Marco Polo with cameras. Sir Elton John invites to explore thirty years of bizarre visual experiments
André Kertész, Man Ray, Aleksandr Rodchenko, Cindy Sherman — the entire museum which has been collected by the pop idol since 1991, now is on display at Tate Modern. Go and see what masterpieces hang on the walls at Elton John’s home in Atlanta!
Man Ray. Andre Breton 1930
Offbeat and ahead of the time — The Radical Eye, Modernist Photography from the Sir Elton John Collection exhibition, is more than successful at Tate Modern, London. Here you can easily meet Picasso, Breton or Kiki de Montparnasse, who inspired Man Ray, along with rare abstract pictures that tell a story about adventurous modernists' search.
7 000 prints in total were brought together by the singer who decided to appropriate the visual world he admires. 150 pictures of more than 70 acknowledged authors are on show now pleasing the eyes of photography fans. Portraits are neighboring with still lives and street snapshots, well-known names with less familiar artists, the pioneer of avant garde in the USSR Aleksander Rodchenko with the American documentary photographer Dorothea Lange.
Dorothea Lange Migrant Mother 1936 The Sir Elton John Photographic Collection
Dorothea Lange. The Damage is Already Done 1936
Elton John has literally housed works of the most prominent photographers and it’s the first time in the UK when they go out to meet their fans. The owner admits that his outstanding collection stems from the year after rehab when he switched from alcohol addiction to obsession with photography and bought the first black-and-white series.
Photos frequently have their own stories. For instance, Elton John was enamoured with Cindy Sherman’s Untitled Film Stills and once during a usual dinner small talk the author offered to purchase this series just because she dreamed about buying a new house.
Cindy Sherman with her 1975 photograph Lucille Ball.
The first explorers of the brand-new visual tools in 1920s-1930s were photographers with artistic intentions to depict the world through the lens. Man Ray’s experiments with making pictures without cameras called "rayography", considered weird even in the 21st century, could not escape the notice of celebrity.
Man Ray. Max Ernst 1938
Man Ray. Dora Maar 1936
André Kertész Mondrian’s ‘Glasses and Pipe, Paris'
Some of these treasures are so tiny that could fit a palm. Thus the origin of "Underwater Swimmer, Esztergom" (1917) by André Kertész's is only 4.1cm x 5.7cm sized. By the way, it is one of the oldest print demonstrated on the show.
"Underwater Swimmer Esztergom" 1917 — André Kertész
Robert Frank. Paris 1949
Andre Kertesz. My Brother as Icarus 1919
Herbert List. Lake Lucerne 1936
Unlike the vast majority of artworks hunters, sir Elton John is opened for further cooperation with Tate gallery and ready to provide the most interesting works from his collection for new exhibitions.
The best avant-garde photographs are on display at Tate Modern, London, until 21 May 2017.
The best avant-garde photographs are on display at Tate Modern, London, until 21 May 2017.
