All That Glitters

All That Glitters is a collection of photographs that marks high points in our cultural lives. The expressive potential of photography has always remained one of the mediums greatest attributes. Life can and hopefully often does present us with experiences that bring us joy, excitement and wonderful memories. Whether they capture special moments and events, or express the elegance of style art and fashion, the creative energy of the photographers bring us to a heightened sensibility. 

All of the photographers in the exhibition combine a great skill for composing a picture and defining a special moment. Harry Benson has spent 60 years celebrating and preserving the unique, joyous (and sometimes catastrophic) moments of many famous events and people of the 20th century. Whether he is immortalizing the Beatles through their first steps off the plane in the United States or caught in a zany pillow fight at 2:00 AM, or capturing Andy Warhol while he is busy photographing Bianca Jagger, Benson never fails to immerse the viewer into so many memorable moments. The instant is always poignantly distilled into a special visual experience in Benson’s pictures. 

Kimiko Yoshida’s highly stylized and awe-inspiring beautiful self-portraits underscore the transformative power of art. Although her elaborately stylized compositions reference great works of art from the Byzantine to the modern century, her truly original photographs combine the joy found in gazing upon beautifully composed images with her passion to relive and rediscover the giants of art history. Her persona emerges and disappears from each self - portrait with a glittering sense of mystery and refinement. 

The lenses of both Horst P Horst and Albert Watson have immortalized the beauty and strength of the human figure. They have deftly captured, or more accurately constructed, memorable images though a careful integration of lighting, camera angle, depth of field, shadows and, of course, choice of subjects, to create stunning portraits of their subjects, whether it is the Mainbocher Corset or Kate Moss. Their photographs enrich our perception and have an almost meditative atmosphere where sensuality and refinement are frozen in the moment. Whether it is an iconic subject full of allure and grace, or the creators and architects of great fashion, both Horst’s and Watson’s photographs reverberate with a visual power, magic and often mystery. 

Going beyond the joy experienced with carefully composed fashion and model photographs, the images by Arthur Elgort and Andre de Plessel take a more naturalist approach in their work. They also work with a glittering and sensual world of beautiful women but they often work outdoors, and create moments that look more spontaneous and improvisational. They can artfully incorporate a juxtaposition of elements such as a model and animal, or mix the elegant with the banal to create fresh and unanticipated results. 

The photographers in the exhibition, All That Glitters, encourage us to embrace the beauty and excitement inherent in the world. They collaborate with viewer to visually engage our senses though a masterful range of styles and techniques that focuses on high points of life, style and design. As 2013 ends and 2014 begins, we are encouraged to reflect on both the timeless, or iconographic photograph, as well as examples of instances that portray concepts of contemporary culture. The strength of great photographic images is that they can be both universal and specific. In the hands of the photographers that comprise the show – any thing that can be imagined, or any great event that has occurred, can be given a memorable visual equivalent. The common denominator in all the photographs of All That Glitters is their success of capturing their subjects with a remarkable brilliance.