INFLUENCE

It might seem absurd but I think it is entirely possible to enthusiastically fall in love with a photograph. On the other hand, I have been a lifelong lover of fashion photography – its symbols and influence, its unique ability to offer a spectacle unlike any others. I believe that fashion photography is an art privileged in historical accounts of visual culture. This is undoubtedly a rather “serious” statement to make. I’m even laughing myself at this gripping sentence as I’m not normally too keen on complex brain-twisting puzzles. Maybe this post will be celebrated with an academic award? Hilarious. Anyway, what I like about my blog is that I don’t have to justify my choices or thoughts! And I suspect that if you’ve been reading July Stars for a while you will have noticed that photography, notably fashion photography, is my chosen patch.
The first time I saw this visual taken by David Seidner for Yves Saint Laurent, it felt like something of a revelation: stripping away superfluous effects, Seidner uses his signature technique of taking a portrait from above to create a sophisticated and intensely harmonious composition. The colours and graphic quality of the work successfully establish a connection with paintings and is the best advertisement for his skills. It is a bold and exciting creation, methodically developed and mythical. Ultimately, I think that it is the calm aesthetic and quality of the colours that seduced me the most and I would argue that even with the passing of time it is still very much a modern image, capable of lingering in your mind for many years.

Image courtesy of the International Center of Photography

David Seidner 1983