Traditionally, British artists have excelled in the use of the word rather than the visual image. Bill Brandt, Britain's foremost twentieth-century photographer, is an exception. Before and during World War II, Brandt documented the various levels and facets of British life, mainly for periodicals such as Weekly Journal, Lilliput, and Picture Post. After the war, influenced by Surrealism and attracted to the mysterious, he began to create poetic images. Organized by the Alfred Stieglitz Center of the Philadelphia Museum of Art, Bill Brandt: Behind the Camera, 1928-1983, is a major retrospective of his rarely exhibited vintage black-and-white photographs, which opened at the Philadelphia Museum of Art on June 15, 1985, and tours through next January.
Bill Brandt (1904-1983) was born in Hamburg, Germany, to a British father and a German mother. Exposed to the arts at an early age in the home, it wasn't until years later, and almost by chance, that Brandt became interested in photography. Having contracted tuberculosis at sixteen, he spent that next six years in a sanatorium in Switzerland. In 1927, he went to Vienna for further treatment. There he met and came under the influence of Dr. Eugenie Schwarzwald, who was involved in Viennese cultural life. Influenced by Dr. Schwarzwald, Brandt decided upon a career as a photographer and began an apprenticeship at a local portrait studio. In 1928, he was introduced to and photographed the American poet Ezra Pound, who in turn introduced him to the celebrated American photographer Man Ray, who was very important in shaping Brandt's professional future.
Three Months in Paris
Although Brandt's association with Man Ray in Paris lasted for only three months in 1929, it was sufficient to acquaint him with Ray's photographs and the ideas of Surrealism. In addition, Brandt saw the film Un Chien Andalou (1928) by Luis Buñuel and Salvador Dali and the newly discovered photographs of Eugene Atget. Brandt's first photographs, Caledonian Market (1929) and Flea Market, Paris (1929) both show the strong influence of Atget.
This exhibition includes photographs from all his major series: The English at Home, A Night in London, London, The Industrial North, Wartime, Literary Britain, Landscapes, Portraits, and his well-known Nudes.
After Brandt's move to London in 1931, he began his four-year documentary project, The English at Home (1936). Though Brandt had relatives in London, he was essentially an outsider to British society, a fact that undoubtedly sharpened his perceptions. Brandt set out, almost in the manner of the German photographer August Sander, who documented German life, to record a kaleidoscopic view of British society. He photographed the West End, suburbs, slums, streets, and interiors of both elegant and simple homes. Frequently, his friends and relatives were the subjects of his photographs of the upper class, but he also gained the confidence of and photographed the less fortunate members of English society.
In Dinner Is Served (c. 193-35) the parlormaid and the underparlormaid becomes symbols of the serving class, which stands ready to attend to the needs of its employers. The expensive china and glassware on the table in front of them are in marked contrast to the simple eating utensils of the working class. Totally dissimilar to this world of privilege and etiquette,
...
Read Full Article
|
