U2 to Depeche Mode

The man who gets the big stars in front of the lens

Star photographer Anton Corbijn at the opening of his exhibition "Favourite Darkness" at the Vienna Kunstforum.

(Bild: APA/GEORG HOCHMUTH)

Depeche Mode, U2, Nick Cave - Dutch photographer Anton Corbijn turned LP covers and band photos into art, making pop culture history in the process. On the occasion of the retrospective "Favourite Darkness", which can be seen at the Kunstforum Wien until June 29, Krone+ spoke to the 69-year-old.

"Krone": A central work in "Favourite Darkness" is your iconic portrait of David Bowie from 1980, in which he appears like a savior figure, a modern Jesus. Was this a conscious reference to your father, who was a pastor, or did your religious upbringing unconsciously pave the way? 
Anton Corbijn: It's much simpler: David was in the play "The Elephant Man", which ran in Chicago - and that was simply his stage outfit. But the pose naturally evokes associations. I am aware of the interpretations that this portrait evokes. But I'm not deliberately trying to create religious iconography. For me, these symbols are natural because I grew up among them. Here and there they creep into my work. One example is the photo of Dave Gahan after a concert in 1993: exhausted, with all his scars. He was completely exhausted after the concert and collapsed in this pose. It was only later that I noticed the Jesus analogy.