Mario Testino’s photo exhibition, ‘Private view’ 마리오 테스티노의 가장 은밀한 시선

Photos by Lee Seung Min

Usually, when people evaluate that a work of art is excellent, they share some common standards. For Example, The art that is simply beautiful to the eye, the art that penetrates deeply into our mind or the art which is so overwhelming that we provoke us feeling of scorn etc. However considering basic purpose of the art, the great work isn’t limited in providing an aesthetic spectacle. The most beautiful and ultimate work is the work that helps us to understand our own soul perfectly and to find some new inspiration in us not only providing some aesthetic spectacles. Plus, it should make us take courage for expecting a bright future out of the regrets in the past. In other words, the great work is like a motivation or an illusion. Something which can take us to another world and so impressive that the way you experience it could only be created or existed in it. Therefore, if you ever met some masterpieces that touched your heart, you are a really lucky person. Because, nothing could be more secure investment than some great arts.

For the past few years, I’ve been looking for the art which I mentioned above for my hunger of artistic pleasure. So I indulged in the poem, in a Monet, in orchestra, and even in the collection of haute couture. Through long journey, I was able to face all kinds of masterpieces, but still I was not able to feel something that strongly touches my heart. I mean the motivation to overcome the fears in my life. I rushed to Busan immediately for seeing a photo exhibition of Mario Testino to get a definite answer for that out of desperation. At the same time, I hoped that I could find not only some worthy reasons but some proper inspirations in there, if his works were also displayed in the Museum of the fine arts in Boston which is one of the most authoritative museums in the world.

Mario Testino, a Peruvian fashion photographer whom the Vogue and the British royal family love most. He is the very person that have been credited for drawing significant attention to the house of Gucci through provocative ad campaigns in the mid-1990s, which, along with Tom Ford’s designs, eventually led to the revival of Gucci as a major fashion house with fashion stylist Carine Roitfeld, the former editor of French Vogue.

As a big fan of him, it was a great honor to me that I can see all of his famous works in front of my eyes. But at the same time, I wondered. ‘What is the exact difference between the magazine and the exhibition? This is 21st century. We can experience all kinds of fabulous fashion photography if we just open the magazine ‘Vogue’ whenever we want!’ With taking some questions like that, finally I arrived at the gallery in Busan. And when I entered the galley, I was totally surprised of one unexpected thing. That was a very big Kate Moss’ seminude picture on the first display wall.  According to the explanation, that picture was not for the magazine but for a quite personal work. It seems that it shows us super-intimate relationship between Kate and Mario.

Lady Gaga, Kate Winslet, Emma Watson, Jude Law, Josh Hartnett, and every supermodel who slugged the current era. Is it easy to meet all of these people at the same time and same place? Besides, it was totally exiting experience to watch a lot of racy pictures that remind us of an exhibitionist. -Of course it is also a kind of fashion that is called ‘Porno chic’ or ‘Erotic chic.’ Did he want to actualize his sexual fantasy by his photography? What was the photography really means to him? Well, the answer was actually in the topic of the exhibition. ‘Private view’

In my opinion, the ‘Private view’ means literally the view that we cannot experience in our usual lives. Like a fairy tale! To Mario, the photography was a kind of fairy tale that is filled with a lot of dreams and fantastic stories which we can’t even imagine in the real world. But as he said before, his works also have foot on both sides of reality: enjoy the fantasy so real you believe that you could go there, so convincing that you feel you are already there, and not to lock you out, but rather to take you to extraordinary places, to have visual experiences you might otherwise never know. That is the whole point of his fashion photography.

The other interesting thing that I found in his exhibition was a combination of the two conflicting feeling that we can experience in his pictures. We can feel both otherworldliness and authenticity in all of his works. In other words, his pictures always look perfect and fancy. But at the same time, they also contain utmost reality and even some dark emotions. And I think it is a real reason why so many people love Mario Testino and his works. -That’s because our lives are too ambiguous, the art can only glow when it overcome the reality.-

He is also a talented storyteller. He often surprises us with a lot of unimaginable fairy tales. For examples, among his works, there is a picture of Eva Herzigova wearing like a butcher who was very famous of wonder bra model. None of us could anticipate the image like that of her and that was absolutely a peeparific story that could be only existed and created in the picture. We could feel liveliness in the picture which Daria Werbowy is walking across the desert wearing gypsyfied funky look. And while watching that picture, we don’t even feel the need to travel.

How about the portraiture of British royal family? I was completely moved to tears while watching beautiful blue eyes, blond hair and sunny smile of Princess of Whales Diana who died already as well as surprised of humanity of royal family. It was not the matter of who she was and who they are. It was all matter of touch of humanity and cordiality that we can feel in their faces. And also, I was able to get an opportunity to speculate on the true meaning of the life and the death earnestly while watching Diana’s pictures.

 

흔히 사람들은 어떤 예술작품을 받아들일 때, 지극히 개인적인 기준을 갖게 된다. 보기에 그저 작품의 외형적인 모습이 아름다운지, 또는 그 작품의 잔향이 경외감을 불러일으킬 만큼 인상적인지, 혹은 비교할 수 도 없는 수준의 그것이지만 열등감을 불러일으킬 만큼 압도적인가 등의 기준이다. 하지만 흔히 말하는, 괜찮은 예술 작품은 단순한 볼거리를 제공하는 기능을 넘어 일상의 모든 부분 중에서 아주 작게나마 변화를 줄 수 있는 일종의 동기를 제공해야 한다고 생각한다. 때문에 눈물이 날 만큼의 훌륭한 예술작품과 조우하게 된다면, 그건 정말 큰 행운일지도 모른다.

마리오 테스티노, 그는 전세계 모든 보그 잡지의 편집장이 사랑하는 페루출신의 패션 사진작가이다. 그는 전직 프랑스 보그 편집장이었던 카린 로이펠드와 함께 1990년대 중반, 톰 포드의 디자인을 곧 구찌로 동일화시킨 광고 캠페인을 만든 장본인이다. 누군가의 미래를 변화시킬 수 있는 흔치 않은 기회의 가능성을 마리오 테스티노의 사진전에서 발견했다면, 지나친 비약이 틀림없다. 하지만 한가지 염두 해야 할 사실은 예술이 가지고 있는 심미적인 가치는 대중에게 공개되고 일정 시간이 지나면 작가 자신도 판단 할 수 없다는 것이다. 때문에 순간에 느낀 감흥에 충실할 필요가 있다고 생각한다. 마리오 테스티노의 사진전은 분명 그런 경험이다.

 

Contributor, Lee Seung Min

A freelance fashion columnist, Lee Seung Min tells about fashion, art, culture by his own unique view point more in-depth and make interesting.

프리랜서 패션 칼럼니스트인 이승민은 패션과 예술, 그리고 문화 전반에 대한 심층적이고 솔직한 이야기들을 독특한 시각으로 전해준다.