International Center of Photography : This Is Not A Fashion Photograph

After the recent “Fashion Week” overload and a market saturated with the monotony of artificial fashion shoots, it makes a refreshing change to see an exhibition like “This Is Not A Fashion Photograph”, which is on show at the International Center of Photography in New York until 3 May, 2009.

With over seventy photographs from 1888 to the present day, the exhibition focuses on the “non-fashion sources of contemporary fashion photography”. Guest curator Vince Aletti noticed that some of the images by photographers such as Walker Evans, Marc Riboud and Robert Mapplethorpe could be classed as fashion photography, although this was not the intention of the photographers. This inspired him to compile a collection of photos that “reflect all the great qualities of fashion photography—lighting, emphasis on clothing, style as an extension of personality—but were never intended to grace the pages of Vogue or Harper’s Bazaar”.

The photos show how style reflects the personality of a subject, as well as their economic and social status and reminds us of the broad range of non-fashion influences on contemporary fashion photography. It makes us pose the question of “what is a fashion photograph?” and gives us an insight into how photography has evolved over the years.

Work is on show by an illustrious list of “non-fashion” photographers including: Gordon Parks, Bruce Davidson, Walker Evans, Samuel Fosso, Doris Ulmann, Mark Cohen, Marc Riboud, Robert Mapplethorpe, Ben Shahn and Larry Fink. And we have a few examples for you right here....

International Center of Photography
1133 Ave of the Americas, (at 43rd St)
New York
NY, 10036
Tel: +1 212 857 0045
www.icp.org

Nearest Subway station: 42nd Street/Avenue of the Americas (6th Ave.)

Opening hours:
Tuesday–Thursday: 10:00 am–6:00 pm
Friday: 10:00 am–8:00 pm
Saturday–Sunday: 10:00 am–6:00 pm