Beauty on both sides
“I like to think I am a photographer, who has not got stuck. Any photographer who surrounds himself with a studio is doomed,” these are the words by veteran British fashion photographer Norman Parkinson, whose pictures defined the look of British fashion and culture for over 40 years (1913-1930).
His long association with Vogue, Harper’s Bazaar and other international magazines, brought him worldwide recognition. His impulsive and unstructured style changed the static, posed approach to fashion photography.
Starting in the 1950s Parkinson literally trotted the globe. After being to South Africa, the Caribbean and Cambodia, he toured India in 1956 and portrayed the country’s cultural beauty in his glamour photography.
Bringing alive his connection with India, the exhibition of his photographs titled “Pink Is The New Blue of India” was exhibited by Tasveer in collaboration with the Norman Parkinson Archive, London at Stainless Gallery recently.
Recalling Norman’s incredible experience in India, Nathaniel Gaskell, his spokesperson from London shared, “After the austerity of the World War II, British Vogue wanted him to do a major photo shoot in India. He instinctively knew that his readers wanted to see not only the fashion but also the country. For decades photographers had travelled to India and taken topographical images but Parkinson went to India with a different eye. His plan was to take Western fashion and combine it with Indian style and real culture.”
From Mahabalipuram to Kashmir, Jaipur, he travelled throughout India with models Anne Gunning and Barbara Mullen and captured the mood, ambience and the colour. Nathaniel adds, “The USP of his photography was patterns, colours and surroundings. He tried to match together the flamboyance of Indian architecture with hi-end fashion of Britain. From teaming up sophisticated paddy fields with Barbara leaf-green pants to showcasing colourful ideal marriage in Jaipur with model Anna dressed in pink mohair coat, one get to see Parkinson’s masterful balance. The outfit, contrasted, yet complemented the richness of the Indian architecture and landscape.”
The title of the show came from Diana Vreeland, the editor of Harper’s Bazaar, who praised Norman’s collection as “pink is the navy blue of India”, a remark, stating pink as a metaphor for vivid forms and bright colours of India that Norman portrayed in his pictures.
Curator Shalini Gupta sums up by saying, “He showed Europe the true India back in 1950. From snake charmers to historical monuments, he gave them slice of Indian culture in a very contemporary way. His photograph of the model in swimsuit in the boat at the back of the Taj Mahal showed how he blended the beauty of the place, without changing any fashion trend.”
The exhibition is on till January 31, 2012
Post new comment