In 1995, while visiting New York, Victor Boullet managed to secure a portrait sitting with the composer Philip Glass in his New York townhouse. In ‘Philip Glass 5th October 1995 New York City’, Boullet reveals the entire unedited portrait session including every frame, along with his contact sheets. In this sequence of photographs and Boullet’s accompanying essay, which amusingly recounts the story behind his morning with Philip Glass, Boullet’s portrayal of the composer and his own thoughts, mishaps and insecurities coincide to create a double portrait of the artist and his sitter.
“Portraying someone connected to culture or fame can be a way of climbing a social ladder just by being associated with the sitter, I have used this to my advantage, but this was not the case that day I rang Philip Glass, I was a fan and bored.
The playing stopped. Silence. Footsteps. There he was in front of me, Philip Glass. He looked at me with a startled expression, first at my face, then down at my shoes. He then rapidly moved his eyeballs towards my yellow plastic suitcase containing my camera, he lifted his head and sort of looked behind me, and uttered: is that all?”
