FACES OF THE 80'S

An article about the emergence of the " 80's " aesthetic by Stephanie Amata.

The late 20^th century was the turning point for photography. It was when photography was actually considered an art and a skill. With the breakthrough of photography came the breakthrough of new visually stimulating art that the world had never seen. Photography in the 80’s also brought about the emergence of digital photography so it was the peak for work that shocked and excited people. There are a few photographers who I think gave the 80’s its general image and look, a few to mention, the legend himself Andy Warhol; his tutee, David LaChapelle who still stuns the fashion world and the ground-breaking feminist artist Cindy Sherman.

Andy Warhol (August 6, 1928- February 22, 1987)

American pop artist and all time legend Andy Warhol stunned the world with his unconventional celebrity portraits and pop art collages. One of his most significant paintings ‘Campbell’s Soup Cans’ (1962) used the conventions of popular culture that shepherded in pop art. Yes he was one of the pop art pioneers, which is enough to put him on the map but he didn’t stop there. His celebrity portraits were strikingly different from the simple black and white style that other significant photographers like Richard Avedon and Yousuf Karsh adopted in that time. Warhol engaged with silkscreen paintings and printing, adopting both the brightly coloured pop art style and the famous black and white portraits of the 60’s specifically in his work “Marilyn Diptych” (currently on show at the Tate Modern), which is possibly his most famous work. The piece was created during the weeks leading up to the actress Marilyn Monroe’s death; she solely features in the work. This made the piece even more culturally relevant as it made it open to many interpretations of the relations of her life and death. Significant artists of the 20th and 21^st century have recreated this piece like Madonna who imitated the pop art left side of the piece in the artwork for her album ‘Celebration’. Warhol was an incredible realist and thus I will leave you with this quote, “Who wants the truth? That’s what show business is for- to prove that it’s not what you are that counts, it’s what they think you are”.

David LaChapelle (March 11, 1963)

Newcomer to the photography world at that time, LaChapelle was taken under the wing of legend Andy Warhol shortly before his death and left LaChapelle with one philosophy: make everyone look good. LaChapelle clearly kept to that philosophy as his images, which pop with colour and life, capture his subjects in the most glamorous and complimentary way. His celebrity portraits are able to single-handedly capture his essence and also his subject’s essence. He was responsible for redefining Britney Spears’ image from sweet downtown girl to sexy pop star with his set of images of her for the Rolling Stone magazine in 1999. The images featured 17-year old Britney Spears in mostly her underwear or a little more than that with childhood symbolism in the frame clearly connoting the fact that she’s morphing into a sex symbol. It was a very "Lolita" style shoot. This cover shoot caused so much controversy simply because it gave her a new image that the media did not associate her with calling it “shocking” and “too mature”. It represented her as a sex symbol, which Hollywood isn’t unfamiliar with but still managed to shock and shake the mainstream media justly conveying the power of LaChapelle: stun and shock.

Cindy Sherman  (January 19, 1954)

Iconoclast Cindy Sherman, set the art world ablaze and had critics running helter-skelter with her series, ‘Untitled Film Stills’ (1977)-1980). It is her most relevant work  and has boggled the minds of critics since. It features 69 portraits of her "chameleonising" self as different representations of women in media from American film noir to Italian Neorealism. It is very often associated with feminist artistry. The images allow their viewers to easily identify the character through her use of costume, makeup, props and her facial expressions. There is a clear sense of  narrative and persona but the viewers are left with the responsibility of deciding for themselves what is happening with the character or what is going to happen to them. There are a lot of reasons  that critics have come up with as to why she created this piece. As an art lover and feminist myself, I believe the series is simply reflective. As a woman, she is conscious of the representation of women in the media and is re-representing and reiterating them in the convention that is ever so commonly used in the phallocratic media world. Although she doesn't seem to reflect this same fervour in her interviews, I still believe she is what I call and "unintentional feminist" or is she not? 

These are some of the photographers who I think defined pop culture in the 80’s and made a significant contribution to the art-photography world and are continuing to. Their mark will forever be embedded on the metaphorical hall of fame for artistry and creativity. These are faces of the 80’s.

-Steph