jueves, 3 de octubre de 2013

Ira Cohen, gurú de la bohemia y fotógrafo Beat


Jhil McEntyre, Mylar Chamber series, NY late '60s


Jimi Hendrix, Mylar Chamber series, NY late '60s


Mylar Chamber series, NY late '60s


William Burroughs, Mylar Chamber series, NY late '60s


Miriam with violin, md. '70s


Chillum Baba, sect of Naga Babas, Northern India


Nepali Strret Urchin


Petra Vogt, Kathmandu, md. '70s


Petra Vogt (The Living Theatre)


Julian Beck (The Living Theatre)


Allen Ginsberg, Life Mask series


Master Musicians of Joujouka & Mohamed Hamri, Dublin 1992


Ira Cohen (1923-2011) fue una figura casi chamánica de la bohemia, editor, poeta, cineasta y fotógrafo que alternó con algunos de los personajes de la cultura popular y underground de los 60s y 70s y en cuyo loft en Nueva York celebró fiestas en las que participaba gente como Jimi Hendrix, Pharoah Sanders, Allen Ginsberg o William Burroughs o su compañera, madre de su hijo, Jhil McEntyre, y en las que el hachís o las drogas sicodélicas eran protagonistas, algo que se refleja en su serie fotográfica conocida como 'Mylar Chamber'. Compartió viajes y vivencias, en Tánger o la India, con algunos de sus amigos escritores (William S. Burroughs, Brion Gysin o Paul Bowles) y fue uno de los primeros en editar, por ejemplo, a Allen Ginsberg. En el Norte de la India, desde donde publicó a algunos de sus amigos, compartió largas temporadas con la secta de los Naga Babas, fumadores empedernidos de marihuana, a quienes fotografió ampliamente, o con su amiga y musa Petra Vogt, una ilustradora y actriz del Living Theatre (movimiento teatral al que siempre estuvo muy unido). Con su segunda esposa, Caroline Gosselin, realizaría en los 70s una serie interesante conocida como 'Life Masks'. Gosselin realizó máscaras usando como modelo el rostro de poetas de su círculo y Cohen comenzaría posteriormente a fotografiar el proceso. Durante esos años también realizó algunos filmes experimentales.
A partir de los 80s se estableció definitivamente en Nueva York y se dedicó casi plenamente a la fotografía y la edición, su piso convertido en lugar de visita para quienes estaban ávidos por escuchar interesantes historias de la bohemia. Murió serenamente en 2011 a la edad de 76 años.

Ira Cohen (1923-2011) was a sort of shamanic figure of the bohemia, editor, poet, filmmaker and photographer who alternated with some people of the popular and underground culture of the 60s and 70s and in whose New York loft were held parties participated by the likes of Jimi Hendrix, Pharoah Sanders, Allen Ginsberg, William Burroughs or his partner, the mother of his son, Jhil McEntyre, and where hashish and psychedelic drugs played an important part, something that is reflected in his photographic series known as' Mylar Chamber'. He travelled and shared experiences in Morocco or India with some of his fellow writers (William S. Burroughs, Brion Gysin or Paul Bowles) and was one of the first to publish, for example, the writings of Allen Ginsberg. In North India, from where he also published some of his friends, shared long seasons with the sect of the Naga Babas, heavy smokers of marijuana, whom he extensively photographed, or with his friend and muse Petra Vogt, an illustrator and actress the Living Theatre (a theater movement he remained very attached to). With his second wife, Caroline Gosselin, developed in the 70s the interesting series called 'Life Masks' for wich Gosselin made masks using as model the faces of poets of their circle and Cohen would photograph the process. During those years he also made ​​some experimental films.
From the 80s on he definitly established in New York and devoted himself almost entirely to photography and publishing, his flat turning into a welcome guest house for those who were eager to hear interesting stories of the bohemia of previous years. He died peacefully in 2011 at the age of 76.






EscuchaListen
Marc Hurtado & Alan Vega·'Saturn Drive Duplex'
Enrique Morente & Sonic Youth·'Oriente y Occidente'



"Nunca debemos pensar que el cese de la hostilidad de nuestros enemigos siginifica nuestra victoria. Sólo significa que hemos dejado de ser una amenaza.", Quentin Crisp: "Abatement in the hostility of one's enemies must never be thought to signify they have been won over. It only means that one has ceased to constitute a threat."