Review: The Radical Eye
An avid photography collector is currently exhibiting his work at the Tate Modern for all the world to see. The collector is, in actual fact, Sir Elton John, who is fortunate enough to have amassed over eight thousand original photographs from the 20th century to build quite an incredible collection. A selection of these have been chosen by Tate Modern curators to form The Radical Eye: an exhibition, which looks at photography’s coming-of-age period midway through the 20th Century, often referred to as Modernism.
The offering gives us an insight into an immensely eclectic variety of styles and techniques, helping the viewer understand the thinking and technical process behind many of the alternative and innovative approaches that were coined in this Modernist period. Each room takes you on a different stylistic journey: whether it’s learning about solarisation (where a section of the print is partially reversed in tone), double exposure, distortion (warped, surreal-looking images), or photomontage, the learning curve is fast and stimulating.
What’s even more impressive when admiring the photographs is retrospectively looking at these techniques from our digital age. Today, a number of the skills on show in the exhibition have been significantly facilitated by modern technology. Consequently, the labelling and explanations alongside many of the stills in the gallery give you a fascinating insight into the minute difficulties these photographers faced in order to capture the creative, inventive shots they desired.
As you wander through the exhibition, the aesthetic diversity you are greeted with is startling: Modernism, Surrealism, documentary photography as well as a close analysis of perspective and the changing interpretation of still life are all on show, making it an incredibly well-rounded study of this period.
As for the photos themselves, you are treated to a plethora of iconic photography names: Man Ray, Hagemeyer, Bayer and Lange to name but a few. What’s more, the artists and cultural figures on show in the photographs is astonishing and enjoyable to encounter unexpectedly as you make your way through the collection: Henri Matisse, Pablo Picasso, Salvador Dalí, André Breton, the list goes on.
All in all, bar certain examples of Elton’s somewhat ostentatiously garish frame-choices, the exhibition is a captivating insight into the Modernist period. The collection of photographs visually demonstrates the ideology and ethos of the time: that photography was no longer simply a reflection of reality, but a creative art form of its own.
The offering gives us an insight into an immensely eclectic variety of styles and techniques, helping the viewer understand the thinking and technical process behind many of the alternative and innovative approaches that were coined in this Modernist period. Each room takes you on a different stylistic journey: whether it’s learning about solarisation (where a section of the print is partially reversed in tone), double exposure, distortion (warped, surreal-looking images), or photomontage, the learning curve is fast and stimulating.
What’s even more impressive when admiring the photographs is retrospectively looking at these techniques from our digital age. Today, a number of the skills on show in the exhibition have been significantly facilitated by modern technology. Consequently, the labelling and explanations alongside many of the stills in the gallery give you a fascinating insight into the minute difficulties these photographers faced in order to capture the creative, inventive shots they desired.
As you wander through the exhibition, the aesthetic diversity you are greeted with is startling: Modernism, Surrealism, documentary photography as well as a close analysis of perspective and the changing interpretation of still life are all on show, making it an incredibly well-rounded study of this period.
As for the photos themselves, you are treated to a plethora of iconic photography names: Man Ray, Hagemeyer, Bayer and Lange to name but a few. What’s more, the artists and cultural figures on show in the photographs is astonishing and enjoyable to encounter unexpectedly as you make your way through the collection: Henri Matisse, Pablo Picasso, Salvador Dalí, André Breton, the list goes on.
All in all, bar certain examples of Elton’s somewhat ostentatiously garish frame-choices, the exhibition is a captivating insight into the Modernist period. The collection of photographs visually demonstrates the ideology and ethos of the time: that photography was no longer simply a reflection of reality, but a creative art form of its own.
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