Had the chance to visit the Glamour of the Gods exhibit at the National Portrait Gallery [London] yesterday and it was beaaaaautiful. It featured photos from the John Kobal collection of photographs of Hollywood stars of the 1920s to the 1950s (including some candids) -- and was a real treat for the eyes.
It was startling to gauge how young some actors were when they were discovered, and how many names were changed along the way, notably, it seems, to "mask" ethnicity ... how beautiful/handsome and startlingly photogenic these individuals were (and had to be!), and how creative the photographers were in their framing.
...That said... it was alarming even in the pre-Photoshop years how many photographs were retouched and to what degree... Removing an actress's [I forget who...] expression lines and freckles (removing her expression lines = 1940s photographic Botox...) for instance, eliminated those tiny hints of "imperfection" and made the image of the Hollywood actress even more unattainable...
Anyway, enough of my misguided diatribe.
This was by far my favourite shot:
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| Louise Brooks, by Eugene Robert Richee // via here |
2 comments:
i love this photo
Beautiful, isn't it! Thanks for commenting. :)
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