Miles Aldridge: I Only Want You to Love Me @Kasher

JTF (just the facts): A total of 20 large scale color photographs, framed in white and unmatted, and hung against white walls in the North and South gallery spaces and the side alcove. All of the works are c-prints, made between 2005 and 2012. Print sizes range from 14x14 to 56x75 (or reverse), in editions of 6 or 10. A monograph of this body of work was recently published by Rizzoli (here) and is available from the gallery for $75. (Installation shots at right.)

Comments/Context: Miles Aldridge's complex sense for brash stylized color sets his work apart from other contemporary fashion photographers. As seen in this retrospective show of work from roughly the past decade, his precisely staged images are over-the-top exercises in color theory, where every detail and prop is carefully orchestrated for maximum intensity. When added to satirical scenes of blanked eyed women in oddly glamorized domestic situations, his distinctive eye for color makes the photographs even more dynamic and vital.

In Aldridge's hands, female stereotypes are pushed beyond the edge of exaggeration into a surreal world of dark social commentary. A desperate red lipped homemaker stabs an imperfect birthday cake with a huge kitchen knife, a woman in plastic lingerie breaks down over a sliced half grapefruit, a deadpan woman in a tight green dress and red heels is stuffed into the under sink area normally reserved for rubber gloves and toilet cleaner, and a robotic mother in thigh high boots and a perfect black ensemble strides through a gaggle of soccer playing boys (a weird futuristic "soccer mom"). In nearly every situation, the subject has been pushed to an emotional extreme: either anesthetized like a mannequin or on the verge of losing control.

A scene of a smashed dinner tray, an overstuffed Cadillac full of shopping bags and packing trunks, or an overdone dinner party dripping in glamorous boredom all have their own sense of cliché, but Aldridge takes them somewhere new with his use of color. In nearly every image (even the most muted ones), it's as if he has consciously taken out the color wheel to target complementary pairs. A zoned out woman dries her hair in a bathroom full of acidic greens and orange pinks: green tile, red towel, green slip, pink slip, green curtains, orange hair dryer, plastic rings in both colors - it's a symphony in hot, matchy matchy contradiction. These kinds of opposites are everywhere in this show: a bright yellow and red checkerboard floor, blue water behind an orange bikini clad woman, orange soccer uniforms against electric green turf, a dramatic red dress against a green floral carpet; they all add visual tension to the already inflated scenes.

While at first glance it might be easy to mistake these fashion images for fun-loving visual camp, I like the way they grow darker and more depressing with more sustained looking. Everything is just so but blown to the point of parody, like scenes of zombies in overdone gilded prisons.

Collector's POV: The works in this show are priced between $5150 and $15500 (with many intermediate prices), generally based on size. Aldridge's work is not widely available in the secondary markets, although a handful of lots have come up for auction in recent years; prices for those lots ranged between roughly $6000 and $12000.

Rating: * (one star) GOOD (rating system described here)

Transit Hub:

• Artist site (here)
• Features/Reviews: New Yorker (here)

Miles Aldridge: I Only Want You to Love Me
Through June 8th

Steven Kasher Gallery
521 West 23rd Street
New York, NY 10011

Lillian Bassman: Lingerie @Staley-Wise

JTF (just the facts): A total of 20 black and white photographs and 9 contact sheets, variously framed and matted, and hung in the winding main gallery space and the reception area. 14 of the black and white works are gelatin silver prints, ranging in size from 11x14 to 30x40. The other 4 black and white works are archival pigment prints, ranging in size from 42x52 to 44x57. The 9 contact sheets are 8x10 gelatin silver prints. No edition information was available for any of the prints. There are also 2 gelatin silver prints of Bassman taken by her husband, Paul Himmel. All of the works were taken between 1945 and the 1960s, except one new image from 2012. A monograph of this body of work was recently published by Abrams (here). (Installation shots at right.)
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Comments/Context: The late resurgence in the photographic career of Lillian Bassman is a story that is probably already well known to readers here. An influential fashion photographer for Harper's Bazaar in the 1950s and 1960s, she was largely forgotten until roughly a decade ago, when some of her old negatives were rediscovered and she began to reprint and reinterpret them, often in larger sizes. A collection of her many photographs of lingerie models has recently been gathered into a monograph, but her death last winter has added a more melancholy note to this accompanying show.
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Bassman's images of women's lingerie capture a wide spectrum of forms and styles: corsets and girdles, slips and nightgowns, underwear and pajamas. She was fond of seductive silhouettes, with arms raised and faces averted, drawing our attention to anonymous feminine curves and confident stances. But the darkroom was where the real magic occurred. Bleaching and burning (and later making digital manipulations), she broadened the contrasts to harsher blacks and whites, increased the graininess to an expressionistic, painterly blur, and heightened shadows and softened highlights to transform her models into stylized, monochrome representations of elegance and glamour. The resulting images have a dreamy, ephemeral quality, the wispy grace of a pose threatening to disappear in a blink of an eye.

