Vanity Fair Portraits...at the LACMA! Leibovitz, Newton, and Herb Ritts astound...

LACMA will unveil an installation of Vanity Fair Portraits (1913-2008) in what promises to be the first major exploratory exhibition to meld together the magazine's historic archive of rare vintage prints with its tantalizing collection of contemporary photographs from leading media artists of the day.

The exhibition runs October 26th through March 1st at the 2009 Hammer Building.

According to the curators, the insightful foray explores the myriad ways in which photography and celebrity have interacted and transformed each other in an almost mystical way.


The landmark exhibition at LACMA will feature portraits published during an earlier period between 1913 thru 1936 - and in conjunction with - a select few pieces from a later more contemporary time frame at Vanity Fair 1983 to the present day.

The Los Angeles presentation, which is sponsored by Burberry, will be the only U.S. stop on an international tour.


Photographers in the much-anticipated exhibition include Cecil Beaton, Harry Benson, Julian Broad, Imogen Cunningham, Annie Leibovitz, Man Ray, Steven Meisel, Helmut Newton, Herb Ritts, Edward Steichen, Mario Testino, and Bruce Weber.

Stills posted here are representative of the work of a handful of artists in the stellar show.

A collaboration between Vanity Fair and the National Portrait Gallery

LACMA...Masculinity and Sport! Fetish in art?

So, what happens when a group of artists focus their aesthetic eye on a handful of athletes and sports figures?

In - "Hard Targets - Masculinity and Sport - the time-honored arch type of the male athlete as an aggressive, overtly heterosexual, hyper-competitive, and emotionally remote subject has been shifted in an exhibition that opens at LACMA next week.

Opposing views on masculinity and sport (including the rituals and accoutrements that surround the intimate male-dominated world) are insightfully offered up by artists Mark Bradford, Harun Farocki, Brian Jungen, Shaun Leonardo, Collier Schorr, and Joe Sola.


Each artist examines the way masculinity is characterized and performed in a sporting context.

Complex systems of desire that accompany the way society views and consumes athletes and sporting events are explored in the intriguing exhibition, too.

In tandem with the art exhibition, there will be two open dialogues during the course of the show, which runs from October 9th through January 18th at the Hammer Building









In the discussion on - "Talking Hard Targets" - Artists and Historians (Jeff Sheng, Kori Newkirk, Jennifer Doyle and Christopher Bedford) will address how contemporary art engages and disturbs conventional codes of masculinity especially in regard to the athletic imagery.

Bing Theatre October 16th (Free)

"Conversations with the Artists" focuses on New-York based artist Collier Schorr who will speak with LACMA's assistant curator of Contemporary Art (Christopher Bedford) about "performances within performances and the dualities in movement and gesture".

The subject alludes to ranges of masculine emotions and expressions, according to Mr. Schorr, and should prove to be an enlightening discussion.

Bing Theatre October 10th (Free)

This exhibition was organized by the Los Angeles County Museum of Art and made possible by Nike Sportswear and the Contemporary Projects Endowment Fund. Contributors also included Vidal Sassoon, Steve Martin, and the Broad Art Foundation.