la photographie, Paris, 2017. Curated by .

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Wolff, Bernard Pierre AIDS-related deaths in New York (state) 1985 deaths Street photographers American photographers French photographers 1930 births