What makes these pictures work is their self-assured boldness. In many ways, the lingerie is just a subject matter detail; what is being offered is a combination of poise and coolness, made stronger by the punch of the black and white polarization. As Bassman extended the range of her signature aesthetic techniques, she took her images to new levels of sophistication and femininity, and further separated them from mainstream fashion photography.

Collector's POV: Surprisingly, the prints in this show are not for sale; it seems that since the photographer's recent death, the arrangements with the estate have not been finalized. Bassman's prints (both vintage and later, generally 11x14 or smaller) have been available from time to time in the secondary markets, with prices ranging between $4000 and $15000 in the past few years. Her larger pigment prints and other recent works are likely only available at gallery retail prices.

Rating: * (one star) GOOD (rating system described here)

Transit Hub:

• Features: Vanity Fair (here)
• Obituary: NY Times (here)

Lillian Bassman: Lingerie

Through May 26th
 
Staley-Wise Gallery
560 Broadway
New York, NY 10012

Herb Ritts @Houk

JTF (just the facts): A total of 28 black and white photographs, framed in black and matted, and hung in the main gallery and entry spaces. 24 of the prints are gelatin silver prints, some of which are toned; the other 4 prints are platinum. The images on view were taken between 1979 and 2000, with most made in the 1980s and 1990s. Physical dimensions range from 11x14 to 26x22, and editions range from editions of 1 to editions of 12. (Installation shots at right.)

Comments/Context: Imagine I was to draw a Venn diagram with three intersecting circles, and then label those circles: Celebrity, Fashion, and Nude. If we were then to brainstorm photographers who would best fit in the intersection of those three areas, I'm guessing that Herb Ritts would be either the first or at least one of the first names we might come up with. Ritts made a highly successful career out of mixing these three genres, developing a visual style that has been remarkably durable and popular, walking the knife edge of "classic" and "glamour" with surprising deftness.
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Edwynn Houk has recently taken on the representation of the estate of Herb Ritts, and this solid first show smartly avoids a greatest hits parade, and instead dives a little deeper into his back catalog, digging up variants, alternates, and lesser knowns and juxtaposing them with a few crowd pleasers. While Madonna, Richard Gere, and Michael Jackson all take star turns, most of the images are nudes or fashion images, or some combination of the two.

If I am to be honest, I must admit that I am not a massive fan of the "glamour nude" as practiced (and perfected) by Ritts and others. Even though we are collectors of photographic nudes, and while I can certainly appreciate the quality of the prints and the beauty of the bodies, the sleek stylized perfection of these works crosses some invisible line for me, away from elegance and purity of form and toward something more glossy and artificial. For this reason, I think I was most drawn to some of the more anonymous nudes that have been unearthed in this show, where Ritts may have been exploring the contrast of dark and light or the interaction of line and form, but without having amped it up to that level of fabulousness that is his signature.

With this caveat, I came away from this show very much impressed with the consistency of Ritts' craft from image to image across the decades, as well as with a renewed interest in his compositional skill. If you step back into the middle of the gallery and look beyond the specific people and the embellished details of the stately polished bodies, many of his images resolve themselves into bold, simplified graphics, bringing back the formal refinement and proportion that I think underlies all great nudes. All in, I think this show forced me to look beyond the flashiness of Ritts that I have heretofore found a bit rich for my tastes, and to see more of the underlying talent that was being masked for me by the celebrity glamour.
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Collector's POV: The works in the show range in price from $5000 to $150000, with many intermediate prices, most under $35000. Ritts' work is routinely available in the secondary markets, with dozens of images for sale in any given year, especially those images printed in editions of 25. Recent prices have ranged between $1000 and $110000, with most under $20000.

