"Blumenfeld Photographs: A Passion for Beauty" 1996 Ewing, William A.

Description

EWING, William A.

[256] pp.

Harry N. Abrams, Inc

1996

12 1/4" x 9 3/4"

For over thirty years Erwin … more EWING, William A.

[256] pp.

Harry N. Abrams, Inc

1996

12 1/4" x 9 3/4"

For over thirty years Erwin Blumenfeld filled the pages of Harper's Bazaar and Vogue with his unique, graphically striking images. This title, edited and written by William A Ewing, is the artist's first retrospective monograph. Blumenfeld's thorough biographical examination complements the artist's diverse photographic practices--negative printing, solarization, multiple exposure--by relating the life of a man who fell into photography, and success, "almost by chance."

Erwin Blumenfeld was an emigre photographer who brought the styles and ideas of European art to America fashion magazines. In the 1940s and 50s he worked for Harper's Bazaar and then Vogue. His photographs of fashion models melded their clothes, their jewels, their cosmetics, and their bodies into a bold avant-garde look based on Dada, Surrealism, and Bauhaus design ideas. William A. Ewing's introductory essay provides a helpful context for understanding Blumenfeld's work--a case of commerce using and imitating art. less