MAGIC MIRROR: Reflection + Perception in Photography at Daniel Cooney Fine Art

 Cecil Beaton

Charles James Dresses, 1948

 Melvin Sokolsky 

 Morris Engel 

Amos Mac 

Magic Mirror is an exciting exhibition of photographs that use reflections and mirrors as key elements in the aesthetic and conceptual composition of the image. Perception is a compelling concept whether one is referring to physically seeing a visual distortion or referring to the idea of how one perceives their own reflection.  

The topic allows for a large range of ideas, genres and concerns to be expressed as photographers have been drawn to the dynamic visual effect of reflections through out history. In this exhibition we have many unlikely cohorts such as 19th Century French photographer Felix Jacques Moulin and contemporary artist Allen Frame. Moulin's racy female nude posed in front of a mirror for a full view of her derriere contrasts with Frame's image of two young men admiring themselves in tank tops and tight jeans.

Cecil Beaton's classic 1948 color image of Charles James ball gowns reminds us of old world glamour while Corey Grant Tippin's 1974 Polaroid of Potassa De La Fayette exhibits the chic attitude and style of that era. Then Lyle Ashton Harris brings us up to date with his photograph of M Lamar checking his look in a public restroom mirror.

Taking a look at the world around us with striking landscapes and cityscapes are Lisette Model, Lee Friedlander, Morris Engel, Andre Kertesz and Daniel Kukla with a lush color image of the night desert. Fashion photographers have long used reflections as a way to energize their work such as Melvin Sokolsky's iconic "Bubble" photographs with the model posed in a transparent plastic orb that reflects it's surroundings and William Klein's infinitely reflected model in Paris.

MAGIC MIRROR

Reflection and Perception in Photography

June 22 - July 21, 2017 

 DANIEL COONEY FINE ART

508 - 526 West 26th Street, Suite 9C, New York

dan@danielcooneyfineart.com

Opening reception: Thursday, June 22!

Thanks to Dan Cooney for the text and photos!

PADDLE 8: Live Auction to June 12th!

Stephen Shore
U.S. Route 10, Post Falls, Idaho, August 25

From his seminal series “Uncommon Places,” Stephen Shore’s photograph was taken during one of several road trips that the artist took across the United States between 1969 and 1979. Described as “...the daily experiences of an astute wandering stranger,” Shore uses a carefully fixed frame and bold colors—in a gesture reminiscent to postcards, of which Shore was an avid collector—to capture both the familiar and the uncanny of the great American landscape.

Henri Cartier-Bresson
Madrid, 1933

Henri Cartier-Bresson remains one of the leading and most influential photographers, having photographed tirelessly and internationally, producing an extensive account of the modern era. Concentrating on the quick and candid moments in a scene, Cartier-Bresson used the speed of photography to capture intimate details, seeing in them the significance of an entire event. This image of a group of young boys in Madrid notes both the expressions and internal dynamics between them as well as their interaction with the camera and the photographer’s presence. Immobilizing their gaze with the camera, the suspense and curiosity of the scene builds but remains balanced by the central figure who looks at the viewer directly, full of cheek.  

Morris Engel
Shoe Shine Boy, Times Square, 1947

A native Brooklynite and pioneering member of The Photo League, Morris Engel is noted for his early documentary photographs of New York, of which “Shoe Shine Boy, Times Square” is a wonderfully dynamic example. Though primarily focused on a single figure—the titular shoe shine boy, clad in cuffed jeans—Engel’s photograph skillfully captures the frenzied energy of mid-century Times Square, with its proliferation of flashy text, its vast, varied expanse of crowd, and a distorted reflection of the city’s notoriously nasty traffic occupying the right side of the image.

 Angela Strassheim
Untitled (Danielle)

American photographer, born 1969 

Herb Ritts
Duo IV, Mexico, 1990

Herb Ritts (American, 1952-2002) revolutionized fashion photography, modernized the nude, and transformed celebrities into icons. He often made use of the bright California sunlight to produce bold contrasts, and his preference for outdoor locations, such as the desert and the beach, helped to separate his work from that of his New York-based peers. From the late 1970s until Ritts's untimely death in 2002, his ability to create images that successfully bridged the gap between art and commerce was not only a testament to the power of his imagination and technical skill, but also marked the synergistic union between art, popular culture, and business that followed in the wake of the Pop Art movement of the 1960s and 1970s

PADDLE 8's Live Photography Auction features a curated selection of rare works by masters such as Henri Cartier Bresson, Stephen Shore, Cindy Sherman, Herb Ritts, Paul Caponigro, Andre Kertesz, Hiroshi Sugimoto, Danny Lyon, David Lachapelle, and many more well known photographers. View their on-line Gallery. Bid until June 12th.

PADDLE 8's Live Photography Auction

Closes June 12th, 2017

paddle8.com

Contact: Joslin Van Arsdale
Senior Specialist, Photographs | Paddle8
T: 310.926.2695
joslin.vanarsdale@paddle8.co