“Anything’s possible, almost.”

These were the words spoken by Marilyn Monroe at her last interview in 1962. 

 

Marilyn Monroe and Hannes Schmid would belong to a group of people, sometimes (mis)understood as crazy or difficult, because they inherently believe what most of us would think is impossible or would take too much effort.

 

It would be their credence that ‘nothing is impossible’; as Schmid inversely puts, that would make their works remain so vividly exciting in our minds.

 

So, is this a juxtaposition of perspective? Nothing really impossible or anything really possible?

 

This concept, foreign to realists, and familiar to dreamers, is one of the most powerful sense of being, for those possessing such a mindset. We fall somewhere within this dreamer/realist spectrum, be it influenced by our nature or nurture. Sometimes, the only realists are the dreamers. And they remain an inspiration to all. Marilyn Monroe, decades after her death, has continued to stay very much alive in our memories today. Despite her difficult childhood, she had great aspirations in what she wanted to achieve in her life and she managed, even when all odds were against her. There is nothing half-hearted here, even if it meant offending the world around her. 

 

In this limited series of photography taken in the late 80s by Hannes Schmid, he recaptured the mood and aura of Marilyn Monroe. A task which many photographers and celebrities have had a go at, but none have managed to achieve such powerful yet subtle images like Schmid. Some are hauntingly familiar to her last photo-shoot with Barris, some reflect her beauty when put in front of a lens. Mostly, they mirror Monroe’s sensitive yet melancholic manner in her search for herself as she presents herself to the world.

 

 

It is indeed the pure love of the idealist and the dreamer – a divine combination. 

Perhaps it is only love that can manoeuvre their lives into such powerful influences.