The Irving Penn exhibition at the Metropolitan museum is a definite eye opener. It was a very spectacular display of his art in multiple mini galleries which helps to show the viewer the different style of photographs Penn took throughout this lifetime. From the moment you walk into the entrance, two large still life photographs in color hit you almost instantly. One in particular, Still Life with Watermelon, shows the close attention to detail and the control Penn had over his artwork. As you progressed though the galleries, the color ones fade as the black and white photos take prominence. The images consisted of models arranged in careful order, either in one frame or multiple frames. Layout and the choice of frame was an essential part in the presentation of his work.

One of the most interesting group of images would have to be his cigarettes. They emit his style yet they are unlike his other works. Perhaps this comes from his background as his father was a painter. Though they are black and white, the details in the images makes them seem very mysterious and surreal.

Another group we cannot forget is his fashion photographs. The early vogue covers he did really paved the way to future vogue styles and typography. The only downfall about this whole exhibition was that it was too overwhelming for me. He had done a lot of artworks so it was too much to grasp at once. Perhaps it would make sense to go back and see his artworks once again and explore what other intentions he might have had when taking these images.