One of the most striking things about the various fashion weeks at the moment is definitely not the circus of beautiful people and assorted fashionistas gravitating around these events, but the constant and precise references to art that most designers use in their collections. Yet there are various levels and layers of connections at the moment between art and fashion. Take the Collezione Maramotti, located in the historical headquarters of the Max Mara company, in Reggio Emilia, Italy.
The late visionary entrepreneur Achille Maramotti, founder of Max Mara, started it. A keen collector, Mr Maramotti would visit galleries and artist's studios and buy pieces he liked.
He would then put them on display in his office, in the meeting room of the Max Mara factory or employ them as arty landmarks in the public spaces of his factory to make sure people would get visually inspired (Maramotti also wanted his employees to keep updated with what went on in the art world and would send them on trips to see exhibitions and biennale events).
Maramotti collected artworks for 40 years and, after he died, his family continued to expand the private collection with further paintings, sculptures and installations, opening it to visitors in 2007 (admission is free but visits must be booked).
The family also kept on investing in new pieces, organising exhibitions and awards (the two-yearly Max Mara Art Prize for Women, in collaboration with the Whitechapel Gallery in London) and, when possible, supporting contemporary artists and their researches. The new pieces acquired for the collection are indeed bought directly from the artists, so the collection is based on a family's passion rather than on arty trends.
Specific exhibitions located in the temporary spaces of the Collezione are usually dedicated to 21st-century works and artists. The current one - "Scene: Photographs of the 1980's New York Art Scene" features a selection of portraits of artists, gallerists, critics, dealers and personalities by Jeannette Montgomery Barron.
Barron arrived in the late '70s in New York and her images are a testament to an exciting cultural moment, they provide an insider's view into the life of some of her subjects, while telling the personal story of a young photographer who was just starting out.
The selection at the Collezione Maramotti focuses on American art from the Eighties and Nineties with portraits of Jean-Michel Basquiat, Andy Warhol, Ross Bleckner, James Brown, Sandro Chia, Francesco Clemente, Enzo Cucchi, Moira Dryer, Fischli & Weiss, Peter Halley, Keith Haring, Jenny Holzer, Barbara Kruger, Annette Lemieux, Luigi Ontani, David Salle, Julian Schnabel, David Shapiro and Cindy Sherman (among the others...).
Though some of these artists went on to become iconic figures with cult status, there is a casual freshness about Barron's portraits. Most times her subjects look indeed as if they were caught in intimate moments of meditation, rather than posing for a photographer.
Born in Atlanta, Georgia, Barron studied at the International Center of Photography in New York. She published several books, among them a volume about Keith Haring, and more recently In My Mother's Clothes, a moving portrait of her late mother and her struggle with Alzheimer's through still life images of her clothes and accessories.
The volume accompanying this exhibition is a sort of scrapbook including images, envelopes, letters, messages and cut outs form magazines and newspapers - in a nutshell a compelling diary in an arty format.
How did you get to know the Collezione Maramotti?
Jeannette Montgomery Barron: My husband is an art dealer and introduced me to the Collezione. Director Marina Dacci was really interested in my work and wanted to maybe acquire some pieces. Then the acquisition turned into a show and the show became a book. Working with Marina was great and I also met the other members of the family including Luigi and Ignazio Maramotti. Their family is very involved in the arts and they want to keep up with the tradition of collecting that Achille passed onto them.
Was it hard for you to select the images that had to get in?
Jeannette Montgomery Barron: The choices were made by Marina Dacci and I completely trusted her. She naturally wanted to include portraits of some of the artists who are part of the permanent Maramotti Collection, but she also selected other photographs and images of key players in the art world from around the '80s. They used for the exhibition quite large prints, around 40 x 40 inches, and they didn't frame them so it looked like a very elegant installation with no barrier between the visitor and the pictures. In some cases it almost felt as if you could step into the photograph. The book was a different matter, though, and I worked with my editor at Powerhouse Books in this case. At tmes I wish I had been able to put every portrait I ever took in it, but of course I couldn't.
What did these picture represent to you?
Jeannette Montgomery Barron: They take me back to when I started out, so this exhibition represents also what prompted me to become a photographer. I began working as the still photographer on the set of a movie, The Loveless, that my brother Monty co-directed with Kathryn Bigelow. It was shot in Georgia, the star was Willem Dafoe, but there were a lot of underground and downtown people, struggling actors and musicians working on it. Then I went back to New York and, through my brother, I met the artist Francesco Clemente and photographed him. I really liked the photographs I took that day and decided to do a series of artists' portraits. Every artist I photographed would usually say that they had a friend I should also photograph, so one image usually led me to the next one. Some of these images like Ross Bleckner's portrait were instead the result of assignments I got from magazines.
The publishing rhythms have been accelerated by the Internet and digital photography, what was it like getting an assignment from a magazine at the time?
