When portrait photographer Tom Blau founded Camera Press in 1947 – one of the UK’s first picture agencies – photography’s role in the world was far more innocent than it is today.
The changing role of picture agencies and photography’s presence in the press over 70 years reveals itself in an exhibition of images from seven decades of the agency’s archives: ‘Camera Press at 70 – A Lifetime in Pictures’, at Art Bermondsey Project Space.
Blau moved to London from Berlin in 1935 and was earning a living photographing the major political figures, musicians and film stars of the day. His formal photographs keep a respectful distance from his subjects – these were official photographs that were meant to be kept, and remembered, to represent their subject’s eminence.
The first photographer Blau signed to his agency was Yousuf Karsh, and later, Cecil Beaton joined his roster, among many others in the years to come. Their first assignment was to capture Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip’s wedding – immortalised in Baron’s iconic 1947 image of the newly wed couple, smiling at the camera, surrounded by rich crimson curtain and carpet. There’s an imperfectness to the picture’s composition that makes the Royal couple look natural, unassuming, despite the loftiness of the occasion.
Film maker and visual artist Sam Taylor-Johnson, 2015.
This innocence starts to be ruptured in the 1960s, as the camera begins to probe identity more. From innocent to invasive, photographers such as Elio Sorci — among the first paparazzo — used a close-up approach, entering the private, intimate space of celebrities. A 1962 portrait of the ultimate sixties blonde bombshell Brigitte Bardot is an early example of this, oozing the savant sexiness of the era but also pushing the camera closer to its subject – whether they’re complicit or not.
As well as the extensive collection of Royal photographs, the exhibition features each decade’s best known celebrities: Sid Vicious and Nancy Spungen shot by Steve Emberton at Vicious’ Maida Vale home in 1978; Kate Bush in 1980 through Clive Arrowsmith’s lens, Madonna in garish 80s garb, Public Enemy in the 1990s and the Spice Girls shot by Blau’s granddaughter, portrait photographer Emma Blau. There’s certainly plenty of nostalgia here for the people, their aesthetics and fashion, and the proliferation and style of the portraits from the 70s on reflects photography’s increasing influence within mass media, depicting a world where the private was no longer kept at a shy distance.
The exhibition is a perspective on the last 70 years through the genre of portraits, people who defined their time – but it’s also a compelling visual journey through the shifts in society and politics that have dictated what we want to see, and how we see it.
Grace Jones pictured at Studio 54, New York, 1981.
Clint Eastwood in Via Veneto, Italy, 1965.
Elizabeth Taylor at the David di Donatello awards in Rome, Italy, 1962.
Louis Armstrong, nicknamed Satchmo or Pops, American jazz trumpeter and
singer pictured in 1971.
Gilbert and George pictured at home in Spitalfields, London, UK, 2015.
Christine Keeler pictured in a secret screen test for the movie The Christine
Keeler Story, 1963.
INFORMATION
‘Camera Press at 70 – A Lifetime in Pictures’ is on view until 10 June. For more information visit the Camera Press website
ADDRESS
Art Bermondsey Project Space
183-185 Bermondsey Street
London SE1 3UW
-
Our Tech Editor's selection of new and upgraded audio players covers the full spectrum of formatsWhether it’s vinyl, cassette, CD or mp3, or even sound sources you’ve captured yourself, you’ll find a suitable device in this round-up of pocketable and portable audio players
-
This Swedish summer house is a family's serene retreat by the trees and the Baltic seaHorsö, a Swedish summer house by Atelier Alba is a playfully elegant retreat by the Kalmarsund Sea and a natural reserve
-
A new exhibition retraces 50 years of Pierre Paulin’s history around the table‘Les Tables de Pierre Paulin’ shows a lesser-known side of the designer’s creative world, accompanied by a new book tracing his wife’s hospitality around his iconic table designs. ‘A creator is never alone in his creation…’
-
Doc'n Roll Film Festival makes its loud return to the UKThe 11th edition of the Doc'n Roll Film Festival celebrates music, culture and cinema from around the world
-
Preview the Jameel Prize exhibition, coming to London's V&A, with a focus on moving image and digital mediaThe winner of the V&A and Art Jameel’s seventh international award for contemporary art and design inspired by Islamic tradition will be showcased alongside shortlisted artists
-
Genesis Belanger is seduced by the real and the fake in LondonSculptor Genesis Belanger’s solo show, ‘In the Right Conditions We Are Indistinguishable’, is open at Pace, London
-
Francis Bacon at the National Portrait Gallery is an emotional tour de force‘Francis Bacon: Human Presence’ at the National Portrait Gallery in London puts the spotlight on Bacon's portraiture
-
Frieze Sculpture takes over Regent’s ParkTwenty-two international artists turn the English gardens into a dream-like landscape and remind us of our inextricable connection to the natural world
-
Meet Oluwole Omofemi and Bayo Akande, the founders creating a new art communityOluwole Omofemi and Bayo Akande, are behind Piece Unique, an artist agency that guides and future-proofs emerging artists’ careers
-
Don’t miss these artists at 1-54 Contemporary African Art Fair 2024As the 1-54 Contemporary African Art Fair returns to London (10-13 October 2024), here are the artists to see
-
Es Devlin’s large-scale choral installation celebrates London’s displaced populationEs Devlin has partnered with UK for UNHCR on a free and open-to-all exhibition, ‘Congregation’, in London from 3-9 October 2024
