Photo l.a., a five day exhibition at the Santa Monica Civic Center, opened January 17. Los Angeles photography legends Bill Eppridge and Phil Stern were honored by L.A. City Council member Tom Le Bonge at the opening gala. When Le Bonge introduced Bill Eppridge for his award, he emphasized how these photographs have become a part of our history
Starting January 18th, photo l.a. will also present a full schedule of talks and forums focused on giving serious collectors the expertise they need to build a museum quality collection of their own.
A highlight will be “Mapplethorpe at LACMA and The J. Paul Getty Museum†on Saturday, January 19, 1:30-3:00pm. This panel will present perspectives from Britt Salvesen, LACMA’s Head Curator of the Wallis Annenberg Department, of Photography , Fr
ances Terpak, Curator of Photographs at the Getty Research Institute and Robert Mapplethorpe Archive, and James Crump, Chief Curator, Cincinnati Museum of Art, These experts will discuss the simultaneous, exhibitions of Mapplethorpe’s work and his evolution to a photographic arts leader featured in museum exhibitions.
Another feature of the event programming is docent tours of the exhibition area. On Saturday, Weston Naef, Curator Emeritus from The J. Paul Getty Museum will lead the group. The Sunday tour will be led by Gordon Baldwin, former Curator at The J. Paul Getty Museum and on Monday, Deborah Bell, Vice President from the Photographs Department at Christie’s. All tours start at 9:30am and last about 90 minutes.
Trendsetters will want to mark th
eir calendars for “Art in Fashion “ Sunday, January 20, 3:30 – 5:00pm. Since the sold out November 2010 auction of original fashion photographs by Richard Avedon at Christie’s in Paris and the special “Beauty Culture†photography exhibition at the Annenberg Space for Photography in 2011, this part of the photography market has become a magnet for collectors’ attention. This trend was elevated to a new level last month when Conde Nast presented a special exhibition of fashion photographs at ArtBasel Miami Beach. The special panel at Photo l.a. features Ivan Shaw, Photography Director at Vogue Magazine, curator Kevin Moore, fashion designer Juan Carlos Obando and Jed Root, leader of a premiere agency for leading fashion photographers, stylists, hair and makeup artists within the fashion industry.
Many exceptional fashion photography prints are on display at the booth of Willem Photographic in Monterrey. Gallery owner Brooke Gabrielson cites unique poses and timeless qualities as the key criteria he uses to make a final selection. Exhibitor Stefan Kirkeberg of Smith Anderson North commented on this trend: “Portraiture has recently been of stronger interest. We also work with the Pier 24 Museum in San Francisco — it’s nice to bring in something new.â€
Another good example at this show is a time series of former First Lady Pat Nixon at the Jancar Gallery. These monochrome photos have been colorized and grouped as a set to tell a story, an intimate biography of a woman who was in the public spotlight for three decades as the wife of a Senator, Vice President and President and played these roles like a professional. The individual photos are nothing special, just routine news photographs that agency photographers take hundreds of times every day. The presentation as a narrative is completely different.
Works by fashion photographer Philippe Halsman are also commanding top dollar. These higher price levels have also enabled a different genre of photography to earn a spot at the show. Stills from movie projects used by advertising agencies to promote films with media relations campaigns and performer photographs used for autographed mementos to fans are moving up from collectible shows to top art shows like photo l.a.
The exhibition at the Santa Monica Civic Center, 1855 Main Street, Santa Monica, is open through Monday, January 21, 2013.
For more information and tickets ($25 at the door; $20 on line) http://www.photola.com/
