Ken Marcus (born October 2, 1946) is a famous American photographer, best known for his work in glamour and erotic photography with ''Penthouse'' and ''

Playboy ''Playboy'' (stylized in all caps) is an American men's Lifestyle journalism, lifestyle and entertainment magazine, available both online and in print. It was founded in Chicago in 1953 by Hugh Hefner and his associates, funded in part by a $ ...

'' magazines and for his own website. For over 50 years he has produced hundreds of

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

s, editorials, album covers, and advertisements. For many years, Marcus has lectured and conducted workshops in the US and internationally.

Early life and education

Marcus's formal fine-art photographic training began at age 12. He studied with landscape photographer,

Ansel Adams Ansel Easton Adams (February 20, 1902 – April 22, 1984) was an American landscape photographer and environmentalist known for his Monochrome photography, black-and-white images of the American West. He helped found Group f/64, an association ...

Yosemite National Park Yosemite National Park ( ) is a List of national parks of the United States, national park of the United States in California. It is bordered on the southeast by Sierra National Forest and on the northwest by Stanislaus National Forest. The p ...

for 13 years as well as with Brett Weston, Paul Caponigro, Wynn Bullock,

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

and Judy Dater, all of whom influenced his early work. Marcus attended the

ArtCenter College of Design The ArtCenter College of Design is a private art college in Pasadena, California. It was incorporated in 1930 as a degree-granting institution of higher learning in the US created specifically for students of both the visual arts and design. ...

studying fashion and advertising photography. He later attended the Brooks Institute. At age 18, he opened his studio on Melrose Avenue in Hollywood, Los Angeles, where he continued to work for the next 53 years. In 2019, Marcus moved his studio operation to the Las Vegas, Nevada, area.

Career

In 1965, Marcus established his studio on Melrose Avenue in Hollywood. His earliest commercial work consisted of product shots, catalogs, and corporate and editorial assignments. Throughout his 20s, Marcus'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 The Art Directors Club of New York is an organization for art directors in New York City. It was founded in 1920, and has grown as an industry group, promoting art directors' work through exhibitions and awards, including the annual DESI award fo ...

awards. By the early 1970s Marcus shot regularly for Max Factor, Frederick's of Hollywood, and other West Coast fashion clients. He also photographed musicians for album covers and posters, including the inside gatefold of

George Harrison George Harrison (25 February 1943 – 29 November 2001) was an English musician, singer and songwriter who achieved international fame as the lead guitarist of the Beatles. Sometimes called "the quiet Beatle", Harrison embraced Culture ...

's '' Living in the Material World''.

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 ''Playboy'' 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 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, Snap-on Tools, NAPA, and '' Muscle & Fitness'' magazine.

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 dancers with the

Los Angeles Ballet Los Angeles Ballet (LAB) is a classical ballet company based in Los Angeles. While rehearsals take place at the Los Angeles Ballet Center, the company tours its performances to venues across the metropolitan area, including the Dolby Theatre, Pas ...

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 Abdul-Jabbar ( ; born Ferdinand Lewis Alcindor Jr. , April 16, 1947) is an American former basketball player. He played professionally for 20 seasons for the Milwaukee Bucks and Los Angeles Lakers in the National Basketball Associatio ...

, Virginia Madsen,

Fabio Lanzoni Fabio Lanzoni (; born March 15, 1959), known List of one-word stage names, mononymously as Fabio, is an Italian actor, fashion model, and spokesman. Lanzoni is known for his wide-ranging career including work as a romance novel cover model thro ...

, Vincent Price, Pamela Anderson, and Tom Arnold.

Monterey Pop Festival discovery

Marcus was one of two official photographers at the 1967

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

. The images of

Jimi Hendrix James Marshall "Jimi" Hendrix (born Johnny Allen Hendrix; November 27, 1942September 18, 1970) was an American singer-songwriter and musician. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest and most influential guitarists of all time. Inducted ...

Janis Joplin Janis Lyn Joplin (January 19, 1943 – October 4, 1970) was an American singer and songwriter. One of the most iconic and successful Rock music, rock performers of her era, she was noted for her powerful mezzo-soprano vocals and her "electric" ...

The Who The Who are an English Rock music, rock band formed in London in 1964. Their classic lineup (1964–1978) consisted of lead vocalist Roger Daltrey, guitarist Pete Townshend, bassist John Entwistle and drummer Keith Moon. Considered one of th ...

Simon & Garfunkel Simon & Garfunkel were an American folk rock duo comprising the singer-songwriter Paul Simon and the singer Art Garfunkel. They were one of the best-selling music acts of the 1960s. Their most famous recordings include three US number-one sing ...

, and

Brian Jones Lewis Brian Hopkin Jones (28 February 1942 – 3 July 1969) was an English musician and founder of the Rolling Stones. Initially a slide guitarist, he went on to sing backing vocals and played a wide variety of instruments on Rolling Stones r ...

of the

Rolling Stones The Rolling Stones are an English Rock music, rock band formed in London in 1962. Active for over six decades, they are one of the most popular, influential, and enduring bands of the Album era, rock era. In the early 1960s, the band pione ...

were rediscovered in 2005 during a studio remodel. His photograph of

is featured on the Jimi Hendrix album, ''The Jimi Hendrix Experience: Live at Monterey'', released in October 2007.

Appearances and pop culture references

Marcus appeared in the opening scenes of the ''

Baywatch ''Baywatch'' is an American Drama (film and television), drama television series about lifeguards who patrol the beaches of Los Angeles County, California, and Hawaii, starring David Hasselhoff. It was created by Michael Berk, Douglas Schwartz ...

'' 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 A comic book, comic-magazine, or simply comic is a publication that consists of comics art in the form of sequential juxtaposed panel (comics), panels that represent individual scenes. Panels are often accompanied by descriptive prose and wri ...

series '' Rocketeer'', artist Dave Stevens portrayed Marcus 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
{{DEFAULTSORT:Marcus, Ken 1946 births BDSM photographers Bondage artists Living people Penthouse (magazine) people Playboy photographers Yosemite National Park Fetish photographers American erotic photographers