The Radical Eye: Modernist Photography from The Sir Elton John Collection - Hardcover

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 1597113867 ISBN 13: 9781597113861

Publisher: Aperture, 2016

Synopsis

Sir Elton John, musician and philanthropist, has built one of the greatest private collections of photography in the world. This book presents an unparalleled selection of modernist images, which introduce a crucial moment in the history of photography when artists were beginning to use the camera and darkroom to redefine and transform visions of the modern world. Technological advancements gave artists the freedom to experiment and test the limits of the medium enabling new imaginings of portraits, nudes and still lifes; and street life and the modern world was captured from a new, uniquely modern perspective.
Showcasing only original vintage prints by the artists themselves, the book features key figures from the 1920s to 1950s, such as Brassaï, André Kertész, Dorothea Lange, Tina Modotti, Man Ray, Edward Steichen and Alexander Rodchenko. Also includes a newly commissioned interview with Sir Elton John and essays on modernist photography and technology and innovation by Dawn Ades and Shoair Mavlian.

About this title

About the Authors

Shoair Mavlian is an Assistant Curator at Tate Modern focusing primarily on photography. Recent co-curated exhibitions include Conflict, Time, Photography (2014) and Project Space: A Chronicle of Interventions (2014).

Simon Baker is the Senior Curator of Photography and International Art at Tate Modern. His recent major exhibitions include Performing for the Camera (2015) and Conflict, Time, Photography (2014). Before joining Tate Modern in 2009, he was a professor of art history at the University of Nottingham.

Dawn Ades is Professor Emerita at the University of Essex, and former co-director of the Center for the Study of Surrealism and its Legacies, UK. She has published works on Surrealism, Photomontage, Dada, women artists and Mexican muralists.

From the Back Cover

As life underwent rapid changes in the twentieth century, photography offered a new means to communicate and represent the world. The Radical Eye introduces this crucial moment in the history of photography – an exciting period often referred to as the ‘coming of age’ of the medium, when artists used the camera and darkroom to redefine and transform visions of the modern world, and technological advancements gave them the freedom to experiment and test the medium to its very limits. Timeless genres of the portrait, nude and still life were reimagined, and street life and the modern metropolis were captured from a fresh, uniquely modern perspective.
Drawn from The Sir Elton John Collection, one of the greatest private collections of photography in the world, The Radical Eye presents an unrivalled selection of more than 175 classic modernist images from the 1920s to the 1950s. Showcasing rarely seen vintage prints, the book highlights the work of seventy key figures, including Brassaï, André Kertész, Dorothea Lange, Man Ray, Tina Modotti and Edward Steichen. These remarkable images are accompanied by an interview with Sir Elton John, essays on modernist photography and technology and innovation by Dawn Ades and Shoair Mavlian, and biographies of the photographers.

From the Inside Flap

As life underwent rapid changes in the twentieth century,photography offered a new means to communicate andrepresent the world. The Radical Eye introduces this crucialmoment in the history of photography an exciting periodoften referred to as the coming of age of the medium,when artists used the camera and darkroom to redefine andtransform visions of the modern world, and technologicaladvancements gave them the freedom to experiment and testthe medium to its very limits. Timeless genres of the portrait,nude and still life were reimagined, and street life and themodern metropolis were captured from a fresh, uniquelymodern perspective.

Drawn from The Sir Elton John Collection, one of the greatestprivate collections of photography in the world, The RadicalEye presents an unrivalled selection of more than 175 classicmodernist images from the 1920s to the 1950s. Showcasingrarely seen vintage prints, the book highlights the workof seventy key figures, including Brassaï, André Kertész,Dorothea Lange, Man Ray, Tina Modotti and Edward Steichen.These remarkable images are accompanied by an interviewwith Sir Elton John, essays on modernist photography andtechnology and innovation by Dawn Ades and Shoair Mavlian,and biographies of the photographers.

Edition details

• Publisher: Aperture
• Publication date: 2016
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 1597113867
• ISBN 13: 9781597113861
• Binding: Hardcover
• Number of pages: 240
• Editor: Mavlian Shoair, Baker Simon, Harbin Newell