Chronorama: Photographic Treasures of the 20th Century
Museum für Fotographie, Berlin
The exhibit “Chronorama,” presented photographic treasures of the 20th century through the lens of mega publishing company Condé Nast, including photos from the archives of Vogue, The New Yorker, Condé Nast Traveler, GQ, Glamour, Architectural Digest, Vanity Fair, Bon Appétit, and other magazines that have provided a glimpse into how the 1% lives. As long as you accept that rarified viewpoint and move on to the photographs, you can start marveling at the beauty of the pictures. There’s such an interest and market built around celebrity, glamour, wealth, and royalty, that there must be some reason we common folk keep thirsting for glimpses into that exclusive society through print and now digital publications. What is fueling this market? Envy? A need for inspiration? Escapism? Or all of the above?
My favorite photos in the exhibit tended to depict subjects other than the celebrities. Although they are beautiful, celebrity pictures (Sophia Loren, Ursula Andress, Lauren Hutton, and Joe Dallesandro) are hard to see as photos. And I approached this as a photography show, not a tour through Modern Screen, Tiger Beat or People magazine.
Here are some of my favorite images from the exhibit.
(below) George Wolfe Plank was Vogue’s primary cover illustrator pre-1920, before photography took over Vogue. Not sure if a gown like this ever existed, but the illustration captures a lot of visual excitement and artistry.
Adolph de Meyer was the first official fashion photographer for Vogue, starting in 1913. I like the design of this photo: the spherical repeat of the globe and the girl’s head reflect the brightest light. The burlap-y tunic that the girl is wearing and rough, plaster wall add a variety of textures. She is looking right into the camera with a determined expression. This kid is already mature beyond her years!
Edward Steichen’s photo of moth balls and sugar cubes integrates a dangerous combination of something sweet and something poisonous. This spread of similar-sized spheres and cubes and the resulting criss-crossing shadows makes for an interesting pattern.
Southern California photographer Frederick Richard Dapprich took this picture of the Williamsburg Houses the year the project was completed in 1938. The impact of the photo is similar to the previous “Moth Balls and Sugar Cubes” photo - a patterning of block forms. The housing project is gleaming white, in comparison to the older, darker surrounding structures. It’s almost like looking at a proposal photo for the project. Not only did the new housing look white, but was originally restricted to white people, even though the project was funded by the federal government’s Public Works Administration.
Gabriel Moulin did most of his work in San Francisco, specializing in architectural exteriors and interiors. He also photographed the aftermath of the 1906 San Francisco earthquake and the construction of the Golden Gate Bridge. In this photo of Templeton Crocker’s apartment in San Francisco, Moulin shows us the modern, spare arrangement of rectangular forms and decidedly non-decorated wall and floor space. Very modern for its time - especially in Victoriana-obsessed San Francisco. The photo is a beautiful arrangement of lights, darks, and mid-grays.
One of my favorite pictures in this exhibit, “Cuzco Children,” is an ethnographic study, a portrayal of human character, and a beautifully designed photo all in one. The two figures are isolated on a light background, giving the two children our full attention. At their young age they already have commanding personalities. The partial silhouetting of the figures and the negative shapes created by the table add visual interest to the picture as well.
Speaking of ethnographic studies, here we have picture of a table arrangement for an intimate gathering in the home of Anderson Cooper’s grandmother, Gloria Morgan-Vanderbilt. Edward Carswell has scooped up the opulence of the occasion by cropping the photo tightly to the table, although we still get to see the Victorian overdo of the space.
If you had the opportunity to photograph a child star, how would you choose to do it? How about taking seven-year-old Margaret O’Brien in a Victorian costume to a bleak Southern California expanse of high-tension towers? O’Brien had just finished the film “Meet Me in St. Louis,” that would have called for a hat and dress as pictured here. The contrast between O’Brien and the angular constructions not only frames the little girl as the star of this photo, but also alludes to the behind-the-scenes nitty-gritty that makes the illusions of the silver screen possible.
Frances McLaughlin-Gill photographed fashion designer Richard Rutledge sitting in a very unnatural position, creating a rhythm of angles, which are repeated in the grid of the floor. The forced pose is uncomfortable, but adds to the impact of the portrait. McLaughlin-Gill was the first female photographer for Vogue.
Cecil Beaton presents Anna Magnani in a style that reflects the volcanic acting style that she was known for. Beaton fractures her image as if a series of film stills have been staggered and frozen. By winning the Best Actress Oscar for The Rose Tattoo in 1955, Magnani contributed to the shift from Hollywood’s glamour mode to more realistic screen characters. Beaton pulls apart Magnani’s face and shows how the Italian actress was “anti-glamour,” and by many accounts, always her own person.