My favorite image in the show was Christy Turlington, Versace 6, El Mirage, 1990; it's second from the right in the bottom installation shot. I liked the furry feathered texture of the dress, and the dark arch of her back.
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Rating: * (one star) GOOD (rating system described here)

Transit Hub:

• Foundation site (here)
• Book: Herb Ritts: The Golden Hour (here)

Herb Ritts
Through June 25th

Edwynn Houk Gallery
745 Fifth Avenue
New York, NY 10151

Georges Dambier: Who's That Girl? @Benrubi

JTF (just the facts): A total of 24 black and white and color photographs, framed in black with white mats, and hung in the main gallery space. The 8 black and white works are gelatin silver prints, made between 1953 and 1959. They are all 16x20 or reverse, printed in editions of 25. The 16 color works are archival pigment prints, made between 1953 and 1961. They are either 16x20, 20x20, or 20x24 (or reverse), also printed in editions of 25. All of the works on view are modern prints from restored negatives. (Installation shots at right.)

Comments/Context: French fashion photographer Georges Dambier made his mark working for Elle in the 1950s, taking famous models out of the studio and placing them in the streets. This small show is a mini retrospective of sorts, where solid examples in both black and white and color have been gathered together, showing Dambier's particular knack for the jaunty staged scene and his masterful use of splashes of bold color.

Dambier's black and white work is filled with posed scenes and feminine flourishes: a model nose to nose with a hackney horse, another daintily paying a gas station attendant, a third buying a goldfish in plastic bag. Broad fur collars, cigarette holders, and white gloves complement slyly exaggerated faces and dramatic gestures, in ways we have come to associate with 1950s fashion photography.

I found Dambier's color work to be far more striking. In three pictures, he captures Suzy Parker with flowers: one with an armload of bright yellow daffodils, a second with a pastel pink hydrangea bouquet that matches the ribbon on her white hat, and a third with a bunch of salmon pink tulips that echoes the flounce of her floppy pink brim; all three have an energy that is contagious. Other images on display have this same electricity: a red and white striped top paired with a huge blue surfboard, striped beach coverups in blue and orange, a red hat and red gloves flanked by the big red blob in a painting by Miro. Red coats and suits paired with matching red hats similarly stand out against the anonymous movement of the city in the background. In all of these these works, color has become the compositional anchor, rather than subject or form, and bright areas of saturated color grab your eye.

While many of the works on display seem like well-executed examples of a certain type from a certain time, a few of the color pictures are really quite timelessly stunning. So even if fashion photography isn't your passion, there are a couple of dazzling color photographs on view here that are worth a quick detour.

Collector's POV: The prints in this show are priced as follows: the 16x20 and 20x20 prints range in price from $2800 to $9500, based on the place in the edition; the single 20x24 print on view is $4000 (rising to $5000 as the edition sells). Dambier's work hasn't reached the secondary markets with any regularity, so gallery retail is likely the only option for interested collectors at this point.
 
My favorite image in the show was The Bikini Girl on the Boardwalk, pour Jour de France, Deauville, 1959; it's on the far left in the middle installation shot. This is the kind of image that should be used to illustrate the power of primary colors in photography. The crisp white polka dots on the blue bathing suit and the echo of matching yellow between the umbrella and the glass of juice really make this picture pop. Paired with the model's mischievous smile, the vibrant color turns a simple fashion scene into something sensational.

Rating: * (one star) GOOD (rating system described here)

Transit Hub:

• Artist page (here)
• Features: NOWNESS (here), On the Runway (here), La Lettre de la Photographie (here)

Georges Dambier: Who's That Girl?
Through May 27th

Bonni Benrubi Gallery
41 East 57th Street
New York, NY 10022

Book: Scott Schuman, The Sartorialist

JTF (just the facts): Published in 2009 by Penguin (here). 512 pages, with a roughly equivalent number of color images. Includes a small number of short captions by the photographer. The book itself is small and thick, with the most of the images printed all the way to the edges. The works in this book were made between 2005 and 2008. (Cover shot at right, via Amazon.)

