© C|O Berlin
Zeitlos Schön
(Timeless beauty)
100 years of fashion photography from Man Ray to Mario Testino
18 August to 28 October 2012
18 August to 28 October 2012
Seductive, provocative, commonplace, eccentric and above all powerful –
for some time now fashion photography has no longer merely been
contract work or aestheticising documentation. It has become a unique
opportunity for experimentation, between commerce and creativity,
mainstream and subculture, industry and art. Although its essence and
the way it is implemented may seem paradoxical, since the beginnings of
photography it has been an important part of our visual culture. Like no
other genre, fashion photography not only records the zeitgeist of the
respective decades, as well as individual desires and social dreams but
it also influences, inspires and calls for participation and emulation.
What scope for a sociological approach! The legendary publisher Condé
Nast recognised this tremendous effective force very early on and
created a style for magazines such as Vogue and Vanity Fair that still
has an impact today. It is his publications that first elevated haute
couture to the level of art. With his keen sense for discovering new
talents he found the best photographers and promoted the careers of the
most renowned fashion photographers and in this way had a long-term
influence on a whole artistic genre. No other segment of
photography has constantly generated new images to such an extent,
continuously reinventing itself. In fashion photography, a new pictorial
language and aesthetic was often tried and tested for the first time,
closely linked to the further development of technology. Interestingly,
since the beginnings of fashion photography, the object itself, fashion,
has increasingly shifted out of the focus. Instead, the visual language
of the photographer has become more and more dominant, opulently staged
pictorial compositions and visual designs have become increasingly
significant and the importance of the models has also greatly increased.
Hence it was no longer sufficient to produce pure fashion photographs –
there was also a need to develop innovative, distinctive styles, trends
and images, introduce new themes and break with taboos. On the other
hand, the boundaries between commercial photography and artistic
practices have become much more blurred – and the works of classical
fashion photographers are now being traded at high prices. Text © C|O Berlin
C|O Berlin
Oranienburger Str 35/36
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