Reasons To Be Cheerful

What a wonderful start to 2012! Happy New Year everyone!

The talent that is Christain Tagliavini has been recognised again, by being included amongst the winners of the 2012 Hasselblad Masters Award, for the Fine Art category. The British Journal of Photography: BJP online have also written a lovely article for those of you whom are interested in all the winners read here.

Whilst I was in the gallery on Saturday the model Lora who is in both of Christian's series 1503 & Dame Di Cartone came into the gallery with her friends. What a wonderful rarity, to meet the model who's face I see ever day. She is of course very beautiful in the flesh & as fresh-faced as in her portraits, (unlike myself, I need makeup & very good lighting sadly) & a delightful woman. She spoke to me about being a model & how much she admired Christian & his work.

The experience of being the subject is life-changing, as I experienced myself working with Neeta Madahar, see my previous blogs (Collaborating with an Angel Parts 1-7) on this here. Whilst looking for a link to the Flora series I came across this lovely blog too: Metro Nature, very interesting...

You are suddenly confronted with your own image through someone else's eyes. I was a collaborator which meant I had more say in the end result. But in Christian Tagliavini's safe hands, I'm sure anyone would jump at the chance to be a model for him, me included (ha ha hint, hint, hint, nudge, nudge...)

The permanence of the image goes far beyond the initial experience of modeling & is then on a journey of its own through the media, on the walls of galleries & art fairs, online & in print. The thought of someone buying a picture of you is a strange one I can tell you.

Lora's friends took some photo's of her with the works & I of course did the same. What a wonderful choice of outfit she was wearing with an updated, contemporary version of a ruff with her fabulous scarf, the colour even complimented the photo perfectly! 

Fancy making your own? Try a miniature one first, here on this Peppercorn Minis blog you can see how. I'm sorely tempted myself...

Also another lovely thing to happen was an article by IdeasTap where I am described as amongst other things a 'photography polymath' wow! Rachel who interviewed me is the Assistant Editor & has her own blog also.

I would also lastly like to thank Natalja Sadikova for taking these pictures in the gallery. 

(The ruff is from the Peppercorn Minis blog)

I'm turning Chinese....I really think so

Wow, just looked up W magazine which I haven't bought since I was in New York at the airport as America Ferrera was on the cover (Betty Suarez) and I needed a guilty pleasure for the journey. May I also add I was furiously hung over after one last night of partying on Spring Street till 5am. I digress...

At present I am reviewing ELEVEN, a book by the one and only Philip-Lorca diCorcia which consists of 11 portfolios that were featured in W magazine. To see the review please purchase the Spring Edition of LIP magazine. Needless to say - apart from the book being wonderful - I had to do a little jog down memory lane to remind me what the magazine was about and was thrilled to find this little gem of Natalie Portman. The feature has 19 portraits of actors who have inspired the magazine in the last year. It was hard not to make the comparison with Neeta Madahar's Flora series. The approach - with plenty of post-production - however does render each sitter to a level of perfection nobody living can actually achieve. However, despite this, the other-worldly nature of this portrait meets with my approval, for what it's worth.

The cheekier, naughtier Helena Bonham Carter appeals to the sexy woman who isn't afraid to go overboard on her makeup and still look extraordinarily fabulous. I think the curly hair also give a shout out to those blessed/cursed with natural curls who are terribly unfashionable as ceramic hair straighteners threaten to rid the world of all wild hairdos in the name of 'conformity'. (Good girls look well-groomed with neat do's, see here) This is not to say I have anything against prim and proper ladies, but times are tough and a little wildness goes a long way in my book.

PS: Lee Swillingham and Stuart Spalding at Suburbia have their own blog too, hope they like this one.

Photo credits:
Natalie Portman in "Black Swan"

By Lynn Hirschberg
Photographs by Inez van Lamsweerde and Vinoodh Matadin
Styled by Melanie Ward
Portfolio designed by Lee Swillingham and Stuart Spalding at Suburbia

Helena Bonham Carter in "The King's Speech"
By Lynn Hirschberg
Photographs by Inez Van Lamsweerde and Vinoodh Matadin
Styled by Melanie Ward