Comments/Context: I've been thinking about Scott Schuman's The Sartorialist for a while now, trying to put my finger on why his daily images have become such a pop culture phenomenon, why they seem to capture the spirit of our times so well. On first glance, it would be easy to dismiss these pictures as the straight forward snapshots of a fashion obsessive, of people watching taken to some logical extreme. But I actually think the reason these pictures are so successful is that they combine ideas from a variety of photographic genres and place them in a new 21st century context, riding the coattails of a wave of interest in authentic individual expression. This book gathers together a gargantuan sample of images taken from Schuman's popular blog, and provides a terrific summary of his aesthetic approach.

In many ways, Schuman's images lie at the confluence of three photographic styles: frontal portraiture, fashion photography, and street photography. While the full body or three-quarters frontal portrait goes back to the beginning of art history, its photographic roots are often laid at the feet of August Sander and his monumental effort to document the people of the 20th century. Since that time, we have seen photographers as diverse as Irving Penn, Thomas Ruff, Rineke Dijkstra, Hiroh Kikai, and Albrecht Tübke use the straightforward portrait to explore types and categories of people, the oddities and eccentricities of individuals, the evolution of personalities, and even more abstract conceptual topics (often with deadpan facial expressions). What's interesting here is while Schuman has borrowed the traditional form, he is using it an an entirely different manner. His search is for those moments when the choices and combinations of color, texture, volume, and contrast found in our attire suddenly manifest themselves as a coherent personal style, when the parts come together in surprising and unexpected harmony. His portraits are intensely individual, but in a way that is universal; we can all look at these pictures and imagine incorporating some small piece of what we see into our own self-image, where the cut of a coat, the silhouette of a dress, the angle of pocket square, or the fabulousness of a pair of shoes can represent a piece of our own personality.

Schuman's pictures are of course at some literal level fashion photographs. But his pictures have not been staged or constructed in an effort to highlight the dramatic elegance of a couture evening gown or the simmering beauty of a model, in the manner of an Avedon or Penn. Even when these greats of fashion photography worked in the streets, everything was minutely controlled to achieve the desired look: the pose, the lighting, the backdrop, the styling, every detail was tuned to achieve maximum glamour. While Schuman's subjects are clearly collaborating with the photographer, and some effort has obviously been made to improve the overall composition or lighting of the found environment, for the most part, it seems the goal is not perfection, but more a genuine documentation of the uniqueness of the subject. In some sense, it is an exercise in one artist capturing the subtle originality of another.

The final piece of the artistic puzzle is the energy of the streets, the act of discovery that is the hallmark of great street photography, the recognizing and picking out of something exciting amidst the chaos that passes by in every moment. Schuman's subjects are mostly "found objects", chance encounters and random connections, here now and gone in the blink of an eye, hiding in plain sight, bustling by on the sidewalk. It takes a tuned eye to discern the patterns of fashion inspiration in a split second, to see the new or innovative and separate it out from the noise.

All of these photographic threads come together in Schuman's deceptively simple images. But what I think has most influenced his meteoric rise is his timing; his artistic approach came along just as we entered the Facebook era, when the cult of the individual and the democratization of fashion came fortuitously together to make celebrities and reality show stars out of everyday people. Suddenly, it was entirely acceptable to get an authentic view of personal style from a well dressed stranger, perhaps even preferable to employing one cooked up by fashion editors who were far too removed from everyday reality. Schuman's images have become an outlet for more voices in the fashion conversation, a way for diversity, quirkiness, and vitality to be more easily integrated into any one person's view of fashion. There is something vibrant and liberating about seeing fashion in this way, and it's likely the reason his approach has spawned so many imitators - it's really a new genre that he has created.

Regardless of whether curators and collectors ever see Schuman's works as part of the continuum of great photography (fashion or otherwise), there is something infectious and relentlessly positive about this body of work. Pick up this book and you'll be hard pressed to put it down without picking favorites, while perhaps discovering some new ideas for finding your own individuality along the way.

