I’m trying to keep my posts in chronological order, and while we visited this exhibit in June at the de Young Museum, it’s now mid-September. It’s been a busy summer and while this exhibit closed on July 24, it’s still worth noting.
Irving Penn’s work spanned seven decades, and this exhibit includes about 175 pieces that cover his entire career. It includes early documentary scenes, portraits of cultural figures, travel work, fashion studies, still life photography, and personal projects. It also includes photographs made during Penn’s 1967 trip to San Francisco.
To quote Nadja Sayej There is no photographer in history quite like Irving Penn. He built a bridge between commercial photography and fine art photography. He helped define the Vogue aesthetic and overwrote popular ideas about beauty with his trailblazing fashion photography. And he shot everything, from celebrities to still lifes, with the same thoughtful intensity. He’s arguably one of the top artists of the 20th Century, and his work is as relevant as ever.
From still lifes to hippies, to Hells Angels to Celebrities and even the natives of New Guinea, Penn’s ability to connect with his subjects and to create compelling images is extraordinary.
Our visit to the museum started with lunch in the cafeteria before moving on to the exhibit.
While Penn’s photos are well represented in various media, I decided to try to capture the feeling of the exhibit with some intentional camera movement (ICM).
