Morganmobile: Telling Fragments

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To photographers in the 1960s whose beat was pop music, the fame of the Beatles presented both an opportunity and a challenge. Nearly any image of the band stood a chance of getting published, but winning the battle for substantial page space called for ingenuity. When granted brief access to the four musicians, Jean-Pierre Ducatez made four puzzle-portraits that rely on a fan/viewer’s avid attunement to the features—specifically the lips—of her idols. These photographs ran on a full page in the September 1965 issue of 16 magazine under the heading “Kiss Your Favorite Beatle!”

Jean-Pierre Ducatez (b. 1941), Beatle Lips: George Harrison, John Lennon, Paul McCartney, Ringo Starr, 1965. Gelatin silver prints. Purchased as the gift of Allen Adler, 2015.51:1–4. © Jean- Pierre Ducatez.