Ib Jesper Brieghel Høm (5 October 1931 – 1 March 2000) was a Danish photographer and film director. After opening his own studio in Copenhagen, he travelled widely, finally working for Agence VISA in Paris. Høm was a co-founder of Copenhagen's Delta Photos, an organization designed to inspire and assist press photographers. Most of the remainder of his career was devoted to film, where he participated in the making of several Danish films as cinematographer, screenwriter and director."Ib Jesper Briegel Høm", Gravsted.dk. Retrieved 25 February 2010.

Career

Still photography

Jesper Høm was the son of Paul Brieghel Høm and Kirsten Mariane Henriksen, who were both artists. From 1948 to 1950, he received training in photography at Gutenberghus, a magazine publisher in Copenhagen, after which he spent a year working as a fashion photographer for Jardin des Modes in Paris."Jesper Høm", Den danske film database. Retrieved 25 February 2010. Tage Poulsen, "Mennesker og mønstre", in Dansk Fotografi Historie, ed. Mette Sandbye (Copenhagen: Gyldendal, 2004), p. 287 et seq. .

The year he spent in Paris introduced Høm to the most advanced photography of the times, not least the work of the American-born photographer William Klein who excelled in expressiveness and appreciation of the decisive moment. Høm was quick to take up these new ideas, adapting them to his own style and promoting photography as an art."Jesper Høm", Det Nationale Fotomuseum. Retrieved 25 February 2010.

From 1955 to 1959, he ran his own studio in Copenhagen concentrating on architectural and design photography. He then went to San Francisco where he worked for Weiner & Gossage, an advertising agency. As a freelancer, he worked in New York City and for an extended period in Ireland. He then spent three years working for Agence VISA in Paris with assignments in England, Spain, France, Italy and the Soviet Union. His photographs were published by Stern and Paris Match, culminating in his book Meet the Danes in 1964.

Taking the French-based international photographic bureau Magnum as a model, together with Gregers Nielsen and others he set up Delta Photos in 1964. The organization was designed to support press photography in Denmark."Fornem gave fra boet efter fotografen Gregers Nielsen", Det Kongelige Bibliotek . Retrieved 26 February 2010.

Cinema Høm began as a film photographer in Astrid Henning-Jensen's 1967 short film Min bedstefar er en stok, followed by the children's film Thomas er fredløs and several others. One of two films he directed was Smil Emil in 1969, which became an award-winning success. In 1973, together with his wife Elsebeth Reingaard, he opened the Delta Art Cinema which later became known as the Delta Bio. The venture had a very positive effect on spreading interest in quality filmmaking in Denmark. However, as a result of financial difficulties, he gave up his job as cinema manager in 1979. In 1985, he was one of the founders of the Danish-Swedish photography agency Billedhuset. In 1986, he returned to filmmaking with the successful Take It Easy in which Eddie Skoller played the role of jazz musician Leo Mathisen.

Exhibitions, works and awards Jesper Høm has exhibited widely, written several books and participated in a number of films:

Exhibitions Louisiana, Humlebæk, 1959 Danish Museum of Art & Design, 1963 Landesbildstelle, Hamburg, 1964 Meet the Danes, 1964 New York World's Fair, 1964–65 Kunstpavillion, Esbjerg, 1982 Joy of Timing, Forte dei Marmi, Italy, 1982 Nye farvefotografier, Galleri Asbæk, Copenhagen, 1982 Galleri Image, Århus, 1983 Irske billeder, Louisiana, 1986 Retrospective. Øjeblikkets fascination (The fascination of the moment), Museumsbygningen (gallery), 2015

Books Say Cheese...and Cry, 1959 Sådan er Danmark, sådan da (photos by Jesper Høm and Bror Bernild, commentary by Henning Nystad), 1961 Meet the Danes, 1964 Nogen kalder os glædespiger (commentary by Erik Nørgaard), 1975 Børnenes Billedbog (with Sven Grønlykke), 1975 Samba (commentary by Henrik Stangerup), 1982 Joy of Timing, 1982 Brasiliansk fodbold, 1984 Toneangivende danskere, 1991

Films Min bedstefar er en stok (cinematographer), 1967 Balladen om Carl-Henning [Ballad of Carl-Henning] (cinematographer), 1968 Smil Emil [Smile, Emil] (writer, director, cinematographer), 1969 Stille dage i Clichy [Quiet Days in Clichy] (cinematographer), 1970 Thorvald og Linda (cinematographer with Claus Loof), 1982 Take it Easy (writer, director, cinematographer), 1986

Awards Star Photographer of the Year, London, 1967 Filmfondets Årspris, 1970

See also Photography in Denmark Cinema of Denmark

References