ALL ABOUT EVE

ALL ABOUT EVE: THE PHOTOGRAPHY OF EVE ARNOLD

Art Sensus, London Gallery

Another fab review on someone very inspirational, Eve Arnold, see what you think!

Walking into the exhibition, I had no expectations, no idea of the work she produced, but at first glance of her portraits of Marilyn Monroe and I was captivated.

Eve Arnold developed her career with very little formal training and travelled the world creating an unforgettable document of her journey. In 1952 she was taken on as one of the few female members of Magnum photos, which would have been huge achievement for any photojournalist. 

The content of this post has been gathered from the exhibition itself and some of Arnold's own words, at Art Sensus in London.

 Marilyn Monroe, Mount Sinai, Long Island, 1955

Cibachrome

Eve Arnold photographed Marilyn Monroe over a period of 10 years and runs like a thread throughout her work of the fifties in America. Arnold met Marilyn when they were both young and starting out in their careers and they developed a close bond and friendship.

The idea of her work was to forge a relationship which permits an atmosphere in which the subject feels relaxed and safe. Intimacy allows the person to be inhibited and reveal aspects of herself.

Marilyn Monroe, The Misfits, Nevada, USA, 1960

Isabella Rossellini, England, 1985

Angelica Huston at 16, Saint Clerans, Ireland 1968

Cibachrome

On working on films, 1959-1984

Eve Arnold documented the making of feature films, sometimes assigned by a motion picture company, sometimes a magazine. Locations are often more interesting and exotic then a photographic studio.

Clark Gable, The Misfits, Nevada, 1960

Francis Bacon in his studio in Kensington, London 1978

Driving force behind her work:

"Curiosity" was a constant challenge, The very unpredictability of photography enthralled her. Decisions of what to include, the framing, the trying to define the moment, the light moving across the face, kaleidoscope of emotions.

"I was hungry for answers led me to learn the profession to travel the world"

She was a one women cultural exchange.

Bar Girl, Cuba, 1954

On Photography

Everything was assigned but most of her work was based on her own ideas. The nature of the work leaves the decisions to the photographer. It is always a game of chance, fugitive and ephemeral. 

The terms used by photographers to express the mediums mutability:

Catch, grab, capture and seize. 

The things Eve Arnold did in the first few years were done by chance.

Eve Arnold visited Long-Island, the home of her family and friends, including Marilyn Monroe which triggered the "Nostalgia and affection" in her work.

Arnold spent 4 months in a hospital recording the first 5 minutes of the birth of a child. (she lost her own baby in mid stages of pregnancy)

She says in her film, that it's not about yourself, but the person you are photographing.

This exhibition was a real insight into the mind of a female documentary/ photojournalist photographer and her travels around the world and the people she saw is a huge inspiration to anyone wanting the same experience.

http://www.artsensus.com/artists/eve-arnold/exhibitions/all-about-eve.html