UNITED STATES – LOS ANGELES
For its new group show, the Fahey/Klein Gallery in Los Angeles presents the work of some thirty leading photographers to celebrate male cultural icons through the different ways style has been used in the expression of self-identity.
© Ellen von Unwerth, courtesy of FaheyKlein Gallery Los Angeles
© George Hoyningen-Huene Estate, courtesy of FaheyKlein Gallery Los Angeles
Steve Schapiro, Miles Aldridge, Annie Leibovitz, Herbert List, Norman Seeff, Herb Ritts, Phil Stern, Agnès Varda, Ellen von Unwerth, George Hoyningen-Huene, Janette Beckman and Irving Penn are all here! “Male Edition: The Art of Men’s Style” traces the evolution of genres and fashions from the early 20th century to the present day, through the prism of music, cinema and the visual arts.
Precious photographic documents in which clothing and accessories reflect the individuals who wear them and make them their own. Like James Dean, captured by Phil Stern in the 50s, in “his relaxed posture and confident gaze, now a symbol of rebellion and effortless cool”.
© Janette Beckman, courtesy of FaheyKlein Gallery Los Angeles
© Mark Seliger, courtesy of FaheyKlein Gallery Los Angeles
Three and four decades later, stars like Billy Idol, photographed by Janette Beckman, and Brad Pitt, shot by Mark Seliger, reshuffle the deck. The former imposed the codes of “non-conformity and individuality”, while the latter emphasised the idea that the masculine form in a feminine way shows how outfits of the opposite sex change nothing.
© Billy and Hells, courtesy of FaheyKlein Gallery Los Angeles
Today, masculine aesthetics leave more room for “borrowed and reused styles” (Vito by Billy and Hells) to embrace and define “singular idiosyncrasies – regardless of gender identity”.
NATHALIE DASSA
Male Edition: The Art of Men’s Style” exhibition
June 15 – July 29, 2023, at Fahey/Klein Gallery, Los Angeles
http://www.faheykleingallery.com/