Wednesday 22 February 2012

Patrick Lichfield's nudes

I love these images...Patrick Lichfield's nudes.  They've not previously been exhibited and will be on display at the The Little Black Gallery from 24 April. I've only seen a glimpse over on the bjp site but I love the tonal qualities...the softness of the light, the interplay between the landscape and model, the clean-ness of his composition and choice of location, how the contrast is used to draw your eye in to the darker areas of the image.  I just find them elegant, beguiling and cheeky.  If only, if only....

3 comments:

  1. For me these images are technically brilliant but aesthetically and emotionally empty and pointless.May be even worse - mentally substitute in a male nude ...

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  2. May be they are void of any meaning...I don't know the context in which they were made or what intention he had. Yes, I get your drift about the gender of the model too. It can be said of much imagery in art and photography about the (excessive) use of the female figure. But perhaps the female figure, mother nature, the shapes and metaphors thereof are more at one with certain aspects of nature than that of the male gender...I would paint the 'masculine' landscape very differently to this. The graphic design quality in the images, the softness and general atmosphere seem more akin to the 'feminine' too...but I suspect this is what I'm bestowing on the images and will bear no semblance to his original intentions. Personally, I think there is something quite intriguing about imposing the human figure on the landscape which can be much more reflective of our 'real life' dominance of our own back yard than 'people-less landscapes'...although it's probably a throw-back from the soc doc course that I'm still keen on the human aspect of the landscape.

    Thanks for popping by Jeremy, your comments always make me think...

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  3. I agree with you completely about the human figure in the landscape - Harry Callahan or Bill Brandt are great examples. Have you seen this? http://www.guardian.co.uk/artanddesign/gallery/2012/jan/27/big-picture-harry-callahan-eleanor-barbara This is not exploitative (its his wife and daughter) but I would suspect that Lichfield's intention was to exploit the glamorous female form to make money, which was all the more likely given that in every other respect his pictures are very good.

    Can't post with my wordpress ID so hence anon.

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