Ken Marcus (born October 2, 1946) is an American

Photographer A photographer (the Greek φῶς (''phos''), meaning "light", and γραφή (''graphê''), meaning "drawing, writing", together meaning "drawing with light") is a person who makes photographs. Duties and types of photographers As in other ...

, best known for his

glamour photography Glamour photography is a genre of photography in which the subjects are portrayed in erotic poses ranging from fully clothed to nude. The term may be a euphemism for erotic photography. For glamour models, body shape and size are directly rel ...

with ''Penthouse'' and ''

Playboy ''Playboy'' is an American men's Lifestyle magazine, lifestyle and entertainment magazine, formerly in print and currently online. It was founded in Chicago in 1953, by Hugh Hefner and his associates, and funded in part by a $1,000 loan from H ...

'' magazines. For over 40 years he has produced hundreds of

centerfold The centerfold or centrefold of a magazine is the inner pages of the middle sheet, usually containing a portrait, such as a pin-up or a nude. The term can also refer to the model featured in the portrait. In saddle-stitched magazines (as opp ...

s, editorials, album covers, and advertisements. His work is shown in galleries, published in books and magazines. He was chosen as Artist-In-Residence at the

Yosemite National Park Yosemite National Park ( ) is an American national park in California, surrounded on the southeast by Sierra National Forest and on the northwest by Stanislaus National Forest. The park is managed by the National Park Service and covers an ...

Museum. For many years, Marcus has lectured and produced professional workshops in the US and Internationally.

Early life and education

Marcus's formal fine-art photographic training began at age 12. He studied with Ansel Adams in

for 13 years as well as with

Brett Weston Theodore Brett Weston (December 16, 1911 – January 22, 1993) was an American photographer. Life and work Weston was the second of the four sons of photographer Edward Weston and Flora Chandler. He began taking photographs in 1925, while living ...

, Paul Caponigro, Wyn Bullock,

Imogen Cunningham Imogen Cunningham (; April 12, 1883 – June 23, 1976) was an American photographer known for her botanical photography, nudes, and industrial landscapes. Cunningham was a member of the California-based Group f/64, known for its dedication to t ...

and

Judy Dater Judith Rose Dater (née Lichtenfeld; June 21, 1941) is an American photographer and feminist. She is perhaps best known for her 1974 photograph, ''Imogen and Twinka at Yosemite'', featuring an elderly Imogen Cunningham, one of America's first wo ...

, all of whom influenced his early work. Ken Marcus attended the Art Center College of Design studying fashion and advertising photography. He later attended Brooks Institute of Photography. At age 18, he opened his studio in Hollywood CA on Melrose Avenue where he continued to work for the next 53 years.

Career

In 1965, Marcus established his studio on Melrose Avenue in Hollywood. His earliest commercial work consisted of product shots, catalogs, corporate and editorial assignments. Throughout his 20s, Ken's commercial assignments included product and fashion catalogs, architectural interiors, food illustration, magazine editorials and advertising photography. Within five years of opening his studio, his work received national publicity and several Art Directors Club awards. By the early '70s Marcus shot regularly for

Max Factor Max Factor is a line of cosmetics from Coty, Inc. It was founded in 1909 as Max Factor & Company by Maksymilian Faktorowicz. Max Factor specialized in movie make-up. Until its 1973 sale for US$500 million (approximately $ billion in 2017 dolla ...

Frederick's of Hollywood Frederick's of Hollywood is an American lingerie brand formerly with stores in shopping malls across the United States. In 2015, all 111 retail stores were closed in advance of a bankruptcy filing. The brand was acquired by Authentic Brands Gro ...

and other West Coast fashion clients. He also photographed famous musicians for album covers and posters, including the inside gatefold of George Harrison's ''

Living in the Material World ''Living in the Material World'' is the fourth studio album by English musician George Harrison, released in 1973 on Apple Records. As the follow-up to 1970's critically acclaimed ''All Things Must Pass'' and his pioneering charity project, th ...

''.

Glamour photography

In 1971 Marcus became the first American photographer for '' Penthouse'' magazine. His early pictorials involved couples and models photographed through heavy, soft focus diffusion. This technique, while popular during the early part of the 20th century, had not been used in publication since the early 1920s. Marcus crafted his own homemade diffusion filters because, at that time, there were none available on the commercial market. In 1974, Marcus left ''Penthouse'' to become the West Coast Contributing Photographer at ''

'' magazine. For 11 years Marcus's work was featured regularly in ''Playboy'''s 15 international editions, and for eight of those years Marcus exclusively photographed the Playboy Calendar. Between 1974 and 1985 he produced 41

Playmate A Playmate is a female model featured in the centerfold/gatefold of ''Playboy'' magazine as Playmate of the Month (PMOTM). The PMOTM's pictorial includes nude photographs and a centerfold poster, along with a pictorial biography and the "Playm ...

layouts, over 100 calendars, covers and editorials and twice received Playboy's 'Photographer of the Year Award'. Shortly thereafter, Marcus began shooting pictorials and centerfolds once again for ''Penthouse''. New clients at this time included

Jordache Jordache Enterprises, Inc. is an American clothing company that markets apparel, including shirts, jeans, and outerwear.