Collector’s POV: Scott Schuman is represented by Danziger Projects in New York (here). Schuman's work has not yet become available in the secondary markets, so gallery retail is likely the only option for interested collectors. Given how prolific Schuman is, I expect that print prices are generally quite reasonable.

Transit Hub:

• The Sartorialist blog (here)

Munkacsi's Lost Archive @ICP

JTF (just the facts): A total of 34 black and white images, often hung as groups of related images, installed in a single room on the lower level of the museum. The exhibit also includes 4 of the negatives on a light table, 3 glass displays containing magazines, and one window case holding a large number of stacked negative boxes, complete with handwritten titles/subjects. All of the negatives are from the 1930s and 1940s; the prints are modern. (Unfortunately, there are no installation shots for this exhibit; ironically, no photography is allowed at the ICP. Only a handful of thumbnail images can be found on the ICP website below; one of the images, [Peignoir in a light breeze], 1936, is at right.)

Comments/Context: The Hungarian photographer Martin Munkacsi died in 1963, and until recently, it was thought that his negative archive was lost. In an "only on the Internet" kind of story (uncorroborated by me by the way), the entire archive of his years at Harper's Bazaar supposedly came up for sale on eBay, and Brian Wallis, head curator at the ICP, went out to Connecticut and bought the boxes containing 4000 glass negatives in one fell swoop.

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The small exhibit that has been drawn from these negatives is very process focused. It highlights how Munkacsi selected a negative and then cropped it down in multiple forms before finally arriving at the image that would run in a magazine. In contrast to Steichen's stately controlled poses (shown in the adjacent galleries), Munkacsi often shot outdoors and emphasized movement, exemplified by a series of images of woman in a windy car, her hair blowing all over the place. His tight cropping helped make many of the images much stronger.

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Overall, this exhibit is a bit thin and loose, diluting the points about Munkacsi's contributions to fashion photography; perhaps more time is needed to dig out the gems hidden in all the boxes.

Collector's POV: Munkasci's work is generally available at auction, ranging anywhere from a few thousand dollars on the low end, up to nearly $50000 at the top. For our collection, we would be interested in finding a vintage Munkacsi nude (he made some terrific ones), but these works haven't been readily available in the past few years, so we're still out there looking.

Rating: * (one star) GOOD (rating system described here)

Munkacsi's Lost Archive

Through May 3

International Center of Photography

1133 Avenue of the Americas

New York, NY 10036

Edward Steichen: In High Fashion, The Condé Nast Years, 1923-1937 @ICP

JTF (just the facts): A total of 168 images, all silver prints except for a handful of color prints in one room, matted/framed and displayed on alternating red and grey walls in 5 adjoining rooms on the lower level of the museum. Additional items include a short video in the entry and 4 glass cases spread throughout the exhibit, holding magazines (both black and white and color), spreads, collages, and retouched prints. There is also a 288 page catalogue of the exhibition available. (Unfortunately, there are no installation shots for this exhibit; ironically, no photography is allowed at the ICP. Only a handful of thumbnail images can be found on the ICP website below; one of the images, Model Marion Morehouse and unidentified model wearing dresses by Vionnet, 1930, is at right.)

Comments/Context: While Edward Steichen is probably best known for his Pictorialist images in conjunction with Alfred Steiglitz and the Photo Secession, his early Modernist images, or later for his role as curator of the Photography department at MoMA (think The Family of Man), in between he turned to the dark side (much to the chagrin of his artist friends) and worked as a commercial photographer for Condé Nast to pay the bills, making fashion and glamour images for Vogue and Vanity Fair. This exhibit brings together for the first time a wide sampling of these images, drawn from the Condé Nast archives and the collection of the George Eastman House.

Since so much time has passed since Steichen took his images, many of the famous celebrities of that period have drifted into relative obscurity, forgotten or generally unknown by new generations. So whether Steichen's subjects were fashion models or celebrities hardly seems to matter now, except for the most recognizable of the faces (Marlene Dietrich, Gary Cooper, Anna May Wong, etc.). They were all beautiful people, and these are gorgeous, sumptuous portraits.

