|
Anais Nin, New York, 1971
(print February 1982), Platinum palladium print, Gift of Irving Penn,
©1971 by the Condé Nast Publications, Inc.
Chimney Sweep, London, 1950
(print 1967), Platinum palladium print, Gift of Irving Penn,
©1951 by the Condé Nast Publications, Inc.
Tambul Warrior, New Guinea, 1970
(print March 1979), Platinum palladium print, Gift of Irving Penn,
©1974 by Irving Penn, courtesy of Vogue
Chicks in a Jar, Mexico, 1942
(print 1983),
Gelatin silver print,
Gift of Irving Penn,
©1984 by Irving Penn
Lion Skull, Prague, 1986
(print 1986), Gelatin silver print,
Gift of Irving Penn,
©1986 by Irving Penn
| |
Irving Penn, A Career in Photography
July 28 - October 10, 1999
Irving Penn (b. 1917) is an artist whose photographs are familiar to many. His work has been
included in many international exhibitions and is seen throughout the pages of Vogueand other
magazines. This exhibition presents many famous images along with works never before seen,
accompanied by archival materials portraying the complete career of this creative and influential
artist. Penn's images and his archives serve as a record of cultural, economic, and political
trends in the second half of this century.
From 1934 to 1938 Penn studied design at the Philadelphia Museum School of Industrial Art
under Alexey Brodovitch, who had a great impact on his career. Recognizing Penn's talents,
Brodovitch hired Penn as an illustrator and art designer for Harper's Bazaarand later, for
Saks Fifth Avenue department store. Penn took time off from a design career to paint in Mexico,
and upon his return to the United States, began working under the direction of Alexander Liberman,
director of VogueMagazine. Originally hired to conceive of cover ideas, Penn was soon approached
to photograph his own cover. Penn has since completed over 160 cover photographs for Vogue,and
his long association with this magazine continues today.
Penn's cover work was only the beginning. Starting primarily with fashion and celebrity
portraiture, he has branched out into several different genres. His personal and commercial work
now encompasses additional subjects, including still lifes, nudes, travel and ethnographic studies,
as well as advertising photography. A survey of Penn's career shows a unity and consistency
throughout his work that is rare when approaching such a variety of subjects.
By pulling his subjects out of context, focusing on clothing and accessories while removing background
information, Penn has modernized fashion photography. His images are imbued with a
simplicity and elegance, yet they also reveal a fascination with decay. Often, his
inclusion of threads, dust and dirt, along with wires and other elements from the photo shoot,
are left within the frame of the photograph. His series of memento-moriobjects and found street
material exemplifies an in-depth exploration of beauty inherent within the process of disintegration.
Penn thus successfully challenges typical notions of beauty, giving dignity and nobility to cast-off
objects and other unusual items.
Exploring different printing options was a paramount concern for Penn. Always striving for the best
presentation of his work, he has become a master printer, revitalizing the platinum-palladium process
as well as working with new techniques. The combination of innovative
photography and meticulous printing has made Irving Penn one of the most significant photographers of
the twentieth century.
Accompanying the exhibition is a fully illustrated catalogue. Co-published by The Art Institute in
conjunction with Bulfinch Press, Irving Penn, A Career in Photographyis the first monograph on the
artist to comprehensively study his career in conjunction with his working process.
This exhibition has been organized by The Art Institute of Chicago.
Back to PAST EXHIBITIONS
Back to Top
|