, Snap-on Tools, NAPA, and ''

Muscle & Fitness ''Muscle & Fitness'' is an American fitness and bodybuilding magazine founded in 1935 by Canadian entrepreneur Joe Weider. It was originally published under the title ''Your Physique'', before being renamed to ''Muscle Builder'' in 1954, and acq ...

'' magazine.

Seminars, workshops, and videos

For over 25 years, Ken was a regularly featured speaker at national photo conventions and expos. His lectures, seminars and intensive study workshops were sponsored by corporations including Kodak, Hasselblad, Dynalite and Canon, and professional photographers' organizations. Ken has appeared in Australia, Canada, Mexico, Singapore and in most of the United States. In addition to his personal appearances, he produced an award-winning three volume video serie
The Ken Marcus Glamour Workshops
These videos explain professional production techniques for studio and location glamour photography.

Fine-art photography

Originally interested only in landscape fine-art photography, Ken began taking serious interest in nude photography as art during the time that he was working with ''Playboy''. In the early 80s, his nude studies of Los Angeles Ballet Company dancers were first exhibited in Los Angeles. In 1988 Marcus was selected as the Artist-In-Residence at the Yosemite National Park Museum. His images of nude models in nature were originally banned by park officials, but are now shown as part of the museum's permanent collection. Throughout his career, Marcus has done black and white portraits of celebrities such as

Kareem Abdul-Jabbar Kareem (alternatively spelled Karim or Kerim) ( ar, کریم) is a common given name and surname of Arabic origin that means "generous", "noble", "honorable". It is also one of the Names of God in Islam in the Quran. Given name Karim * Karim A ...

Virginia Madsen Virginia Gayle Madsen (born September 11, 1961) is an American actress and film producer. She made her film debut in ''Class'' (1983), which was filmed in her native Chicago. After she moved to Los Angeles, director David Lynch cast her as Pr ...

, Fabio, Vincent Price, Pam Anderson, and Tom Arnold.

Monterey Pop Festival discovery

Marcus was one of only two official photographers at the 1967

Monterey Pop Festival The Monterey International Pop Festival was a three-day music festival held June 16 to 18, 1967, at the Monterey County Fairgrounds in Monterey, California. The festival is remembered for the first major American appearances by the Jimi Hendrix ...

. The images of Jimi Hendrix, Janis Joplin,

The Who The Who are an English rock band formed in London in 1964. Their classic lineup consisted of lead singer Roger Daltrey, guitarist and singer Pete Townshend, bass guitarist and singer John Entwistle, and drummer Keith Moon. They are considered ...

, Simon & Garfunkel,

Brian Jones Lewis Brian Hopkin Jones (28 February 1942 – 3 July 1969) was an English multi-instrumentalist and singer best known as the founder, rhythm/lead guitarist, and original leader of the Rolling Stones. Initially a guitarist, he went on to prov ...

of the Rolling Stones were rediscovered in 2005 during a studio remodel. His photograph of Jimi Hendrix is featured on the Jimi Hendrix album,
The Jimi Hendrix Experience: Live at Monterey
', released on October 16, 2007.

Appearances and pop culture references

Ken Marcus appeared in the opening scenes of the very first Baywatch TV movie "Panic at Malibu Pier". His character is a photographer shooting a glamour layout that featured nudity on the beach. In the comic book series

Rocketeer The Rocketeer is a fictional superhero appearing in American comic books originally published by Pacific Comics. Created by writer/artist Dave Stevens, the character first appeared in 1982 and is an homage to the Saturday matinee serial heroe ...

, comic artist Dave Stevens portrayed Ken as the nefarious "Marco of Hollywood" with a readily identifiable caricature.

Books

*''Contemporary American Erotic Photography: Volume 1'' (1984) (Contributing Photographer) *''California Club'' (1996) *''Two Faces'' (1996) *''Two Knotty Boys: Back on the Ropes'' (2009)

Awards

*1973 "Award of Distinctive Merit" at the Art Directors Club Annual Awards *1980 "Editorial Award for Photography" by Playboy Magazine *1981 "Editorial Award for Photography" by Playboy Magazine *1992 "Best Photography - Studio" at the Academy of Bodybuilding and Fitness Awards *2001 "Publisher's Choice Award" by Adult Stars Magazine *2010 "Best Bondage Photographer" by The Bondage Awards

References

External links

Ken Marcus' erotica site

Ken Marcus Gallery.com, print sale site

Ken Marcus' old 1996 portfolio site
* List of Ken Marcus' Clients {{DEFAULTSORT:Marcus, Ken 1946 births BDSM photographers Bondage artists Living people Penthouse (magazine) people Playboy photographers Yosemite National Park Fetish artists Fetish photographers American erotic photographers