Yelena Yemchuk ( Ukrainian: Єлена Ємчук, born April 22, 1970) is a Ukrainian

photographer A photographer (the Greek φῶς (''phos''), meaning "light", and γραφή (''graphê''), meaning "drawing, writing", together meaning "drawing with light") is a person who makes photographs. Duties and types of photographers As in other ...

, painter and film director, best known for her work with

The Smashing Pumpkins The Smashing Pumpkins (also referred to as simply Smashing Pumpkins) are an American alternative rock band from Chicago. Formed in 1988 by frontman and guitarist Billy Corgan, bassist D'arcy Wretzky, guitarist James Iha and drummer Jimmy Ch ...

Early life

Born in

Kyiv Kyiv, also spelled Kiev, is the capital and most populous city of Ukraine. It is in north-central Ukraine along the Dnieper River. As of 1 January 2021, its population was 2,962,180, making Kyiv the seventh-most populous city in Europe. Kyi ...

Ukraine Ukraine ( uk, Україна, Ukraïna, ) is a country in Eastern Europe. It is the second-largest European country after Russia, which it borders to the east and northeast. Ukraine covers approximately . Prior to the ongoing Russian inv ...

to an athlete and a teacher, her family moved to

Brooklyn Brooklyn () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Kings County, in the U.S. state of New York. Kings County is the most populous county in the State of New York, and the second-most densely populated county in the United States, be ...

, New York when Yelena was in her early teens. Before emigrating to the United States, Yemchuk would spend her summers in a recreational area in Kyiv along the

Dnieper River } The Dnieper () or Dnipro (); , ; . is one of the major transboundary rivers of Europe, rising in the Valdai Hills near Smolensk, Russia, before flowing through Belarus and Ukraine to the Black Sea. It is the longest river of Ukraine an ...

called Hidropark, which would later become the inspiration for her 2011 book by the same name. Yemchuk describes the area as a "Soviet version of Coney Island" during the summer when woods and waterfronts of the area are turned into a playground. She studied at Parson School of Design in New York City and at

ArtCenter College of Design Art Center College of Design (stylized as ArtCenter College of Design) is a private art college in Pasadena, California. History ArtCenter College of Design was founded in 1930 in downtown Los Angeles as the Art Center School. In 1935, Fred ...

Pasadena Pasadena ( ) is a city in Los Angeles County, California, northeast of downtown Los Angeles. It is the most populous city and the primary cultural center of the San Gabriel Valley. Old Pasadena is the city's original commercial district. ...

, CA. Her interest in photography was sparked when her dad gave her a camera for her fourteenth birthday.

Career

Yemchuk directed or co-directed the videos for "

Zero 0 (zero) is a number representing an empty quantity. In place-value notation such as the Hindu–Arabic numeral system, 0 also serves as a placeholder numerical digit, which works by multiplying digits to the left of 0 by the radix, usual ...

" and " Thirty-Three" by the Smashing Pumpkins. In addition, she handled art direction for the album '' Adore'' by the Smashing Pumpkins and its related singles. Her photographs appear in the "Zero" EP, '' The Aeroplane Flies High'' box set, and the ''

Rotten Apples ''Rotten Apples'' (''The Smashing Pumpkins – Greatest Hits'' as titled on the album's cover) is a greatest hits compilation album by alternative rock band The Smashing Pumpkins. In the US, it was released on November 20, 2001, along with a ...

'' compilation. She received an art direction credit for the 2000 Smashing Pumpkins' album '' Machina/The Machines of God'', and appeared in the video for the song " Stand Inside Your Love". She also provided the photography for albums by

Savage Garden Savage Garden was an Australian pop duo consisting of Darren Hayes on vocals and Daniel Jones on instruments. Formed in Brisbane, Queensland, in 1993, the duo achieved international success from the mid-1990s to early 2000s with the No. ...

and

Rufus Wainwright Rufus McGarrigle Wainwright (born July 22, 1973) is a Canadian-American singer, songwriter, and composer. He has recorded 10 studio albums and numerous tracks on compilations and film soundtracks. He has also written two classical operas and set ...

. Her fashion photography is featured in the September 2010 Urban Outfitters catalog. She has exhibited her paintings at the Dactyl Foundation. Her paintings "displays her uniquely surrealist approach to art with satiric storytelling and undeniable Eastern European influences". Her current focus on fashion photography began in 1997. Since then, Yemchuk has contributed to

Italian Italian(s) may refer to: * Anything of, from, or related to the people of Italy over the centuries ** Italians, an ethnic group or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom ** Italian language, a Romance language *** Regional Ita ...

and Japanese ''Vogue'', ''

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'' and ''W'', and has shot advertising campaigns for

Kenzo is a common masculine Japanese given name. Possible writings Kenzō can be written using different kanji characters and can mean: *賢三, "wise, three" *健三, "healthy, three" *謙三, "humble, three" *健想, "healthy, concept" *建造, "bu ...

Cacharel Jean Cacharel SA () is a French company of ready-to-wear clothing, perfume and accessories, founded in 1958 by Jean Bousquet. Cacharel designs are characterized by their youthful style, femininity, lightness, refinement, and use of bright colours ...

and

Dries Van Noten Baron Dries Van Noten (born 12 May 1958 in Antwerp) is a Belgian fashion designer and an eponymous fashion brand, which he co-founded with CEO and business partner Christine Mathys. Early life and education Van Noten was born into a family ...

. She was involved with Pumpkins frontman Billy Corgan from 1995 to about 2003. Throughout 2004, Corgan mentioned her frequently in his

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, and she also provided the cover art for his book ''

Blinking with Fists ''Blinking with Fists'' is the debut book of poetry by The Smashing Pumpkins and former Zwan frontman, Billy Corgan. The progress and writing of the poems was covered in Corgan's blogs. The Volume of 57 poems was published by Faber and Faber in 20 ...

''. In 2011, Yelena published her first book, ''Gidropark''. This book allows audiences to see a more personal side of Yemchuk, given that most of her body of work revolves around portraiture and fashion photography. The photos published within the book were taken during the summers of 2005 through 2008. More recently, in 2021 she worked on the film ''Mabel, Betty and Bette'', which explores "female archetypes of the Golden Age of Hollywood."

Personal life

Yemchuck has two daughters with American actor Ebon Moss-Bachrach, who is best known for his roles in the HBO television series ''

Girls A girl is a young female human, usually a child or an adolescent. When a girl becomes an adult, she is accurately described as a ''woman''. However, the term ''girl'' is also used for other meanings, including ''young woman'',Dictionary.c ...

'' and the Hulu series '' The Bear''. Yemchuk and Moss-Bachrach currently reside in Brooklyn, NY.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Yemchuk, Yelena American photographers American music video directors The Smashing Pumpkins Artists from Kyiv Living people 1970 births Ukrainian SSR emigrants to the United States Ukrainian photographers Ukrainian women photographers American women painters Female music video directors Ukrainian women painters 21st-century American women photographers 21st-century American photographers