Oak Ridge native, longtime Hollywood photographer George Holz to speak at UT

 

Photographer George Holz—who was born in Oak Ridge, attended the University of Tennessee, and is known for his fashion and celebrity photographs—will return to UT to speak about his work at 7:30 p.m. Thursday, April 14.

His talk will be in the auditorium of the UT College of Nursing at 1200 Volunteer Boulevard in Knoxville. It’s sponsored by the UT School of Journalism and Electronic Media, and it is free and open to the public.

Holz will be talking about his new book, “Holz Hollywood: 30 Years of Portraits.”

Holz was born and raised in Oak Ridge and attended UT for two years in the mid-1970s, working as a photographer for the Daily Beacon and the Volunteer Yearbook.

After attending UT, Holz graduated from the Art Center College of Design in Pasadena, California, and assisted for noted fashion photographer, Helmut Newton, who became his mentor.

As a fledgling photographer, Holz lived in Milan and Paris, where he shot beauty and fashion photographs for major European magazines such as Italian Vogue and French Elle.

Holz later moved to New York City, where he set up his famous studio on Lafayette Street, traveling frequently to Los Angeles and Europe to shoot fashion, advertising, and portraiture for clients such as Paramount Pictures, Warner Bros. Records, Elizabeth Arden, Bacardi, Vanity Fair, and Harper’s Bazaar.
His portraits have been shown in galleries and museums around the world. Holz’s exhibitions have included “Original Sin” and “Three Boys from Pasadena–A Tribute to Helmut Newton,” which was exhibited at Art Center’s Williamson Gallery.

He has lectured internationally at universities, workshops and museums. Holz has collected a variety of prestigious industry awards over the years including a Grammy and a Clio. His photographs are represented by the Fahey/Klein Gallery in Los Angeles.

Holz’s portraits are a virtual who’s who of Hollywood, including Angelina Jolie, Jack Nicholson, Cameron Diaz, Madonna, Brad Pitt, Antonio Banderas, and countless others.

Singer Mariah Carey offered this review of Holz and his book: “George is always focused on making me look the way he sees me when the camera isn’t rolling–capturing the essence of the real person, not just the persona.”

A review in Flux Magazine echoed that: “Yes, they are super slick and stylish but these are way beyond your usual star shots—you can see the real person shining through straight back at you.”