A Peek At Weird Beauty: Fashion Photography Now

This exhibition, organized by Carol Squiers and Vince Aletti, presents the most innovative fashion photography of the last few years, from photographers who draw on a range of influences, including art, sexuality, narrative, digital media, and youth culture. It also considers the impact of graphic design on the way that fashion photography is presented. Along with original photographic prints, the exhibition features hundreds of tear sheets and magazine covers from both mainstream and independent publications.

Showing from January 16th through May 3rd at the International Center of Photography (ICP) Museum in New York.

Address:
1133 Avenue of the Americas at 43rd Street
New York, NY 10036

Some pieces from the show:






Represented in the international group of photographers are the photographers listed at the end of this post. I have found some of their work from the referenced collections in the exhibit and included them here, however, these exact pieces may not be in the show:

Mert Alas and Marcus Piggott, a London-based collaborative team that produces haunting stories with a strong emphasis on polished and flawless beauty. In the 44-page story I’m A Marionette (Pop Magazine S/S 2007), the duo designed an eerie set of women-cum-marionettes gazing lifelessly into the distance;
Here are 2 examples from that story:



American photographer Steven Klein, whose Le Gôut des Robes (Vogue Paris, October 2007) depicts manicured housewives roaming the colorful aisles of the local supermarket, as they oscillate between moments of utter boredom and despair;
And here are two shots from that shoot:



Cindy Sherman, who employs her iconic method of costuming in a series of photographs produced for Vogue Paris (Merci Cindy!, August 2007) in order to promote Balenciaga clothing items;
Here are two shots from that editorial:



Sølve Sundsbø, based in London, whose Batty Boy (Arena Homme, Summer–Autumn 2007) introduces a ghostly male figure wearing an oversized square coat and heavy black makeup, as he stands motionless in a dim environment;
Two of the Batty Boy shots:



Juergen Teller, who expands his advertising campaign for Marc Jacobs into a fashion story in Purple Fashion Magazine (Summer 2007), as he captures his models— William Eggleston, Dakota Fanning and Charlotte Rampling— in an array of awkward and brutally honest predicaments;
A 2004 shot of Charlotte Rampling by Juergen Teller:

and one of his 2007 shots of Dakota Fanning:


British photographer Tim Walker, who looks to the memorable Horst P. Horst photograph of Dalí costumes (1939) as inspiration for his story A Magic World (Vogue Italia, January 2008).
Here are two shots from that editorial:



Also featured in Weird Beauty are several photographers not commonly associated with fashion, including Nan Goldin, who contributes regularly to the German children's fashion magazine Kid's Wear, and Collier Schorr, who shoots for fashion publications such as Doingbird, i-D, and Numéro Homme.
Below are 2 of Nan Goldin's rare fashion shots from a French Vogue editorial:




The exhibition is organized by ICP curator Carol Squiers and ICP adjunct curator Vince Aletti.
This exhibition is supported, in part, by public funds from the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs.

Participating Photographers :
Mert Alas & Marcus Piggott
Miles Aldridge
John Baldessari
Coppi Barbieri
Laurie Bartley
Richard Burbridge
Jessica Craig-Martin
Philip-Lorca diCorcia
Marcus Gaab
Nan Goldin
Mikael Jansson
Krisanne Johnson
Greg Kadel
Steven Klein
Nick Knight
Karl Lagerfeld
Inez van Lamsweerde & Vinoodh Matadin
Peter Lindbergh
Craig McDean
Alasdair McLellan
Steven Meisel
Sarah Moon
Günter Parth
Richard Prince
Terry Richardson
Paolo Roversi
Lise Sarfati
Collier Schorr
Cindy Sherman
David Sims
Hedi Slimane
Mario Sorrenti
Sølve Sundsbø
Juergen Teller
Mario Testino
Michael Thompson
Deborah Turbeville
Magnus Unnar
Sara VanDerBeek
Matthias Vriens
Tim Walker
Bruce Weber