Irving Penn, Photographer (MP6)

In the summer of 2016, the Dallas Museum of Art had an exhibit featuring the photography of Irving Penn, called Beyond Beauty. I had the pleasure of viewing that exhibit, and I thought it was incredible.

Irving Penn spent a time working for Vogue and, as a result, focused much of his photography on fashion. His photographs are brilliant and striking. He did not simply shoot the newest trends. Instead, he focused on the form and architecture of fashion. Take this photo for example:

Issey Miyaki Seaweed Dress, New York, 1987
© The Irving Penn Foundation

The photo is so interesting because you see the craft behind the dress and the unique way it moves. It goes beyond the runway.

Another thing Penn did when taking photos was look for unique angles and ways to look at the world.

Eye in Keyhole, New York, 1953 

© Condé Nast

This is one of my favorites. Penn also took "beauty" pictures for the magazine, and he strived to take photos that would stop someone in their tracks. This particular photo is well framed. The reflection of the keyhole in the eye is right on the pupil. There is certainly beauty here - human eyes are quite beautiful and natural. It goes beyond that, though. It is so much more interesting than just an eye. I could stare at it for hours.

One of Penn's main jobs at Vogue was to take portraits of celebrities and others featured in the magazine. Penn was not about to take ordinary, boring portrait. He made sure to capture the subject's personality in each portrait. Take the following portrait:

Miro and his Daughter, Dolores, Tarragona, Spain, 1948
© The Irving Penn Foundation

What a beautiful picture of a father-daughter bond. There would be so much less personality if he had simply captured a typical head shot of Joan Miro, a painter. His daughter is not him, but she is an important part of him, so why not include her?

I personally, love this last category of photos Penn took. Some were taken for Vogue, some were personal projects. They are still lives. Penn had the incredible ability to take the most boring, mundane objects and turn them into art. They are all beautiful, but there is a particularly interesting project he did where he took trash from the streets of New York City and photographed it. How can someone make litter look like art? Take a look.

Cigarette No. 17, New York, 1972
© The Irving Penn Foundation

I mean come on. Those are just cigarettes he found on the street, but he put them in the right light and added the right contrast to make them look incredible. Penn was able to take the most boring things and turn them into the most amazing photographs. It is incredible.

Penn is definitely and inspiration, and, although I will not be able to achieve the same level of talent in my unit 3 project, I do plan to keep his art in mind while I am working on it.

If you want to see more, go to https://irvingpenn.org/ and look under "ARTWORK." There are so many more amazing photos to see and each one is unique and beautiful.