Zimmerman, considered to be the top celebrity photographer throughout the 70's and 80's in Hollywood, created this painting as his personal statement to the King of Pop. "As I started as a portrait painter, and as my technique was always realism in oils, and as I always painted exactly what came out of the camera, I took up photography to make my reference photographs for my paintings that much better, and during those years met and worked with Michael."
Zimmerman went back to painting full time in 1991, and the homage, completed in August--which has yet to be nationally and internationally unveiled--shows colorful, poignant images of the late Michael Jackson. The composition for the painting was created from images taken from the three photo sessions that Zimmerman and Jackson collaborated on throughout their 15 years of working together. The "Thriller" cover, the ET album narrated by Michael, and the exclusive wedding portraits of Michael and Lisa Marie Presley. The homage was of significance to Mr. Zimmerman as he came to know Michael Jackson on both a professional and personal level.
Mr. Zimmerman was the creator of the iconic Thriller album cover. The white suit worn by Michael in those famous images was borrowed from Zimmerman just before the photoshoot. The suit hangs in the Grammy museum to this day. Zimmerman collaborated or socialized with Jackson eight times over the 15-year period, and incorporated these encounters with a tile reading 8/15. The centerpiece of the painting is focused on the Thriller cover, with the other images strategically positioned to symbolize Michael's life as Zimmerman saw him. "There was no accident in my positioning of each element in the composition, it's my personal statement about Michael...they all have meaning and purpose along with something personal to me."
Updates will be available on his website at http://www.dickzimmerman.com
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