LA FEMME: Beauty & Form

Using the camera as observer, the exhibition will explore the definition of feminine beauty asking, “What is the combination of qualities, such as shape, color or form that pleases the aesthetic senses, especially the sight? Through images of women who are considered some of the most desirable and recognizable in the world, the photographers bring us close enough to evoke a feeling of intimacy. From Terry O’Neill’s photographs of Audrey Hepburn, Sophia Loren and Brigitte Bardot; to Douglas Kirkland’s one night with Marilyn Monroe; and Peter Sorel’s haunting photos of Salma Hayek in Frida, we are left with the question “Why are we drawn to images of women who play recognizable roles? How have the film and fashion industries shaped our perceptions of beauty? How do they differ from the celebrity to the ordinary? ”

In Chicago-based photographer Jack Perno’s love affair with the feminine, he explicitly states, “I have intentionally made things look more beautiful than they are and created narratives that simply do not exist. “ And artist/poet Susan Aurinko brings us the feminine viewpoint in a predominantly male view of the female form.
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Terry O’Neill is one of the world’s most collected photographers with work hanging in national art galleries and private collections worldwide. From presidents to pop stars he has photographed the frontline of fame for over six decades. O’Neill began his career at the birth of the 1960s, chronicling the emerging faces of film, fashion and music who would go on to define the Swinging Sixties. By 1965 he was being commissioned by the biggest magazines and newspapers in the world.

His subjects have included The Beatles, the Rolling Stones, David Bowie, Elton John, The Who, Winston Churchill, Nelson Mandela, Audrey Hepburn, Brigitte Bardot, Sophia Loren, Coco Chanel, Frank Sinatra, Elvis, Amy Winehouse, as well as every James Bond from Sean Connery to Daniel Craig. This exhibition will focus on his feminine subjects.

Douglas Kirkland was born in Toronto, Canada. He joined Look Magazine in his early twenties, and later Life Magazine during the golden age of 60’s/70’s photojournalism. Among his assignments were essays on Greece, Lebanon and Japan as well as fashion and celebrity work, photographing Marilyn Monroe, Elizabeth Taylor and Marlene Dietrich among others. Through the years, Kirkland has worked on the sets of over one hundred motion pictures. Among them, “Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid”, “2001 A Space Odyssey”, “Out of Africa”, “Titanic” “Moulin Rouge” and “Australia” Baz Luhrmann’s epic starring Nicole Kidman and Hugh Jackman. He also has a number of published books: “Light Years”, “Icons”, “Legends”, “Body Stories”, “An Evening With Marilyn”, the best selling “James Cameron’s Titanic”, “Freeze Frame”, a decade by decade look behind the scenes from 50 years photographing the entertainment industry and “Coco Chanel, Three Weeks”.

Born in Hungary, Peter Sorel has been an avid photographer since the age of 13. Immigrating to the United States in 1959, he became one of the film industry’s most respected photographers, documenting movie sets and creating stunning poster images for more than 120 films, including “Easy Rider,” “One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest,” “Close Encounters of the Third Kind,” “Dune,” “L.A. Confidential,” “Frida,” “Twilight,” “Se7en,” and “Life of Pi.” Working closely with his friend, Academy Award-winning cinematographer, the late Vilmos Szigmond, Sorel established himself as one of the most sought after names in film photography. During the filming of the “Blues Brothers” in Chicago, he fell in love with the city and moved to Chicago in 2008. He currently resides in Streeterville documenting the seasons, times of day and colors of Lake Michigan.

Chicago based fashion photographer, Jack Perno, states, “In my photographs, ideas and stories exist where truth and reality are discretionary electives. Living in my world is fine, but visiting my otherworld is amazing.” Perno considers himself a Polaroid artist, a nearly irrelevant photographic medium that once was endangered and near extinction, yet seems to be making a comeback as a fine art process. His work with large format Polaroid has encompassed a decade of emulsion manipulation and multiple-imagery. The result has transformed his subjects into an otherworldly work of art, as if his camera and dark room have become a brush painting on canvas. Perno’s works have been featured in magazines internationally such as Vogue Italia, Vogue International Editions, Town & Country, Michigan Avenue Magazine, CS Magazine, etc.

Award-winning, Chicago-based artist Susan Aurinko brings the only feminine perspective to the exhibition. In her recent show, SEARCHING FOR JEHANNE– The Joan of Arc Project, Aurinko’s exhibition was named among THE FIVE BEST PHOTOGRAPHY SHOWS of 2014 by New City Art. Having said that, Aurinko’s images have beguiled, uplifted and seduced her audiences by delving into the subconscious layers of her subject, from a thoroughly woman’s point of view.

​The dialogue of male and female viewpoints of what is considered feminine beauty will be open to the interpretation of the viewer on the walls of Hilton Asmus Foto.