The Original Street Style Photographer, Irving Penn, Hits LA's Getty Center
The courtyard at The Getty Center, Los Angeles
Today, street style dominates the blogosphere and the foremost fashion websites. We're a culture of voyeurs: If it's being worn by Anna Wintour or a MOD (that's insider-speak for Model Off Duty), or photographed paparazzi-style, then we'll sit, stare, and come back for more. But before The Sartorialist and Bill Cunningham were all the rage, a different kind of street style was of interest: real people, wearing layman's clothing, photographed against a neutral backdrop rather than the hustle and bustle of a big city.
Los Angeles' Getty Center is currently celebrating photography vanguard Irving Penn, who recently passed away after a storied career working for magazines including Harper's Bazaar and Vogue. Irving Penn: Small Trades is an exhibition of Penn's photographs from the early 1950s featuring men and women in their work attire. A milkman with a checked shirt and pants riding high, a steel mill firefighter in full protective regalia, and prim and proper ballroom dancing team are just a few of the highlights from Small Trades.
Penn did a healthy amount of jaunting himself for this series, traveling to-and-from Paris, London, and New York. to capture his strangely elegant subjects.
Getting to the Getty Center is easy enough, traffic on the 405 notwithstanding. You will, however, have to pay $15 per car in parking fees, unless you arrive after 5:00 PM on Saturdays or for a special evening program, in which case parking is free. If you choose to forgo driving, you can take Metro Rapid Line 761 and get dropped off at the main gate. Admission to the Getty is free—none of that "first [insert day here] of the month" mess that other museums advertise.
The exhibit runs through January 10, 2010. Contemporary street style addicts can get another fix this Thursday at The Beverly Center, when The Sartorialist himself, Scott Schuman, signs copies of his based-on-the-blog book from 8:00-10:00 PM. Long live style.
Related Stories
· The Getty Center [Official Site]
· Yes, Virginia, Los Angeles Does Have A Fashion Week [Official Site]
· Museum Travel [Jaunted]
[Photo: La Citta Vita]
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