Expo: Edwin Blumenfeld

It is obvious, if not cliché, that I am going to see Blumenfeld for fashion photography. Honestly, who hasn't seen his classic Vogue covers?

Sweeeeet, aren't they?

But what stun me more are the female portraits from his early work in the 30s (I'm pretty sure I'm born in the wrong era - I always loved the glamourous eras like the good old Gatsby - all that jazz and swing, headpieces and shorten dresses - and the increasing use of colour and cute decor in 30s. We can come back to that in the future). 

Solarized effects.

Untitled (Tara Twain). Amsterdam, 1930. 

Blumenfeld personlly picked this as his business card photo and one of his best 100 photos.

I think this is my personal favourite too...

Sans titre (Leonir Fini, peintre). 1937.

All these women portray a temperament that is so obviously different from the fashion ads and shots. While those from the latter epoque always look sharp, confident, liberated, these women from the 30s... they all look worrisome, yet beautifully fragile and soulfully artistic. They aren't ordinary girls next door, they are actresses, artists and singers at some point. It's simply a little change of style - the lighting, the after-effects, the focus of face - that makes all the difference.

And since photography was prohibited, I tried so hard to quickly sketch everything.

Perhaps all those debate on art vs photography was right... Oh here we go again Baudelaire...

But nonetheless it was a bonne visite. The sketching made me feel productive and inspired by a genius, if not slightly talented (lol!). Feeling super pumped and evoked to do some good stylish shooting soon!

"Pour moi, un photographe amateur est un passioné, un espirit libre qui photographie ce qu'il aime et aime ce qu'il photographie." - Edwin Blumenfeld

Ok c'est tout (en fait c'est trop!) pour aujourd'hui. À la prochaine! K xx

P.S. When I first arrived at Musée du Jeu de Paume, the billeterie has ridiculously stopped working due to technical problems and made the visitors wait outside in the chilly weather (yep the temperature has dropped quite a bit these days here in Paris), and I made a little joke that this guy better be good. Now thinking back, he really worthed the wait I guess :) I'd recommend this expo, but just go with a big fluffy scarf!