Walter Iooss "Slamdunk ’88," Slam Dunk Contest, Chicago, Ill 1988. Images courtesy Your Art Gallery
If your favorite athlete played in the last 50 years, chances are they’ve been photographed by Walter Iooss. The prolific sports photographer started working for Sports Illustrated back in 1961 and has been taking pictures ever since. Recently, Iooss teamed up with printmaking studio and online art gallery, Your Art Gallery, for a new exhibition sale of 30 limited edition archival prints of Michael Jordan in his heyday. While MJ just donated $5 million to the Smithsonian today, Iooss has been snapping photos of him since 1987, eventually collaborating with him on a photographic autobiography of his career entitled Rare Air: Michael On Michael. The sale at YAG features several photographs from that book, most notably the famed white hoodie portrait (below), as well as many others he’s captured over the years.
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Walter Iooss, "Blue Dunk," Lisle, Ill 1987
Iooss was selected as Your Art Gallery’s featured artist this month. In an interview with the photographer, the gallery asks the photographer how he asserts himself as an artist, when working with these “larger-than-life" athletes. Iooss responded, “Players are used to coaching, just like actors are used to directors. When they come to your shoot, they expect you to take charge… Your job is to disarm them, get the shots you need, and get them moving on with their lives.” See snapshots from the collection below:
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