Sandro Miller

In Crowns: My Hair, My Soul, My Freedom American photographer Sandro Miller (born 1958) celebrates the social endurance, cultural heritage and self-expression of Black women through their hairstyles. In this series of portraits, each subject is posed in front of either a strikingly black or vibrant geometric background that serves to highlight the models’ skin tones and accentuates their ultra-stylized hair, whether a halo of bright gold curls or crimson locks swept into an elegant bun. Each image is based on the relevant model’s “hair story” and pays homage to her personal fashion sense, documenting the many unspoken ways in which Black women assert their autonomy through their physical appearance. In this project, Miller seeks to recognize and honor Black women’s creativity and beauty while celebrating their social endurance and cultural memory at the same time.

Hollywood legend John Malkovich may seem like an unlikely choice for an artist’s muse, but American photographer Sandro Miller declares him “a photographer’s dream.” Miller (born 1958) has been finding inspiration in the Academy Award-nominated actor since the two first met in 1999. In their latest collaboration, Miller pays homage to the great photographers of past and present, with Malkovich as his sole model, in their recreations of 41 iconic portraits. The project is a testament to both Miller’s skill as a photographer and Malkovich’s chameleon-esque acting ability.

With months of research in addition to accurate costumes and makeup application, Miller’s recreations are delightfully exact in their lighting and editing, while Malkovich seems to easily inhabit the original subjects no matter who he is meant to portray. He appears as the titular migrant mother in Dorothea Lange’s Depression-era portrait, as a bewigged Andy Warhol cast in crimson and as both sisters in Diane Arbus’ infamous Identical Twins, Roselle, New Jersey, matching with himself in a wide-collared dress and lace stockings. With tongue planted firmly in cheek, Miller manages to breathe new life into some of the world’s most recognizable images in this playful take on the history of photography's intersection with pop culture.