The Irving Penn exhibit in the Metropolitan Museum of Art was a very bold exhibit. The images were simplistic and minimal but left a strong impression on me. I took some time with each image and tried to understand the purpose of such a simple black and white image. It left me thinking about the emotions that were being evoked by the objects in the images, for instance, there was an image of an old man posing in a corner holding his chin. He had a small grin and it made me wonder what he was thinking about and why he felt the need to feel enclosed in the corner of the room.

I believe Irving Penn created this exhibit as an interpretive experience. Everyone will have different emotions when viewing these images and will interpret the images differently as well. I believe the biggest takeaway from this exhibit was that simple is bold. Sometimes focusing on one thing can lead to be a bigger impact than having arbitrary things everywhere.

After attending the Irvin Penn exhibit, I found the portraits and still images very compelling. The black and white images with people both dressed in classy-classic wear, and blue collar work capture the essence of the people very well. However, I found the deconstructed camera piece very interesting because it was both chaotic but organized in a way that a viewer can understand.

My favorite piece was the multicolored picture of a woman’s lip with different shades of paint or makeup on it. The picture portrays various colors each identifying various personas of her own identity. In my mind the contrast represent different emotions that a woman can have. The way that the makeup is applied also makes me uncomfortable. The pictures of the poppies also were very great because of the great use of white space to emphasize the “bland” colors of the actual image.

Irving Penn’s work made it clear that he used many elements to convey his mind. All photos were black and white. There were many great things about the photographs. For me, my favorite element was his use of the room. I don’t really see it that often. When I think of a corner of a room or where the walls meet, I think it is limiting. It closes your perspective. Penn uses rooms as another tool. It’s basically a landscape. I feel like he uses the walls to give even more focus on his objects. For example, my eyes would be drawn towards where the walls go. That was definitely something I would consider doing in my next photographs of still objects.

For Penn’s portraits, it becomes evident how lighting can create beautiful photos. It definitely reminded me of my favorite black and white movies. Casablanca came into my mind when I viewed specific portraits. Those portraits with light twinkling off the subjects eyes while mainly the rest of under a shadow. It surprised me also when I saw that some subjects were not even posing. I thought they were a big risk as a photographer to put out under their name.

In the exhibition of Irving Penn’s photograph collection, it seems to be that he has shown strong characteristics for each of works.

First of all, in his still life photographs, the objects seem to be randomly arranged but there’s an invisible order behind, and then he captured the moment of accidents. For example, in his work “Still Life with Watermelon”, he arranged the objects to look very random; the seeds are scattered in all directions, and put the half of bread in no specific way. However, in the overall picture, it looks like all the objects seem to be organized in purpose. When it comes to combination of colors, he applied various colors but united them with a specific tone; therefore, his works make me think of watercolor paintings.

Second, in his portraits, he simplifies the background so that the object can grab more attention to itself. For example, his works in the cover of VOGUE magazines, he uses different angles and poses for each piece of works. By applying simple monotones to the background and placing the model in the middle of frame, the model itself is extremely highlighted.

Finally, when it comes to his works on nudes, it seems highly surrealistic in his photographs. He took photo shoot extremely close to the object, so it exaggerates the ‘perspective,’ the object itself looks distorted, and it results to create surrealistic spaces. Thus, by rearranging the object and spaces, he creates unfamiliar scene in his work. It seems to be that Penn’s work basically focuses on applying various perspectives on the typical object to create never-seen scenes in result of different point of views.

Looking through his works, I’ve learned a lesson that the beauty could be created not only by something new but also by ordinary objects from different point of views and arrangement.

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.

irving penn

Irving Penn

Art 4900

Irving Penn Exhibitions

Mei Yang

When I first walk into the show room, there are lots of work with objects and portraits. Those works are most in black and white, some are in colors. From my point of view the most attracted photographs were the series of Small Trades. It looks very differently from the studio to the work place when he taking those photos. Because without the surrounding environment they seem more comfortable and confident to take photo. From their gestures, most are standing straight holding their tools. Penn use the light from the side to make the portraits more contrast and alive. I see those photographs as documentary photographs. They are not only show how do they look in different jobs but also record the era in history.

Another interesting series were the cigarettes. They are famous till nowadays. One thing we don’t realize is the small stuff. Like the discarded cigarettes, they are everywhere but almost invisible. No one will care too much about the garbage. But Penn can turn them into a very powerful and beautiful photograph. He uses the light very nicely capture the details of the cigarettes. I never thought about it to take an object like this before I see them. His ideas are unique but also common. The cigarettes are no more regular they are art works. Penn opens my mind a lot about becoming a photographer, to discover more beauty in life.

IRVING PENN @ THE MET

Please click here for summary of my visit:  Rajanibala_Alba_IrvingPenn