Last year, I read about a retrospective exhibit of the American photographer, Irving Penn (June 16, 1917 - 2009). The retrospective was organized by The Metropolitan Museum of Art in conjunction with The Irving Penn Foundation as a celebration of the artist’s 100th birthday. For those of you visiting, or living in, Germany, the Centennial exhibit is now on view at the C/O Berlin (March 24 - July 1, 2018). If you are lucky enough to visit the exhibit of over 240 works created by this prolific artist whose photographic career spans seven decades and encompass multiple genres, I am going to admit, right up front, I am several shades of green with envy.
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Let’s add another strong, independent, talented, female photographer to our Artist Spotlight for June. Today is American photographer, Margaret Bourke-White’s birthday (6/14/1904 - 8/27/1971). I remember hearing Margaret Bourke-White's name in photography courses, but I do not remember that her work was shown. Nor do I remember that her life, accomplishments, and work were discussed at length. I decided to remedy that for myself by actively seeking out books and other information about Bourke-White.
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Today is British photographer, Julia Margaret Cameron’s birthday (06/11/1815 - 01/26/1879). Cameron is known for her dreamy, soft-focus, photos; usually with an allegorical theme derived from literature and religious subjects. But, boy, what a photographic legacy she left in a relatively short “career”.
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Since Margaret Bourke-White is the featured artist for the Artist Spotlight this month, I thought it would be fun to see if any movies have been made about her. I found a 1980's era television movie, starring Farrah Fawcett; BUT, since it is only available on VHS tape, I chose a "runner-up". I thought I would share a movie about a female war photographer which might tie-in nicely with our Margaret Burke-White "theme" this month.
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“Just This Moment” is intended to be a collection of those small moments in which you are truly present in your life - at just that moment. The images may not be frame-worthy, but are moments that fill you with joy, allow you to experience a moment of gratitude, make you smile, touch your heart, and/or make your soul sing. I encourage you to share your “moment” here with me, but I will get us started with this…
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In April, we discussed Eadweard Muybridge and his contribution to photography and cinema. Now, after what we learned about Muybridge and his photography experiments, doesn't this quote have more meaning?
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Our Artist Spotlight this month is Richard Avedon. As I began reading more about him, I found several references and articles about his connection to the 1957 movie, “Funny Face”. Surprised? So was I.
It has been a long time since I watched the movie that starred a very young Audrey Hepburn, Fred Astaire, Kay Thompson, and a bevy of Hubert de Givenchy designed costumes. But, that is a whole blog post in and of itself. Let’s talk about the Avedon “connection”, shall we? You know how I compile trivia lists for you as my contribution to your “cocktail party conversation” repertoire, well here you go:
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Today is the birthday of American photographer, Richard Avedon, so I thought I would give you a brief overview of Richard Avedon just in case you are not familiar with his work.
OVERVIEW
I admit, I never really paid attention to fashion photography, until recently. Naturally, as part of this “discovery”, I began seeking out Avedon’s images to study. Avedon is highly regarded for his work in the fashion industry. He was a photographer for Harper’s Bazaar (1945-1965)and Vogue (1966-1990) so you can readily find his work if you search. I find myself appreciating his clean, elegant compositions, rich tonal range, but, usually, his images include a surprising twist. The iconic photograph, “Dovima with Elephants” comes to mind. (Click HERE to see the image on MoMA’s website.) Who would think of featuring a famous model, wearing a Dior evening gown, positioned between two elephants? Richard Avedon, that’s who.
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Today is the 188th birthday of Eadweard Muybridge. While Muybridge may not be a household name, most of us enjoy the fruits of his photographic studies of motion. You see, Muybridge is credited with capturing movement on film which laid the groundwork for the movies and videos we enjoy today. His studies all started with this experiment capturing the running movement of a horse. I rather love it when art and science collide, so I think the story of how his study of horse movement came about is interesting.
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