Naked supermodels, smoking actors, monocle fashion, and an elephant
The Camera Work gallery on Kantstrasse, founded in 1997, is named after the legendary magazine published by American photographer Alfred Stieglitz at the start of the 20th century. The gallery has an emphasis on vintage photography, and has previously exhibited works by some of the great names in the profession, including Martin Schoeller, Diane Arbus, Helmut Newton, Albert Watson, Herb Ritts and Susanne Schapowalow. The current exhibition, by Michel Compte, is every bit as notable as those shows, and, given the gallery is only a short walk from the Hotel Concorde Berlin, well worth a visit.
Michel Comte, Jeremy Irons with Monocle, 1990 / Michel Comte, Carla Bruni, 1993
In the golden age of the supermodel – Cindy Crawford, Iman, Nadja Auermann et al – along with Herb Ritts, Swiss born-Compte was one of the most sought after names in fashion photography. Whilst working for the likes of Harper’s Bazaar, Vanity Fair and Vogue in the 1980s and 1990s, he was instrumental in turning mere clothes horses into icons and pushing fashion photography into the realms of art. More recently Compte has ventured into war zones. As Compte himself has said, “I never wanted to be explicitly fashion photographer, I just wanted to be a photographer.”
Michel Comte, Daryl Hannah, (German Vogue), Los Angeles, 1993
The current exhibition of over 100 of Compte’s striking and influential photographs is an eclectic mix of fashion and celebrity, with formal portraiture given a subtle twist, that somehow delve deeper into the personalities of their subjects than the usual magazine spread pictures.
Michel Comte, Geraldine Chaplin
Amongst Compte’s photos are Mike Tyson against a blood red backdrop, a monocled Daryl Hannah shot for German Vogue (as well as the actor Jeremy Irons in a similar pose), Anthony Hopkins, looking like a relaxed Hannibal Lector, peering from the window of a limousine, the model Helena Christensen in the nude, and Vanessa Paradis with an elephant. There is also a chance to see the famous monochrome picture of Carla Bruni posing naked, that sold for an incredible $91,000 in 2008 at Christies, the same year that she married the former French president. If you want to know where it is hanging in the gallery, just look for a huddle of people pointing and whispering.
Michel Comte, Vanessa Paradis with Elephant, 1991
Galerie Camera Work
Kantstraße 149
Until June 1st, 2013
Tuesday to Saturday (11:00-18:00)
Admission free
www.camerawork.de
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