Paolo Roversi, Blue Mask, Paris, 2007 © Paolo Roversi. Courtesy of Pace/MacGill Gallery, New York

‘Beauty lies in the eye of the beholder.’ Defining beauty has long been the subject of fierce debate, and grains of truth undoubtedly lie in this age-old cliché.

The broad scope of beauty’s definition has inspired over forty fashion photographers to capture the peculiar threads which are woven into mainstream fashion trends. Their works are currently on display at the International Center of Photography in New York City, as part of its Weird Beauty: Fashion Photography Now exhibition.

The display features a vast number of photographs, some of which verge on the sinister, such as those by well-known American fashion photographer, Stephen Klein. Visitors may admire his untitled work of two women standing within the corridors of a hospital wearing grotesque makeup, elucidating a path toward fashion photography that is unrestrained by the need to focus exclusively on the clothing.

From the hundreds of tears sheets and photographic prints, to the array of online media displayed, the exhibition is a journey into the world of fantasy and art, a journey which no runway could ever be capable of undertaking.

“If there’s one message we hope to convey, it’s that there’s a tremendous amount of exciting, inventive, and provocative work being done by fashion photographers–much of it unseen by the larger audience for contemporary photography. By exhibiting that work primarily in the form of tear sheets, we wanted to emphasize the way those photographs work in their original context: the fashion magazine,” exhibition curator, Vince Aletti, explains.

“Because many of the photographers in our exhibition do not show their work in galleries, we’re hoping that Weird Beauty will encourage viewers to look more regularly and more seriously at magazines on their newsstand. What could be more immediate and accessible?” he adds.

Although numerous photographers have participated, Stephen Klein dominates much of the exhibition, which includes snapshots such as his Le Goût des Robes, which features housewives roaming a supermarket à la Stepford wife.

“Steven Klein, who’s been especially busy these past two years, does tend to dominate the show, but no one photographer or single photograph can convey the idea of an exhibition that’s about range and abundance,” Aletti explains. “We chose Paolo Roversi’s neo-Expressionist masked image as Weird Beauty’s opening visual, but again it’s one of many photographs that suggest the avant-garde influences behind much recent fashion work. The essence of the show is its excess–not one great picture but a flood of them. Which is another reason why we chose to present the work in context: fashion photographs can be appreciated one by one in frames, but they’re much more effective and exciting when they’re seen in sequence, page after page, one image amplifying and building upon another.”

(continued)

Pages: 1 2