Last night I stepped into the London Street Photography Festival at the Tate Modern. Thinking a fashion photography exhibition was on, I went with my FashionInsideOut mood. It turned out that it was a completely different thing, where two phographers – Cheryl Dunn and Nicky Turpin – were showcasing their 30-ish minutes films, both fully focused on a variety of top street photographers.
Yet interested I went across a quote from one of the interviewees in Dunn’s film called Everybody Street, Joel Meyerowitz, who while explaining how he ended up there, he said: “I’ve seen fashion photographers, but not real photographers.” Ouch that must have hurt Testino!… In my opinion, he’s absolutely wrong, I might get his point though.
Although I have always said that there’s a bit of “airhead” in fashion, it is a art that simply leaves legacy in history, portraying a time, a place and a personality. I’m pretty sure that the so talented Tom Ford wouldn’t agree with him, neither Annie Leibovitz.
However, in the meantime American photographer Bruce Davidson said he was passionate about fashion photography, but “models were too tall for him”, so he opted for street photography instead.
In conclusion, I didn’t get to visit a fashion photography exhibition as I was willing to, but I realised the contrast between both type of photographers and how the billionaire fashion business is not as respected. Plus, I did enjoy two great short films about street photography, especially Dunn’s one which brought the hectic New York city to the Tate.
FashionInsideOut 