Arthur
Started it all off for me
He brought something new to fashion photography which continues to this day.
Arthur Elgort didnt invent the snapshot aesthetic but it seemed to come together and be best suited when he started out. Hes reported as saying,that in late 1969" I wasnt going anywhere at that time because people werent looking for street pictures...(they) were using studio photographers whose pictures were more graphic than mine"
In the 1970s the clothes and economy werent great and Elgorts pictures seemed just right for the period. His " I want to get that look where it looks like you just caught it" style of models happy active, modern women going about their lives, pictures as Alexander Liberman described 'full of happiness and light' offset the austerity of the time.
Elgorts pictures arent caught from the hip but are carefully worked out from past or present situations. He keeps a polaroid diary of what he likes and represents these themes in his work. Other authors have documented the stir caused when models were simply asked to 'pick up that newspaper and walk towards me' or ' see what those women are doing over there, could you do that.'
Another angle on Elgorts approach is his view of the equipment. Although of course being a consummate professional Elgort puts across the idea of amateurism or as someone said ' not being afraid to take a risk'. One journalist on reporting Elgorts foray into the Pirelli calendar world states that onlookers were amazed as Arthur turned up with a table set with a bewildering array of pro equipment, compacts and antique 5x4 gear (probably a graphlex which he seems to use a lot in his personal pictures). The literature concurs. In articles about Elgort the array of cameras is evident in the pictures of him shooting, Rolleiflexes, Leicaflexes, Speed Graphics a minox etc. He has some pages in German Vogue at present where as usual cameras are in evidence The Rolleiflex and the Leica last seen in David Baileys documentary 'Close Up' and a BBC programme on Anna Wintour where Elgort is seen shooting with Vogue editor Tonne Goodeman, with believe it or not a small flash sitting right on top of the camera
Elgort is said to have great affection for the equipment and believes that the camera makes its mark on the picture.Part of the technique is using strange "hobbyist " equipment and hand holding at 1/15th sec etc " I dont want to use a tripod because it wouldnt give me that bit of offness angle-wise that I like' says Elgort
Arthur probably caught it with his picture of Lisa Taylor sitting in the car going over Brooklyn bridge (or some NYC bridge) which caught the sum up of the modern woman of that time. Liberman again describes Elgorts contribution as 'revolutionary...an extraordinary breakaway from traditional beauty photography. With Arthur Elgort a new era opened up of marvellous American young women caught in action. going abut their lives...the sense of purpose in a modern womans life...'
And heres the effect it had on one person. 'When Michael Kors was a Vogue reading teenager on Long Island in 1976, he experienced a fashion epiphany. It arrived in the form of an Arthur Elgort photograph of then supermodel Lisa Taylor driving a fast car. The young woman exuded effortless elegance, and though she looked glamorous, she wasn’t alienating like the dolled up fantasy creatures of European glossies. Dressed in a casual chic jacket, a heavy-knit sweater and with her chestnut mane blowing in the wind, Lisa looked "sporty and sexy and sleek and American" (Kors for Vogue May 2000). These adjectives have been leitmotifs throughout Michael Kors' nearly 20-year-long career'
Even posters on one web forum has chatted to Elgort( this is mentioned to make the point) in a camera store where Arthur is fiddling with his graflex trying to get help to fix the focus.
The snapshot aesthetic has moved on since the seventies, although it was coming along time before that even in fashion photography, with the pictures of Martin Muncacksi, Toni Frissel, Roger Schall and Hermann Landshoff. Some even say the aesthetic dates back to Dutch genre painting of the 17th century eg Jan Vermeers milkmaid pouring milk(ordinary domesticated etc) is a great example of the beautifying of the everyday.
Checkout a present day example of the snapshot aesthetic in the Kate Spade series visiting Tennessee by Larry Sultan. No hip shooting here but still Egorts 'look like you just caught it' idea is present
The pictures are small to the page to give that snappy look. Theres that amateur film type saturation and we have the final picture of the rather badly composed group,with flash on camera, complete with squinting eyes. Overtones of Wolfgang Tilmans with a Lomo. The snapshot aesthetic is still alive and kicking and so i'm thankful to say
is Arthur Elgort.
g(uk)
and linda evagelista from www.staleywise.com
sorry, i din't intend to confuse you ... i just wanted to express how glad i am that someone actually cares enough about fashion photography to write whole paragraphs ... something i am not very good at myself but i definitely feel we have a lack of here..
