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Showing posts with label Fotografiska. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Fotografiska. Show all posts
Wednesday, February 5, 2014

Elliott Erwitt (and more) at Fotografiska

Elliott Erwitt
A friend and I decided to have a cultural day this past Monday and chose to visit Fotografiska (museum of photography). Fotografiska is one of my favorite spots to visit in Stockholm regardless of the exhibition... beautiful space, nice cafe/bar with great views, fun gift shop and always interesting photography. But I had especially wanted to go back for a visit to see the Elliott Erwitt exhibition.
Elliott Erwitt
With a career spanning almost 65 years, Elliott Erwitt is a master photographer producing everything from advertisements, editorials, celebrity portraits, books, commissions, photo reportages and more. I found the exhibition to be really interesting and really appreciated the beautiful black & white photography and Erwitt's wry sense of humour (very apparent in many of the photographs). His work does tend to bring out emotion in the viewer... whether tears or laughter. The exhibition runs until March 2nd, 2014.
Elliott Erwitt
While at Fotografiska, we checked out the other, smaller exhibitions that are going on right now. This is the last week for the Jill Greenberg exhibit and it is well worth a visit if you are in town (ends February 9th). Beautiful color portraits of children and animals (bears, monkeys and horses). The resolution, clarity and details of the photographs are pretty amazing... the animals almost have human expressions.
Jill Greenberg (splitscreen done by me to show detail of different subjects).
The third current exhibition is by Johan Rheborg. Rheborg is a famous Swedish actor/comedian and... amateur photographer. The exhibition is called "Backstage" and that describes it very well! It is a series of black & white photographs taken by Rheborg of his colleagues backstage at different Swedish theatre productions. If you are Swedish then you will recognize many of the faces... if you are not, then you can enjoy the beautiful, candid images. Ends on March 9th!
Johan Rheborg
Fotografiska is open daily and open quite late for a museum (closes at 11pm Thurs through Sat, 9pm on the other days). Click here for exact opening hours and cost of admission. The museum is easy to get to from the Rival Hotel... just a 10 minute walk down to Slussen and then less than a 10 minute along the Stadsgård waterfront (location).
Tuesday, November 12, 2013

This Weekend!


Photo by: Nicho Södling
 November 12th, 13th & 14th

This is kind of an odd weekend... inbetween Halloween (All Saints) and next weekend when the Christmas season kicks off. There are still some interesting things going on though!

Click here for other museum tips!
    Thursday, October 10, 2013

    Paolo Roversi at Fotografiska

    If you have been reading this blog, then you probably know that I have a soft spot for photography exhibitions, especially the black & white, fashion variety... so it probably isn't strange that I should pay a visit to Fotografiska to see their latest exhibition Paolo Roversi: Secrets.
    Italian born Roversi has been working as a fashion photographer for about 40 years and his work has made it into the pages of most high fashion magazines (both in editorial work and advertisement). His use of large format Polaroid print, natural light as well as his penchant for studio settings give his photographs an almost historical feel while still keeping a sense of intimacy.
    Natalia Voldianova in all her glory.
    From the exhibit, you do get a sense that Roversi views many of his models as personal muses... with many of them (Guinevere, Saskia, Natalia, etc;) appearing often throughout the exhibition. It evokes a feeling of collaboration between model and photographer.
    Besides the Roversi exhibition (running until January 12th, 2014), there are several others going on simultaneously at Fotografiska. The Pieter Hugo exhibition, which I have already written about, is running until December 1st. A third, smaller exhibition features the Latvian photographer Inta Ruka (running until December 8th). Her stark photographs with characters from the Latvian countryside provide a wonderful contrast to the fashionable waifs of the Roversi exhibition. Add that to the slightly depressing, albeit thought provoking, subjects in the Hugo exhibit and you get an interesting afternoon at Fotografiska.
    To get to the museum from the Rival Hotel... it is just a 15-20 minute walk. It is located on the Stadsgården waterfront and is a beautiful walk along the water from Slussen to Fotografiska. Interested in more art? Click here for other art exhibitions this season in Stockholm.
    A Latvian gentleman by Inta Ruka

