The Radical Eye: Modernist Photography from the Sir Elton John Collection

Wonderful exhibition at Tate Modern looking at modernist photography in the first half of the 20th century.

The show was fascination as it gave a good overview of photography in this period when artists were transforming how photography could be used. It picked good clear themes to look at such as portraits, the start of documentary photography and abstraction.

There were some amazing pictures such as a wall of portraits by Irving Penn taken in a wedge shaped set which gave a sense of confinement. I loved the one of Duke Ellington. A very art deco photo by Rudolf Koppitz of three women in long black outfits with a naked woman in front creating a wonderful contrast against the black.

I liked the section on how taking a different view on a real object can create an abstract image such as Emmanuel Sougez picture of half a cabbage and Aleksandr Rodchenko’s picture up a transmission tower.

As interesting as the individual works was to look at the pictures as a collection and to think about the role of the collector and modern collections. I loved wonderful silver and gold frames which showed the pictures off like old master paintings and gave them a gravity while also being a bit bling. There was a very good film interviewing Elton John about the collection in his home which showed that the frames were his. His apartment in Atlanta is hung with photographs from floor to ceiling. It was fascinating to hear how and why he started collecting and how knowledgeable he talked about the works. 

Closes on 7 May 2017

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