Jeannette Montgomery Barron: When you got an assignment, you would go to the magazine office and they would give you all these little Xeroxed articles so that you had some information about the person you were going to photograph, but now you just go on the Internet and Google them. Besides, you had to take enough films and at times you had to use Polaroids to see if what you were shooting had the correct exposure. It took a lot of time figuring these things out and you hoped and prayed the photograph would come out well. You also had to rush to the lab and see what you had and then take it to the magazine, so things were a lot slower. Nowadays, you take a picture and you can instantly check out if it looks fine and online magazines can immediately publish the images as soon as you send them.
Technically speaking, what do you regret about your early photographs?
Jeannette Montgomery Barron: If you look at them closely you will spot a lot of flaws in the negatives. Now it's easier with digital cameras to see where you get it right or wrong, but at the time it took a lot of work in the darkroom. The technical part wasn't what bothered me, though, as I just wanted to take my photographs and do very natural portraits.
What fascinated you about the art scene in New York at the time?
Jeannette Montgomery Barron: I love being around creative people - any kind of creative mind from a painter to a fashion designer making a wonderful dress. I've always been fascinated by visiting them in their studios and homes, seeing how they put their lives together or what kind of books they read, I get a lot of energy from that, it stimulates me in a good way.
Were you ever intimidated by some of your sitters like William Burroughs?
Jeannette Montgomery Barron: I was intimidated, sure, and there were times when what I was doing felt a bit surreal as well. But I was also flattered to be able to take these portraits, it made me try harder and keep doing what I was doing focusing on my work. I was busy living my life as well, and after working on these portraits, I went on with other projects I had in mind, so I put them away in a box and didn't look at them again until a couple of years ago and it was suddenly surprising to step back into that world.
Do you have any outrageous stories about some of the sitters in your portraits?
Jeannette Montgomery Barron: I don't really have any outrageous stories about the pictures, but there were times when I felt I really hadn't got what I wanted and once I forgot to put the film in the camera! I do have a favourite photograph though - Robert Mapplethorpe's portrait. I was nervous because I was taking a picture of another photographer and I was scared that, if I couldn't do it properly, they were going to think I was a fake, but he was sweet, relaxed, nice and curious about my work.
Who was the most sensual person you photographed?
Jeannette Montgomery Barron: Bianca Jagger.
And the most unpleasant person?
Jeannette Montgomery Barron: She's not in the book!
In one of your images there is Peter Halley in a suit designed by Rei Kawakubo standing in front of one of his most minimal paintings. Did you ever work in the fashion industry?
Jeannette Montgomery Barron: I did work for Comme des Garçons. I was hired by them to go to Paris and photograph in 1991 Dennis Hopper and Matt Dillon for Six Magazine. I did meet Kawakubo and she was at the shoot as well. I didn't keep I touch with the company, but I would love to get another assignment like that actually or I would like to reuse the pictures for a fashion collection collaboration.
How did the exhibition at Collezione Maramotti go so far and what have you been working on recently?
Jeannette Montgomery Barron: The show appealed to a lot of different audiences and there was a very good attendance. I was extremely happy to see that a lot of young people in their twenties seemed interest, that was absolutely great. I've become addicted with taking pictures with my phone and using Instagram a lot. I've also been working a lot on colour projects with a 35 mm digital camera that I can take everywhere since it's not bulky. I often do a project and then wonder how I can turn it into a book, as I really love books. At the moment I'm not sure if this work will ever be a book. It is definitely a travelogue, though, but we'll see.
Do you think you do have more pictures like these gems hidden around the house?
Jeannette Montgomery Barron: Yes, I probably do!
"Scene: Photographs of the 1980's New York Art Scene" by Jeannette Montgomery Barron, Collezione Maramotti, Via Fratelli Cervi 66, 42124 Reggio Emilia, Italy, until 28th September 2014.
Image credits for this post
1 - 3 The Collezione Maramotti building and spaces; Courtesy Collezione Maramotti
4. Salle
Jeannette Montgomery Barron
David Salle, studio, NYC
1983
© Jeannette Montgomery Barron
5. Clemente
Jeannette Montgomery Barron
Francesco Clemente, studio, NYC
1981
© Jeannette Montgomery Barron
6. Brown
Jeannette Montgomery Barron
James Brown, studio, NYC
1987
© Jeannette Montgomery Barron
7. Bleckner
Jeannette Montgomery Barron
Ross Bleckner, NYC
1983
© Jeannette Montgomery Barron
8. Basquiat
Jeannette Montgomery Barron
Jean-Michel Basquiat, studio, NYC
1985
© Jeannette Montgomery Barron
9. Robert Mapplethorpe
Jeannette Montgomery Barron, 1987
© Jeannette Montgomery Barron
10. Bianca Jagger
Jeannette Montgomery Barron
© Jeannette Montgomery Barron
11. Peter Halley
Jeannette Montgomery Barron
© Jeannette Montgomery Barron
12. Schnabel
Jeannette Montgomery Barron
Julian Schnabel, studio, NYC
1984
© Jeannette Montgomery Barron
Member of the Boxxet Network of Blogs, Videos and Photos
Member of the Boxxet Network of Blogs, Videos and Photos
Comments