    Friday, September 27, 2013

    Fashion Photography Exhibition

    
    Photo by Herb Ritts
    
    I have blogged earlier about the new photography museum in Stockholm called Fotografiska. They had a great success this summer with the Annie Leibowitz exhibition and now it is time for their new major showing... Fashion! A look at fashion photography from the 1920's until today. I love fashion photography and I think that it is a comprehensive and well thought out exhibition. All the greats through the past century are represented... Man Ray, Horst, Avedon, Penn, Newton, Ritts, Lindbergh, Jansson and Meisel, plus many more. I was smart and visited the museum on a quiet Monday afternoon, avoiding the weekend and evening crowds. The exhibition runs through January 2nd.
    Other current exhibitions at the museum include pictures of Stockholm by Dutch photographer Pieter ten Hoopen and the tableau vivant photography of Sandy Skoglund. The museum is located along the water at Stadsgårdskajen... it's just a short walk from Slussen, along the water, past the Birka cruise terminal. It is open everyday between 10am and 9pm. Entrance costs 95 SEK, 70 SEK for students and seniors and free entrance for children under 12. Free entrance also with the Stockholm Card.
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    Wednesday, September 18, 2013

    Pieter Hugo at Fotografiska

    Last week I stopped by Fotografiska, the photography museum, to say good-bye to the Helmut Newton exhibition (last day is September 29th) and took the opportunity to see one of the museum's new exhibitions: Pieter Hugo: This Must Be The Place.
    Pieter Hugo is a relatively young photographer from Cape Town, South Africa. His work reflects his upbringing in the age of apartheid... with many of the photographs depicting people who have been marginalized in some way. Not only in South Africa, but throughout the continent. Victims of genocide, poverty, the AIDS epidemic and environmental disasters. The photographs do not glorify at all, instead they often look at the subjects in their day to day life.
    While the subject matter is heavy, the pictures are beautiful, haunting and very thought provoking. In fact, I felt that I learned quite a lot during my visit to the exhibit. Do you know what happens to a computer when you throw it away? See the exhibit and find out. This exhibition will be going on through December 1st. Too heavy for you? Then you always have the museum's main autumn exhibition coming soon: fashion photographer Paolo Roversi (starting October 4th). Fotografiska is located on the waterfront at Stadsgårdkajen... just a 15-20 minute walk from the Rival Hotel.

    Saturday, June 1, 2013

    Helmut Newton at Fotografiska

    The Stockholm museum of photography, Fotografiska, goes from strength to strength with their exhibitions. Annie Leibovitz, Christer Strömholm, Robert Maplethorpe and David LaChapelle have been some of their popular, past exhibitions. Yesterday was the premiere of their big, summer exhibition... a retrospective of the great fashion and portrait photographer Helmut Newton. I, of course, stopped by and checked it out.
    Helmut Newton has always been one of my favorite photographers, so I was happy when the exhibition was announced. His work is very recognizable... either through the style, subject/model or both. The photographs, often in black & white, are almost always erotically charged and provocative. Sometimes through nudity or sometimes with an article of clothing that hints at slightly "kinky" sexual behaviour... women in men's clothing, corsets, leather or stiletto heels (some so high they resemble weapons). Nothing overt, just a nod and often with a sense of humour.
    Fashion collaboration with Yves Saint Laurent
    His models also tend to be Amazonian in appearance: strong, confident with impossibly long legs. Newton was one of the first fashion photographers that combined sex with fashion, collaborating with designers like Saint Laurent, Lagerfeld and Mugler in the pages of Vogue, Elle and Stern from the late 60's through the 90's. His photography does stir up debate (shouldn't all good art?). Was he a misogynist or did he celebrate powerful women? Was he living out his sexual fantasies through his art or just having a good laugh? Be aware that the exhibition does contain nudity! In fact, there is one whole room dedicated to his nudes.
    Portrait of Salvador Dalí
    Newton's portraits (also featured in this retrospective) are, as a group, a fantastic window on his era with subjects that younger generations might not recognize today: Salvador Dalí, Claus von Bülow, Yves Saint Laurent, Princess Caroline of Monaco and Andy Warhol among others. This exhibition runs all summer until September 29th. Fotografiska is located on the waterfront and easy to get to from the Rival Hotel... just a 15-20 minute walk, down to Slussen and then along the waterfront. An extra recommendation: be sure to visit their cafe/bar on the top floor for great views of the city and their gift shop on the ground floor.
    Classic Newton. Defintely a "leg man".