Most of the images have an old Hollywood glamour and patina, lots of artfully sculpted hair, backless flowing dresses, and extravagant hats. There are long gowns with graceful lines, and coolly elegant poses, often with an Art Deco set or background. What was most startling for me were many of the head shot close-ups of famous actresses of the time (Sylvia Sidney, Joan Bennett, Pola Negri, Norma Shearer, Katharine Cornell, Gertrude Lawrence, Greta Garbo and Gloria Swanson among many others). In these images, Steichen has captured seductive and sophisticated looks, coy smiles, and smoldering stares, single handedly defining the actress as "siren". In picture after picture, Steichen consistently found beguiling magic.

In walking through this exhibit you will be amazed by just how many superior portraits there are; just when you thought you had seen a dozen great ones, there's another room to enjoy. Again and again, the quality and craftsmanship is top notch, the compositions meticulously perfect. While I would never have predicted it going into this show, given our collecting focus on other subjects, this is clearly one of the best shows we've seen this year. I actually sat down and took a rest during the middle of my visit, to ensure I had enough energy to savor each and every picture.

NY Times art critic Roberta Smith found less to enjoy at this Steichen show. She called it a "trifle dull" and "musty". I couldn't disagree more, but here's her review of all the ICP fashion exhibits, so you can decide for yourself (here).

For some lively commentary on the images and some extremely helpful gossipy background on many of the forgotten stars portrayed, listen to the C-MONSTER audio guide podcast for the show, found here.

Collector's POV: Steichen's work is widely available in the secondary markets, from low priced Camera Work gravures to one of a kind masterpiece images; as a reminder, The Pond - Moonlight sold for just under $3 million dollars in 2006. Howard Greenberg Gallery (here) has just opened a show of Steichen's work from 1915-1923 (the period just preceding the Condé Nast years) which highlights his transition from Pictorialism to Modernism (a show we will certainly see and review at some point soon). As an aside, Steichen also made some amazing flowers that would fit well with our collection, if we could only afford them.

Rating: *** (three stars) EXCELLENT (rating system described here)

Edward Steichen: In High Fashion, The Condé Nast Years, 1923-1937
Through May 3

International Center of Photography
1133 Avenue of the Americas
New York, NY 10036

This Is Not a Fashion Photograph @ICP

JTF (just the facts): A total of 75 images, nearly all black and white prints, framed in black and densely packed on a red ledge that runs the length of the walls of the one room gallery. A few images are hung above the ledge in an uneven second row. There is no wall text beyond the introduction; a laminated spiral bound booklet is available as background. 61 different photographers are represented in the exhibit, mostly from the 20th century. (Unfortunately, there are no installation shots for this exhibit; ironically, no photography is allowed at the ICP. An incomplete set of thumbnail images can be found on the ICP website below; one of the images, Malick Sidibé's Nuit de Noel, 1962, is at right.)

Comments/Context: This group show now on view at the ICP is ostensibly a foil to the various fashion exhibits currently being displayed, theoretically riffing on the themes and cliches of fashion photography found in a wide variety of vintage material completely unrelated to fashion. I say theoretically, as while there are plenty of pictures of people in stylish clothing, or making dramatic gestures, or wearing striking hats in this show, the connection to fashion is tenuous at best, and in the end I think, completely unnecessary.

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Guest curator Vince Aletti has gathered together and carefully sequenced a witty, clever, and ultimately very satisfying group show of people pictures. Chaotically hung and jammed together, it feels like the work of an obsessed collector (which is of course, coming from us, the highest of praise). This is a show that merits following the images in specific order, as Aletti has made each one connect to its neighbor, in a subtle game of echoes of posture, stance, gesture, and expression, not to mention the obvious similarities in hats, glasses, and clothing. There are lots of individually great pictures mixed in (both known and unknown), which resonate more in the context of those hung nearby. This is a "collector" with a good eye, who knew what he was doing; as such, it will likely be one of the best edited group shows of the year.

Collector's POV: Since this show is entirely focused on images of people, there weren't many specific fits for our collection. That said, I particularly enjoyed seeing the Sidibé, Nuit de Noel, in person, as we have been thinking more about this artist of late (see a recent book review here); I also enjoyed Leon Levinstein's Lower East Side, 1969, a woman in a crazy striped dress.

