Irving Penn, A Career in Photography
dal 24/3/2000 al 4/6/2000
Segnalato da
24/3/2000
Irving Penn, A Career in Photography
Museum of Fine Arts MFAH, Houston
The career of Irving Penn (born 1917), a leading American
celebrity portraitist and fashion photographer, is
examined in this exhibition. For half a century, he has
been associated with Vogue magazine, yet Penn's images go
beyond the merely commercial. He brings an intensely
personal vision to his magazine work and to projects of
his own. The complex relationship between commerce and
art in Penn's career is reflected in the many genres in
which he has worked: from celebrity and fashion shots, to
nudes and still lifes, to travel and ethnographic
photographs.
Approximately 120 vintage and master prints by Irving Penn
(born 1917), a leading American celebrity portraitist and
fashion photographer, are featured in this exhibition. Penn's
work ranges from trendsetting fashion photography and
celebrity portraiture, to a highly idiosyncratic series of nudes,
to ethnographic studies and travel studies that span the
globe, from mud men in New Guinea to hippies in San
Francisco. Yet despite the array of subjects, his work
displays a remarkable unity and consistency. His
photographs provide a fascinating record of cultural,
economic, and political trends in the second half of this
century.
Penn is perhaps best known for his simply striking and
elegant fashion photography. His photography for Vogue
magazine began in the 1940s and continues to be published
to this day, as does his provocative work for fashion designer
Issey Miyake. In contrast to the thin models he generally
works with for his fashion photography, his nude figures have
a weighty voluptuousness.
Penn uses various printing processes, bleaching and
redeveloping prints to emphasize shading, lines, and
textures. Penn has, in fact, become a master printer,
revitalizing the platinum-palladium process in which
photochemicals are painted onto drawing paper, providing
the photographer with a high degree of control.
This exhibition has been organized by The Art Institute of
Chicago. Funding in Houston has generously been provided
by Charles Butt and the Chase Texas Foundation, with
additional support from Mr. and Mrs. Robert L. Clarke,
Jeaneane B. Duncan, and John L. Wortham and Son, L.L.P.
Museum of Fine Art, Houston
Houston, TX
USA United States of America