Loading document…
Opening in Pages for Mac...
Your browser isn’t fully supported.
For the best Pages for iCloud experience, use a supported browser.
Learn More
Cancel
Continue
In recent weeks I’ve visited three photographic exhibitions. Each had people at its core. All were
very different, stimulating and provocative in their own way. As the sum of all three exceeded the
parts, it’s interesting to reflect on the bigger picture, so to speak.
The fi rst, ‘
Performing for the Camera’
at Tate Modern,
provided an extended exploration of the relationship
between the subject and the photographer. Through the
work of internationally renowned photographers, and of
practitioners scarcely known outside their immediate
circle, three key interactions between subject and camera
emerged.
Put simply:
1.
the subject is unaware of the photographer, or aware
but not influenced by the presence of the camera;
2.
in a situation which would have happened anyway, the
subject is aware of and influenced by the camera;
3.
the entire image arises from a collaboration between
subject and photographer, whether a simple portrait or an
elaborate staged image.
‘
Vogue 100
- A Century of Style’
at the National
Portrait Gallery
defi nitely fell into the third category.
Iconic, provocative, pioneering
, the exhibition told the
story of
a century of British Vogue through its covers.
Proving beyond doubt that
what
might be thought
of as
a fashion magazine has had an astounding influence on
photography
, the exhibition was a well-curated display
of fi ne imagery. It was particularly interesting to see how
Vogue encouraged the development of new
photographic talent as well as
regularly publish
ing
the
work of very big names.
I
t
was also clear how, at
its editorial best, Vogue was
years ahead of its time. In the 1970s Vogue
commissioned novelist J G Ballard to provide a glimpse
of a future
‘
where people will never meet at all, except
on the TV screen
’
.
And now we have social media....
Social commentary was at the heart of ‘
Strange and
Familiar’
at the Barbican, in which curator Martin Parr
presented images of Britain captured by international
photographers.
It’s often constructive to appreciate how others see us,
and this exhibition was no exception, with reportage,
street photography, collaborative efforts and formal
portraits all playing their part.
For me the overwhelming impression - especially of
photographs from the 1960s and 1970s - was one of
identifying with the gritty, dark images. I had been there,
with those people and in some of those places. Grey
wet days. Old buildings and new concrete structures.
Strong personalities. And everybody thinner than they
are today.
The copyright in the images of the exhibition catalogues are held by the respective organisers and
are used with acknowledgement.