Rating: ** (two stars) VERY GOOD (rating system described here)

This Is Not a Fashion Photograph: Selections from the ICP Collection

Through May 3

International Center of Photography

1133 Avenue of the Americas

New York, NY 10036

Weird Beauty: Fashion Photography Now @ICP

JTF (just the facts): The exhibition is divided into 14 numbered sections, each containing between 3 and 5 spreads, displayed floor to ceiling, interspersed with framed magazine covers and larger single images. There are a total of 57 spreads. Each spread is made up of tear sheets from magazines mounted to board (not framed), typically including several images from a single narrative or shoot. There are 42 photographers (or photographer pairs) represented in the show. (Unfortunately, there are no installation shots for this exhibit; ironically, no photography is allowed at the ICP. A few single images can be found on the ICP website below, but they don't do justice to the density of the installation.)

Comments/Context: With a normal issue of Vogue measuring in at several inches thick, overstuffed with four color, full page ads and fashion articles, it is no surprise that the primary job of the fashion photographer is to get attention, to make pictures that are so visually arresting that they jar the reader from his/her mindless flipping and actually make them stop for a moment and take a second look. In our current world, with its non-stop cacophonous barrage of imagery, this task becomes even harder, and fashion photographers and stylists are challenged to push any and all boundaries to make their products stand out from the mind-numbingly large crowd. It is not surprising then that this summary show of current fashion imagery is an energetic and electric visual overload. The silent shouting coming from the walls is at points overwhelming.

The show is organized into groups of spreads, where individual stories and wild narratives are played out over a handful of related images. Nearly all of the spreads are in color, and most are eye catching in design. Likely as a reaction to the growing apathy of viewers, the photographers seem to be pulling out all the stops and the stories have evolved toward extremes: darker, wittier, edgier, and more disturbing than ever before. I particularly enjoyed the images by Steven Klein, Steven Meisel, and Solve Sundsbo, but the work in this exhibit is generally strong across the board.

At one level, this show can be seen as a pleasing collection of eye candy. But what I found surprising was to put this type of work into the larger context of contemporary photography, particularly the strain of work that involves elaborately staged tableaux, where the artist has preconceived a dramatic or powerful scene (often a fantasy) with carefully selected actors and props that are then "directed" and photographed (think Wall, Crewdson, et al). Both fashion spreads and these choreographed scenes share a similar underlying conceptual framework; perhaps the construct is being used for different ends by the two groups and perhaps different emotional states are being described or explored, but the work is undeniably related. And even the most inattentive of viewers will see the many appropriations from contemporary art buried in the fashion spreads, further intertwining the two lines of evolution.

This show thus made the genres blur for me more than they had in the past, and took the fashion photos out of the "fashion" context and made me consider them in the larger flow of contemporary photography. It is therefore both an undeniably fun exhibit, as well as a thought provoking one.

Collector's POV: In the past few years, more and more fashion photographs have begun to show up in photography and contemporary art auctions. The work of both Steven Klein and Steven Meisel (as well as others of course) can now be found from time to time in the secondary markets. The recent sale of the Constantiner collection at Christie's is clear proof that there are plenty of dedicated and experienced collectors building world-class collections of fashion photography of all kinds. While these works don't fit into our collection plan, it's clearly a growing area of interest for many collectors.

Rating: ** (two stars) VERY GOOD (rating system described here)

Weird Beauty: Fashion Photography Now
Through May 3

International Center of Photography
1133 Avenue of the Americas
New York, NY 10036

Auction: Constantiner Collection, Part II, February 12th @Christie's

While the snow keeps coming down, there is no surer sign of Spring than the arrival of the first major photography auction catalogues. The 2009 Spring auction season begins with Part II of the Constantiner Collection, a lower-end sibling of the sale that set the record for a single owner photography sale at Christie's (over $7.7M) last December (original posts for preview here and results here), despite coming to market in the worst of times. (Catalogue cover at right.)