    Wednesday, December 26, 2012

    David LaChapelle Exhibit at Fotografiska

    Christmas is over and it is time to look forward to New Years and fun things to do in 2013!
    Courtney Love with religious symbolism!
     On Christmas Day, a friend and I went to Fotografiska (the photography museum) to see their new much-talked-about exhibition featuring the work of David LaChapelle. I am a big LaChapelle fan and have really been waiting for this exhibition. I actually sent an e-mail to the museum a couple of years ago, begging them to have an exhibit of his work. So you can imagine my happiness that this exhibition is the largest David LaChapelle exhibit ever held... in fact, it occupies the entire museum!
    Transgendered artist Amanda Lepore as Warhol's Monroe and Taylor
     The exhibition does not disappoint. Called "Burning Beauty", it consists of over 250 pieces of art including music video and film. The exhibit also contains work from different periods, spanning his 30+ year career.
    Etheral new work by LaChapelle
     What I really enjoy about LaChapelle's work is his sense of humour. Whether it is in the composition of the photograph or in the title, his humour can be both subtle and in your face. His work also frequently has social commentary... from our crass consumerism to our obsession with celebrities & beauty to our destruction of the enviroment. For example, Courtney Love holding a Kurt Cobain look alike... posed to resemble Michelangelo's Pietá (the Virgin Mary holding a dead Jesus). So when you are admiring the beauty of his work, take some extra time to figure out what he is trying to say. I also love the fact that his pictures all look like they have been manipulated in a computer, but they haven't... just painstakingly composed. There is a video presentation as part of the exhibit where you can see behind the scenes of the photo shoot for LaChapelle's "Deluge".
    "The Rape of Africa"
    It is a large exhibition and, if you need to take a break, the museum has a great café/bistro on the top floor with spectacular views of the harbour. Be aware that besides beauty, celebrities, social commentary and humour... LaChapelle's work also sometimes contains nudity and sexual content. Fotografiska is located on the northern waterfront of Södermalm, just a 15-20 minute walk from the Rival Hotel. Thank you for this exhibition Fotografiska... now, if you can have an exhibit of Helmut Newton's work on this scale, I will be very happy!
    Saturday, August 25, 2012

    Christer Strömholm at Fotografiska

    I had lunch today with a friend at Fotografiska, the photography museum (a great place for lunch, by the way!). If you are regular reader here, then you know that this is one of my favourite museums and that I'm a sucker for black & white photography, especially from the 50's and 60's. So you can understand my excitement that they have just unveiled their main exhibition for the coming season, a photographer who specializes in just this medium: Christer Strömholm.
    Christer passed away 10 years ago and this exhibition, "CHR", is a retrospective of his work. 150 black and white photographs from his travels in the 50's and 60's... Paris, Spain and Japan among other places. I especially enjoyed his loving portraits of his friends from Paris. These friends were the transsexuals that lived and worked in the Pigalle neighbourhood (around Place Blanche) that Christer came to know when he lived there during this time period. The pictures are beautiful (especially how the museum has lit them) and somewhat sad when you think of how hard their lives must have been. The exhibition runs until November 25th. There are only a couple of more weeks left of the August Strindberg exhibition. Commemorating the 100th anniversary of the playwright's death, this exhibition ends on September 9th. There are some great photographs of Stockholm in the late 1800's included in the exhibition!

    From September 10th the museum will be extending their opening hours: 9am to 9pm Sunday to Wednesday and 9am to 11pm Thursday to Saturday. I love the idea of visiting a museum in the evening! Fotografiska is located on the waterfront of the island of Södermalm, just a 20 minute walk from the Rival Hotel.