Only In England

“Eccentricity is a quality the British prize above others.” -Tony Ray-Jones

This week I visited Only In England, a retrospective of photographer Tony Ray-Jones' work, and I believe the quote at the top of this post truly sums up this exhibition.Space of The Science Museum. The space featured more than 100 photographs, some previously unseen and many chosen by fellow photographer and fan of Ray-Jones, Martin Parr. Tony Ray-Jones had an interest in comedy and this shows throughout his images, he portrays bizarre social interactions through his work and I found that it takes more than your first glance to see the disconnected narratives layered up in the photos. The exhibition is full of quirky observations of British life, people miserably watching punch and Judy shows, men on a freezing cold beach sprawled over deck chairs wearing their finest suit, the typical British summer, and our eternal love of a good cup of tea. His work portrays melancholy in everyday life, peppered with humour and joy; it presents quirky English customs and traditions that seem a lifetime away.  The exhibition is in The Media Space at The Science Museum until March 2014 and is only £5.00 for students so definitely not one to miss!

Baileys stardust

The National Portrait Gallery will be holding Bailey's Stardust early next year, exhibiting the work of iconic photographer, David Bailey.

David Bailey is said to have changed fashion photography, with one infamous shoot for Vogue in New York in 1962 with then girlfriend and model, Jean Shrimpton. Up until then fashion photography had always been conventional and safe and never dared to step outside the lines. Bailey went against the  conservative brief dictated for him by  Vogue editor, Lady Clare Rendlesham. Vogue loved the new style of photography and Bailey paved the way of the 'swinging sixties' years before the Beatles had conquered music. Models lined up to be shot by him and they knew he would catapult their careers with one shoot.

Jean Shrimpton,1962

 Baileys influence is still felt today and he is considered one of the nations best photographers.

The exhibition will showcase over 250 images, shot throughout Bailey's career including portraits of actors,musicians,models,artists and various people he has encountered, some famous, some anonymous. I will definitely be visiting the exhibition when it opens as I have always been interested in his photography and David Bailey himself. 

Below are some images from 'David Bailey's East End' which I was lucky enough to receive signed from David Bailey this year when my dad was working for him.The book documents London's East End from time periods from the 1960's- 2010. I like how the images from the 60's are black and white and less sharp, this adds an element of nostalgia to them and they contrast with the images taken more recently.Bailey captures personalities from the East End,portraits in clubs and pubs, streets,bombed-out buildings and some more personal images.

East End, 1961

The Rio Club, 1968

Catherine Bailey, 1983

East End,1968

'FYI For Win Love David Bailey' (Win is what my family call me, it comes from my middle name which is Winifred)

       Baileys Stardust runs from 6 February- 1 June 2014 at the National Portrait Gallery.

Jacques Henri Latrique's Bibi

The exhibition documents Jacques Henri Latrique's relationship with his first wife and mother of his only child, Madeleine Messenger, known as 'Bibi'. The black and white photographs are a timeline of their life together from the early days of their relationship taking trips together as a loving couple and socialites to the hostility and problems in their relationship that eventually led to their split.

The exhibition runs at The Photographers Gallery until January 5th!

Return of Robert Mapplethorpe

Robert Mapplethorpe was an American photographer largely known for his large scale black and white portraits, photos of flowers and nude men. His work is highly sexualised, controversial and some of it is pretty explicit. A lot of Mapplethorpe's photographs are eroticised and focused on the BDSM scene. Aswell as this more shocking side of his work, he also shot portraits of a lot of famous people including Andy Warhol, Debbie Harry and his once partner Patti Smith.

Mapplethorpe rose to fame during the late 70's and into the 80's before dying early in his career from complications arising from AIDS. I think Robert Mapplethorpe is still relevant today, he has been used as inspiration German GQ, with actor James Franco  posing as the artist. James Franco is also set to play him in an upcoming biopic based on the artists life, produced by actress Elisha Dushku. 

James Franco for GQ

Numero Homme have also based photoshoots on Mapplethorpe's work. I think this shows that the artist is still hugely inspirational and relevant today. I think its the right time for a resurgence of Robert Mapplethorpe's art, as I don't think he is hugely known today, and i think his work is controversial and interesting.

from Numero Homme

I also found a photoshoot named 'constriction' on Dazed digital inspired by Mapplethorpe's portrayal of the New York fetish scene, again proving his work is still influential today.

DAZEDdigital

If you find his work interesting.. there's an exhibition on Mapplethorpe at Alison Jacques Gallery, London, running from September 11th-October 5th..probably best not to take your nan to the exhibition, some of his work is a little explicit!

Bert Stern:Original Madman

Iconic photographer Bert Stern has died aged 83.He was a self-taught photographer,perhaps known best for 'The Last Sitting' , a collection of 2,500 photographs taken of Marilyn Monroe for Vogue over a three-day period in June 1962, six weeks before her death. The Last Sitting was published into a book 1982 and then again in 2000, he also recreated The Last Sitting with actress Lindsay Lohan and has shot many others including Audrey Hepburn,Madonna,Elizabeth Taylor and Twiggy. Stern is widely regarded, among others photographers, for redefining fashion imagery in the fifties and sixties. There is also a film based on Stern's life, Bert Stern:Orginal Madman. A photo shoot of his that I really like is the from 1963 for LIFE magazine, featuring Cary Grant as Charlie Chaplin.

Erwin Blumenfeld at Somerset House

Today I went to Somerset House to view Blumenfeld Studio: New York, 1941-1960, exhibit the portraits and photographs of fashion photographer Erwin Blumenfeld. Blumenfeld was a very sought after photographer and shot for fashion magazines such as Harpers Bazaar and Vogue. He was known for the playful and imaginative photographs he produced. The exhibition features colour originals of Blumenfeld's work including covers for Vogue he had produced. I really enjoyed the exhibition and found the methods he used to add effects to his images really interesting. Some of his images looked like they had been taken underwater but in actual fact had been shot through frosted glass which gave a really strange effect to the photo. Obviously in those days there was no photoshop so it's really imaginative of him to think of ways to manipulate his photos. A lot of his photographs also had an element of repetition to them which i liked. I think Blumenfeld's work was really ahead of it's time in terms of how he would manipulate or customise his images, some of them i would definitely experiment with such as the photographs distorted behind glass. The exhibition is free and definitely worth a trip to this Summer as it continues until 1 September.