ROBERT MAPPLETHORPE – FASHION SHOW

Posted on 2013-09-30

At the core of Fashion Show are photographs Mapplethorpe shot for publications such as Italian Vogue, French Vogue and L.A. Style in the mid- to late-1980s, most of which haven’t been exhibited before. Beyond his instantly recognisable mastery of relaying beauty and perfection, in these commissioned works Mapplethorpe employs strong geometric elements and constructed contexts to generate elegant but unusually charged narratives. As such, these scenes feel strikingly contemporary – precursors to developments in fashion photography over the ensuing three decades.

“In the next decade with new cameras, Robert did wonderful portraits of our friend and muse Dovanna. The elegance of mind and body resulted in some of Robert’s best images that turned fashion into art. I believe he was one of the first modern artists to cross the line drawn firmly in that territory.”
David Croland

Many of the photographs reveal Mapplethorpe’s love of high-fashion fabrics and garments. In some, he photographed his better-known muses with their backs to the camera so that the viewer’s attention is focused entirely on the materials, cuts and forms of their dresses, zebra striped fabric, luxurious fur or crushed silk. In others he created intensity through fusing apparently discordant elements like a male muscle-bound thigh in fishnet stockings or his black model Ken Moody about to devour a stiletto shoe. Mapplethorpe’s love and understanding of high-fashion materials is epitomised with the legendary self-portrait he shot in 1980, showing him in profile in drag wearing fur. This is alongside unknown works focusing on conventional female beauty or the more underground world of sexual experimentation.

Opposite – Italian Vogue, 1984

Exhibition runs through to November 2nd, 2013

Alison Jacques Gallery
16-18 Berners Street
W1T 3LN
London

www.alisonjacquesgallery.com

  

PHILIP-LORCA DICORCIA – HUSTLERS

Posted on 2013-09-30

Taken just over twenty years ago in Los Angeles in the vicinity of Santa Monica Boulevard, it features male prostitutes posing for the camera for a fee loosely equivalent to what they would charge for their sexual services. DiCorcia paid the subjects with grant money awarded to him by the National Endowment for the Arts, a bold gesture during the controversial years that witnessed censorship of NEA-supported exhibitions by Robert Mapplethorpe, Andres Serrano, and other artists.

In 1993, twenty-one photographs were exhibited at The Museum of Modern Art, New York, marking diCorcia’s first museum solo exhibition. The show, entitled Strangers, was later accompanied by a museum publication. Two decades later, the exhibition at David Zwirner presents thirty-six photographs from the series, including twelve works newly produced and shown for the first time, and coincides with the publication Hustlers (steidldangin). Created by Pascal Dangin in collaboration with the artist, this large-scale publication presents the series in its entirety.

Hustlers marks the beginning of diCorcia’s engagement with street photography. Many of his works appear to depict random events in public settings, yet rarely involve chance. For this project, each composition was carefully arranged before nearby hustlers were approached, and the result is a series of loaded narratives that revolve around a tension between the subject’s unique presence in front of the camera and the artist’s predetermined idea for the shoot. Depicted in a variety of settings including vacant lots, fast food chains, bus stops, and motel rooms, the hustlers are identified in the titles of the photographs by their name, age, place of birth, and payment received for posing for the camera.

Opposite – Mike Vincetti, 24 years old, New York, New York, $30, 1990-1992

Exhibition runs through to November 2nd, 2013

David Zwirner
525 West 19th Street (between 10th Ave. and West St.)
NY
10011
New York

www.davidzwirner.com

  

METALLICA – THROUGH THE NEVER

Posted on 2013-09-30

The film combines a spectacular never-before-seen live-performance by Metallica created exclusively for the film and a suspenseful narrative to produce a bracing, raw and visceral cinematic experience.

Dane DeHaan (A Place Beyond the Pines, Kill Your Darlings, The Amazing Spider-Man 2 & 3) portrays Trip, a young roadie sent on an urgent mission that turns into a surreal adventure, while Metallica performs its most iconic songs during a roaring live set in front of a sold-out arena.

Metallica Through the Never features the most elaborate live-performance stage ever built and was filmed with state-of-the-art 3-D photography captured using up to 24 cameras simultaneously. Metallica, one of the most popular and influential rock bands in history, is James Hetfield (vocals, guitar), Lars Ulrich (drums), Kirk Hammett (guitar, background vocals) and Robert Trujillo (bass, background vocals). The film is written and directed by award-winning filmmaker Nimród Antal (Predator, Kontroll)

In theaters October 4th, 2013

www.throughthenevermovie.com

  

THE TO DO LIST

Posted on 2013-09-30

Written and directed by Maggie Carey in her feature film directorial debut, the film stars Aubrey Plaza, Christopher Mintz-Plasse, and Rachel Bilson. The film is about a high school senior (Plaza), who feels she needs to have more sexual experiences before she starts college.

In theaters October 4th, 2013

www.todolistmovie.com

  

HOW I LIVE NOW

Posted on 2013-09-30

Set in the near-future UK, Ronan plays Daisy, an American teenager sent to stay with relatives in the English countryside. Initially withdrawn and alienated, she begins to warm up to her charming surroundings, and strikes up a romance with the handsome Edmund (George MacKay). But on the fringes of their idyllic summer days are tense news reports of an escalating conflict in Europe. As the UK falls into a violent, chaotic military state, Daisy finds herself hiding and fighting to survive.

In theaters October 4th, 2013

www.magpictures.com/howilivenow

  

A$AP ROCKY – FASHION KILLA

Posted on 2013-09-30

Nine months after the release of A$AP Rocky‘s album Long.Live.A$AP, he drops the official video for “Fashion Killa.” It features Rihanna who plays his love interest and sharer of all things fashion-related, as the two embark on what looks like a pretty extravagant shopping trip across New York City.

www.asapmobshop.com