On Sunday I made the quick journey downtown, earbuds securely fastened, to the Smithsonian American Art Museum to check out its newest exhibition, Irving Penn: Beyond Beauty.
Somewhere in a dark, cobwebby corner of my mind, I'd known that Penn was a prolific photographer--that his work wasn't relegated to the portraits of severely angled models draped in Parisian couture gracing the covers of Vogue. But I hadn't remotely grasped the breadth of his work, neither its scope in subject nor time. Outside of the high-fashion stuff, I loved his photo essays on African villagers (especially the little kids), tradesmen (including bakers and a Mary Poppins-esque chimney sweep), the 1950s deep South (including "Pause Pause" below), and other portraits of famous 20th century figures like "Miles Davis Hands."
Roaming the gallery, I couldn't help but think about the passage of time and the differences between media at the height of Penn's career and media now. Through advertisements, photographers back then had to convey so much in a single image, tell an entire story in a single frame--but they were often able to captivate viewers. And that's how artists like Penn made their life's work.
Today we have entire commercials and videos that aim to do the same, but hundreds of images, videos, and stories are fighting for viewers' attention at once. With so much noise, it takes truly powerful storytelling to hold an audience--for better or for worse.
Here are a few of my favorites from the exhibition.
Roaming the gallery, I couldn't help but think about the passage of time and the differences between media at the height of Penn's career and media now. Through advertisements, photographers back then had to convey so much in a single image, tell an entire story in a single frame--but they were often able to captivate viewers. And that's how artists like Penn made their life's work.
Today we have entire commercials and videos that aim to do the same, but hundreds of images, videos, and stories are fighting for viewers' attention at once. With so much noise, it takes truly powerful storytelling to hold an audience--for better or for worse.
Here are a few of my favorites from the exhibition.
First, second, and fourth image via the Smithsonian Institution; third via theselvedgeyard.wordpress.com; last via mutualart.com.