Fashionable Fine Art
Fashionable Fine Art is a fresh outlook on a genre of art works that has been looked upon by many in the art world with condescension. For too long, fashion photography has been denigrated by art critics and laymen alike as a non-art form, or worse still, art's bastard, bourgeoisie cousin. But, all great fashion photographs transcend what they advertise, creating a distinctive mood and dream. They reflect the zeitgeist and photographic vitality with emphasis on art and atmosphere than the fashion itself. Afterall, as Mark Stevens of NY Art Magazine (online) says, 'Artful fashion is often better than fashionable art.'
To clarify, this exhibition does not seek to 'redeem' fashion photography by endorsing its 'art value' in the setting of an art gallery. Good fashion photography does not need redeeming; it needs enlightened viewing, like all art.
Participating photographers Alexander Ow, Kenneth Wong, Carolyn Strover and Veronica Tay toy with movies, comics, history, painting, music and bits of glitter; generating stories, producing surprises and creating fever.
Alexander Ow considers the most important elements in a good photograph are exposure, composition and passion. Understanding and manipulating these elements and having sound technical abilities in operating camera are essential. An experienced commercial photographer for many years, he has constantly produced dynamic fashion images and satisfy the commercial demand, while pushing the boundaries of aesthetic boundaries and leaving bits of himself in his works. Alexander's works for this exhibition see both the funny and serious side of him. A father of a lovely little girl, Alex will be producing fairy tale images like Sleeping Beauty, Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, etc, which he reads to his daughter every night. However, not blind to the violence and sexual exploitation of women in today's society, he gives the fairy tale an adult twist to them.
Kenneth Wong's vibrantly coloured works are much influenced by his love for Japanese manga comics. Likewise, his works are often theatrically dramatic and scenes of the underworld in his mind. Like Superman, the mild mannered photographer produces images that are very unlike of him.
Carolyn Strover is the newest kid on the block. Only in the early months of her foray in photography, she has already received public commission projects like for coffee joint, TCC. Mainly self-taught, Carolyn is innovative in her ways of getting the image in her mind; working with very basic props and friends as models. She is indeed an inspiration to many amateur photographers. For this exhibition, witty Carolyn injects the irony of beauty with coiffed and glamorous models digging into bloody red meat with their bare hands and tools, like saw, screwdrivers and other household appliances; tracing the evolution of men, i.e. the days of cavemen, DIY-men and 'beauty-men' in one shot.
Veronica Tay's portraiture works reflect the increasing popularity of Bollywood, which has exploded into the international entertainment scene and even found its footing in Hollywood films. However, what makes Veronica's portraits more interesting artistically is her painterly approach to her photographs, which see her model in classical poses and dark warm hues of the Renaissance period. Her images are immediately engaging as if they were in conversation with the viewer in person, ready to voice and even gesticulate an opinion.
Photo courtesy of Utterly Art Exhibition Space and the artists