Now here is art for our constrained circumstances. Katchadourian has lifted her profile with several series of works made under a lockdown of sorts – long distance flying in economy. Most notable among these is her series Lavatory Self-Portraits in the Flemish Style. These inventive works encourage us to “lean into the boredom, and there to rediscover the pleasures of play”.
Beaton left Cambridge without a degree. No matter – Vogue had already started publishing his photos. His brilliant career covered portrait photography and, later, Hollywood film design. Beaton moved in exotic circles and his images of aristocratic 20-somethings partying to excess in the 1920’s is “a social record nonpareil”. Some background on Beaton is here.
Curators of the Gerhard Richter show in New York explain Richter’s belief in painting. He has a “deep-seated mistrust” of photography. It cannot capture a sense of realism and is “ultimately not about truth in any direct way”. Painting, in contrast “has more of a singular presence and relevance to our actual living moment. After everything that has happened to humankind … painting is still there as evidence of our collective endurance”.