As a reminder, the Constantiner Collection focuses on fashion and glamour images, with a heavy dose of Helmut Newton and Marilyn Monroe. This second part of the sale follows this same pattern, with 26 pictures by Newton (including an enlarged pair of contact prints from Sie Kommen which probably belonged in the first part of the sale) and 39 more lots of Monroe imagery. Here are the statistics for the auction:

Total Lots: 155
Total Low Estimate: $1143000

Total High Estimate: $1734500

Total Low Lots (high estimate below $10000): 113

Total Low Estimate (sum of high estimates of Low lots): $523500

Total Mid Lots (high estimate between $10000 and $50000): 38

Total Mid Estimate: $771000

Total High Lots (high estimate above $50000): 4

Total High Estimate: $440000

While there isn't much to tempt us in this particular bunch of pictures, I think this second selection helps to tell a more rounded story of this collection. While Part I was filled with iconic pictures, scarce portfolios and trophy lots, this sale shows the hallmarks of the passion of the collectors. There are plenty of lesser known photographers and outlier images. This is evidence that these collectors were consistently looking at the images themselves, and not just the names and the prices. They had a certain eye for what they found of interest, and were willing to pursue unheralded pictures (by unfamiliar artists) and add them to their collection over time, even if they weren't recognized masterpieces. And they continued to add depth to the collection, long after they had achieved critical mass. This kind of amazing collection is only built with single minded, relentless pursuit over many years.

Since the economic climate is perhaps even gloomier than when the first sale occurred, it is extremely difficult to predict how this sale might fare. The first sale was proof that the demand for fashion and glamour imagery is broader and deeper than many had imagined. This sale will test the edges of that demand a bit, and might give us some clues as to the evolving nature of the overall market for photography this year.

Icons of Glamour and Style: The Constantiner Collection, Part II

February 12th

Christie's

20 Rockefeller Plaza

New York, NY 10020

Auction: Icons of Glamour and Style: The Constantiner Collection, December 16/17, 2008 @Christie's

Since we are not collectors of fashion photography, we have always wondered who was buying all of the glamour images by Helmut Newton, Irving Penn, William Klein, Herb Ritts and a handful of others that can consistently be found in sale after sale, year after year, ringing up strong prices. With the arrival of this well-produced catalog on our doorstep, we now have at least one good answer to that question.

Regardless of whether these kinds of images are your particular passion, this is an amazing collection. Within its defined sandbox (fashion and glamour images), it has all the hallmarks of a great collection: depth (320 images on sale here, with a comprehensive 89 lots by Helmut Newton, from small Polaroids to wall-sized murals, including a large number of portfolios), breadth (104 individual photographers represented by at least one image), and many iconic and rare masterpiece images that define the genre. By our count, there are 41 lots of Marilyn Monroe pictures, so if you ever felt the need for an image of Marilyn in your collection, now is the time to find one. Mixed in among the celebrities, couture and nudes are a handful of standout images of New York. All in, with a total high estimate of $11020500, this is a big sale.

Here's the overall price breakdown:

Total Low Lots (high estimate below $10000): 146
Total Low Estimate (sum of high estimates of Low lots): $784500

Total Mid Lots (high estimate between $10000 and $50000): 127
Total Mid Estimate: $2816000

Total High Lots (high estimate above $50000): 47
Total High Estimate: $7420000

This sale has power in all directions, but particularly in the Mid and High ranges. Given the volatile financial markets, the timing of this sale isn't the greatest. It's a fabulous collection and deserves to sell well; it will be interesting to see how the work actually performs. In the small print, the catalog notes that "Christie's has a direct financial interest in all lots offered in this sale", so clearly the Constantiners got a guarantee for the whole package, regardless of the outcome.

For our particular collection, here are a few of interest:

• Lot 25 Umbo, New York, Third Avenue, 1952
• Lot 26 Margaret Bourke-White, Chrysler Building (Facade), c1930 (image at right)
• Lot 41 Karl Struss, Cables, 1910-1912

Given the scope of this collection, this will be a must-see preview, even if you're not a buyer. It seems unlikely that such a staggering group of fashion photography will be on view anywhere else any time soon (museums included). So gather up some friends and go down to see this preview, and catch the tree at Rockefeller Center as a bonus.

Icons of Glamour and Style: The Constantiner Collection

December 16/17

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Christie's

20 Rockefeller Plaza

New York, NY 10020