Photography

See this: A Hard Man is Good to Find!



A Hard Man Is Good To Find - The Photographers Gallery - Keith Vaughan Highgate Men's Pond Album 1933

Another new London exhibition worth your attention. A Hard Man is Good to Find! at The Photographers’ Gallery is a brilliant little history lesson of queer photography of the male physique, surveying the years when making or distributing imagery of male nudity was illegal in the UK.

Centred on key areas of London – Highgate, Chelsea, Brixton, Pimlico, Portobello, Euston, Soho – it explores some of the ways that photographers would go about scouting modelling subjects. For example, a concentration of fit young males around the army barracks of Pimlico would result in images of partially uniformed men, including some fabulous styling.

Montague Glover - The Photographers Gallery

I didn’t realise that due to these obscenity laws, men’s only legal way to view other scantily clad male bodies was via images of fitness and sport. Which may be the reason for the beefed-up physical ideal that prevails today. The images shown here are of varied physiques including traditional muscle men (via a fascinating origin story of the posing pouch) and less buff scruffy punks.

My favourite exhibit is a display of blown-up pages from a crudely assembled collage album put together by the artist Keith Vaughan. Photographs of sunbathing young dudes at Highgate Men’s Pond in 1933 alongside graphic typography feel like they could have come from the pages of Italian Vogue (accompanied by a modesty sticker or two).

A Hard Man Is Good To Find exhibition - Keith Vaughan
A Hard Man Is Good To Find exhibition - Keith Vaughan

One criticism, which has been touched on in a few reviews, is the questionable ethics of predatory behaviour and exploitation by photographers who sometimes concealed the real reason they were scouting (i.e., for gay consumption), in one case claiming they were casting for a Vogue shoot. But overall, the curation of little-known stories, great photography and no small amount of fashion styling inspo make this a cultural must-see.

A Hard Man is Good to Find! is at The Photographers’ Gallery until 11th June 2023. See more here.

WORDS: Disneyrollergirl / Navaz Batliwalla
IMAGES: Keith Vaughan Highgate Men’s Pond Album 1933/Disneyrollergirl; Montague Glover/ Disneyrollergirl; Keith Vaughan Highgate Men’s Pond Album 1933/Disneyrollergirl x 2
NOTE: Most images are digitally enhanced. Some posts use affiliate links and PR samples. Please read my privacy and cookies policy here

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See this: Baldwin Lee, A Southern Portrait, 1983-89



Baldwin Lee DeFuniak Springs Florida 1984

“I would approach my potential subjects, explain in as detailed a manner as possible what I had seen, and ask for permission to take a photograph. Of course, small talk — where was I from, who would see the photograph, why I selected them — would sometimes ensue. Often permission was granted with no discussion at all. Looking is a two-way street. Not only is the photographer looking, but the potential subject is looking too. What the subject sees carries great weight. For some reason, people would see me positively. I am not sure if it was my race, gender, physicality, dress, demeanor, or anything else. If in a day I asked twenty people for permission to make photographs, nineteen would say yes.”
Baldwin Lee

Baldwin Lee, A Southern Portrait, 1983-89 is already getting rave reviews and it has only been open for a few days. His first show outside the United States, the images are a seven-year study of life in the American South taken by a first generation Chinese American. A former student of Walker Evans and Minor White, he taught at Yale and the Massachusetts College of Art, and inaugurated the photography programme at the University of Tennessee. On his first road trip to discover he wasn’t sure what, Lee found himself in the local sheriff’s offices asking which areas he should avoid. On receiving their advice, he would then go directly to those areas to see what he would find. With his bulky large format camera and tripod and Asian appearance, he was as intriguing to the locals as they were to him. Gaining their trust and curiosity, he would get permission to photograph them in their communities and everyday life.

The photos were taken in the 80s but some look like they could be from 20 years earlier, save for a few clues. Look closely (as you will, each frame contains a picture – or several – within a picture) and you’ll notice 80s style cues – sunglasses, cassettes – as well as more obvious cues like cars and bikes. The detail is incredible; there’s no point trying to view these on a phone screen. Also remarkable, after a few notable flurries of interest, Lee retired from photography considering his best work done. (There’s a great discussion about this here.)

It was only last year that his work was rediscovered and shown in New York, followed by a monograph and renewed media interest. The work in this latest show at David Hill Gallery features many previously unseen images. Read more here and visit David Hill Gallery at 345 Ladbroke Grove, W10 (until 22nd July).
Baldwin Lee, Charleston South Carolina 1984
Baldwin Lee A Southern Portrait 1983-89 at David Hill Gallery
Baldwin Lee, A Southern Portrait, 1983-89 at David Hill Gallery
Baldwin Lee, A Southern Portrait, 1983-89 at David Hill Gallery
Baldwin Lee, A Southern Portrait, 1983-89 at David Hill Gallery
Baldwin Lee, Rosedale, Mississippi, 1984

WORDS: Disneyrollergirl / Navaz Batliwalla
IMAGES: Baldwin Lee / David Hill Gallery
NOTE: Most images are digitally enhanced. Some posts use affiliate links and PR samples. Please read my privacy and cookies policy here

CLICK HERE to get Disneyrollergirl blog posts straight to your inbox once a week
CLICK HERE to buy my book, The New Garconne: How to be a Modern Gentlewoman
CLICK HERE to buy my beauty book, Face Values: The New Beauty Rituals and Skincare

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Into this: Bottega Veneta banal luxury



Bottega Veneta SS23 ad campaign

The new Bottega Veneta SS23 campaign just landed and I love it.

There’s a soothing video by Massimiliano Bomba shot in a slow-mo Milan streetscape serving everyday city life in the most fabulously chic way. (It’s a little bit Lemaire and a little bit Thomas Maier!)

The stills are also beautiful – elegant yet casual, styled by Alastair McKimm with the leather ‘denim’ jeans and white ultra-luxe vests centre stage, accessorised with slouchy Andiamo totes*. The no-make-up-make-up and minimally styled hair give the campaign a timeless quality and I’m glad that they resisted the urge to include obvious props like a Starbucks coffee or phone. (Wait, do Italians even drink Starbs?) In this case, less it more. Superbo! (more…)

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Single or stack?



Cartier Trinity bracelet by Chitose Abe Sacai

Cartier has been in the news a lot in the last 12 months. Mostly for its watches (this was the latest release and this guy seems to be its most high profile collector), but this month for a new jewellery drop (above).

The Cartier x Chitose Abé (of Sacai fame) collab is perfectly in sync for the two design leaders. The Cartier Trinity ring was initially created in 1924 by Louis Cartier and was a favourite of Jean Cocteau. Its three intertwining bands of yellow gold, rose gold and white gold have been deconstructed by Abé into new distorted shapes in a collection of two rings, a bracelet, a necklace and a hybrid earring-ring. (more…)

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