Jesper Høm

Ib Jesper Brieghel Høm (1931–2000) was a Danish photographer and film director. After opening his own studio in Copenhagen, he travelled widely, finally working for Agence VISA in Paris. Jesper 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, script-writer or director.^[1]

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.^[2][3]

The year he spent in Paris had introduced Jesper 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.^[4]

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 freelance, he worked in New York 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.^[2][3]

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.^[5]

Cinema

Høm began as a film photographer in Astrid Henning-Jensen's film "Min bedstefar er en stok" followed by the children's film "Thomas er fredløs" and several others. The one film he actually 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 speading interest in good film-making 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 return to film-making with the successful "Take It Easy" in which Eddie Skoller played the role of jazz musician Leo Mathisen.^[2][3]

Exhibitions, works and awards

Jesper Høm has exhibited widely, written several books and participated in a number of films:^[4]

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

Books

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

Films

• Balladen om Carl-Henning (leading photographer), 1968
• Smil Emil (script, director, photographer), 1969
• Stille dage i Clichy (leading photographer), 1970
• Thorvald og Linda (leading photographer), 1982
• Take it Easy (script, director, leading photographer), 1986

Awards

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

See also

• Photography in Denmark

References

1. ^ "Ib Jesper Briegel Høm", Gravsted.dk. Retrieved 25 February 2010. (Danish)
2. ^ ^{a b c} "Jesper Høm", Den danske film database. Retrieved 25 February 2010. (Danish)
3. ^ ^{a b c} Tage Poulsen, "Mennesker og mønstre", in Dansk Fotografi Historie, ed. Mette Sandbye (Copenhagen: Gyldendal, 2004), p. 287 et seq. ISBN 87-00-39586-2.
4. ^ ^{a b} "Jesper Høm", Det Nationale Fotomuseum. Retrieved 25 February 2010. (Danish)
5. ^ "Fornem gave fra boet efter fotografen Gregers Nielsen", Det Kongelige Bibliotek. Retrieved 26 February 2010. (Danish)

References

1. ^ "Ib Jesper Briegel Høm", Gravsted.dk. Retrieved 25 February 2010. (Danish)
2. ^ ^{a b c} "Jesper Høm", Den danske film database. Retrieved 25 February 2010. (Danish)
3. ^ ^{a b c} Tage Poulsen, "Mennesker og mønstre", in Dansk Fotografi Historie, ed. Mette Sandbye (Copenhagen: Gyldendal, 2004), p. 287 et seq. ISBN 87-00-39586-2.
4. ^ ^{a b} "Jesper Høm", Det Nationale Fotomuseum. Retrieved 25 February 2010. (Danish)
5. ^ "Fornem gave fra boet efter fotografen Gregers Nielsen", Det Kongelige Bibliotek. Retrieved 26 February 2010. (Danish)

Persondata
Name	Hom, Jesper
Alternative names
Short description
Date of birth	1931
Place of birth
Date of death	2000
Place of death