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American Cool at the National Portrait Gallery

April 7, 2014 By Caroline Space

James Dean, Roy Schatt, Silver Gelatin Print, 1954.
James Dean, Roy Schatt, Silver Gelatin Print, 1954.

The National Portrait Gallery’s American Cool, on view until September 7, is a cultural study through portraits of iconic figures from a variety of fields of art, culture, and political activism. American Cool embodies the zeitgeist in a gallery of silver gelatin.

What does it mean to be cool? Cool is rebellious self-expression, magnetism, and edginess. In the early 1940s, legendary jazz saxophonist Lester Young carried this central African American concept into a modern language. Cool became the thoroughfare to laid-back lifestyle bringing a poised state of mind, a spirited mode of performance, and a certain sophisticated fortitude. A cool person controlled the historical moment with an original signature style. Cool has been personified in jazz musicians such as Miles Davis and Billie Holiday, in actors such as Marlon Brando, Audrey Hepburn, and Johnny Depp, and in singers such as Elvis, Jimi Hendrix, Debbie Harry, and Jay-Z.

[Read more…]

Filed Under: Review Tagged With: American Cool, exhibit, National Portrait Gallery

Friday Links

February 7, 2014 By Meaghan Gay

Chandelier by Noe Todorovich
Chandelier by Noe Todorovich

This week we have photographers looking back on working with Phillip Seymour Hoffman, a photographer’s packing list for Sochi, and a model cuddling with a tiger. Enjoy your Friday Links!

  • Photojournalist Bill Eppridge has never solved the mystery of why his negatives of the Beatles went missing, or how they were mysteriously returned.
  • Zack Seckler’s aerial photographs of animals look like abstract art.
  • Photographer Jeff Cable shared his packing list for covering the Olympic Games in Sochi.
  • Three photographers reflect on photographing Phillip Seymour Hoffman for the New York Times.
  • If you are looking for some inspiration, The Sony World Photography Awards announced their short list. Colossal made a selection of their favorites for easy viewing.
  • “I recognize a philosophical juncture that once they were in the trash, ownership ceased.” Artist Paul-David Young used Molly Soda’s images to create an art exhibit, and is refusing to credit her.
  • A large animal has escaped from the Tokyo zoo!
  • Speaking of zoos, the National Zoo has released new images of the African Lion Cubs.
  • The National Portrait Gallery has a new exhibit showcasing images of Washington during the Civil War, called “Mr. Lincoln’s Washington: A Civil War Portfolio.”
  • And finally, in tiger news, Miranda Kerr got cozy with a tiger this week during New York Fashion Week.

Filed Under: Friday Links Tagged With: African Lion Cubs, Bill Eppridge, friday links, Jeff Cable, Molly Soda, Mr Lincoln's Washington, NASA, National Portrait Gallery, national zoo, SONY world photography awards, tiger, Zack Seckler

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