synopsis

In 1984, LIFE magazine asked photographer Jacobus (“Co”) Rentmeester to create a portfolio of Olympic athletes representing our nation’s best. Among them was University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill’s Michael Jordan, who had been drafted by the Bulls and tapped for Team USA. Rentmeester’s concept for the photo essay was to capture the athletes in unconventional settings. For Jordan, he chose a hilltop against a setting sun and asked him to attempt a “grand jeté” ballet leap to express weightlessness and power. Because of how he was placed in relation to the hoop, it appeared as if Jordan was sailing in for a gravity-defying dunk.

When Nike partnered with Jordan and sought a memorable image to anchor its new campaign, creative director Peter Moore solicited a transparency of the photo from Rentmeester under a license expressly limited to “slide presentation only, no layouts or any other duplication.” Nike then reproduced its own version with Jordan wearing his endorsed apparel, copying virtually every original element expressed in the LIFE photo. Moore designed the Jumpman logo from it and Rentmeester never received credit.

After retiring, Rentmeester sued Nike for copyright infringement and ultimately lost in the 9th district court of appeals in Portland, Oregon. The verdict dealt a major blow to photography and creators everywhere. JUMPMAN is a story of fracture and redemption, rooted in the beliefs that a photograph is more than the sum of its parts, and photography is an art that needs better protection.