I wanted to be one of the first to see the new photographic exhibition, ‘Beatles To Bowie: The 60s Exposed’, which opened at London’s National Portrait Gallery this week – and I wasn’t disappointed. Even those who think they must have seen every pop photograph taken in the Sixties will find something new here, as many of the images have never been exhibited in public before.
The exhibition is laid out chronologically, so visitors can literally walk through the Sixties, and it’s interesting to note how photographic styles change as the decade progresses. To start with, the portraits look very stiff and formal with the stars suited and booted; any attempt at intimacy – such as Adam Faith snapped in his mother’s living- room – reveals a subject looking more self-conscious than relaxed.
However, by 1963, things were starting to loosen up. Although Cliff Richard and family still look rather awkward photographed in his newly purchased mansion, Fiona Adams took an iconic snap of the Beatles exuberantly leaping in the air on a derelict London bombsite which John Lennon subsequently chose for the cover of their EP, ‘Twist And Shout’. (Fiona, by the way, must have been the most envied girl of her generation, as she secured a job working for the popular teen magazine ‘Fabulous’!)
And by the latter end of the decade, photographers were starting to experiment with new techniques, to reflect the way in which artists were exploring new musical territories; Gered Mankowitz smeared Vaseline on his lens to take a hazy picture of the Rolling Stones, while Vic Singh used a prism to achieve a ‘fly eye’ effect on a portrait of Pink Floyd.
In addition to the wonderful photographs on display, there are also cabinets containing ephemera such as record sleeves and magazine articles from each decade, and Adel Rootstein mannequins sculpted to resemble Sixties’ top models like Patti Boyd and Twiggy sport contemporary outfits. One of my favourite exhibits, however, was the wall featuring Sixties’ portraits of the contributing photographers, showing how they themselves looked back in the day!
All round, ‘Beatles To Bowie’ is well worth a visit – or two. I’ll be returning for another look before the exhibition closes on 24th January 2010.
Have you seen this exhibition? Share your views here: