The Revolution is Korda

 On the 5^th of March 1960, 32 year old fashion photographer Alberto Korda took a snapshot of what would become one of the most widely recognized images in history; the Guerrillero Heroico. The image is a portrait of Argentinean Marxist rebel leader Che Guevara.  To put the photo in context; Che had just arrived at the scene of an exploded Belgiuan ship at the port of Havana which had killed 136 men. Alberto Korda managed to capture the somewhat ‘dignified disgust’ or anger in Che’s facial expression. How you interpret the Guerrillio Heroico is up to you, but one thing is certain, this image will continue to be reproduced for years to come because it is intense, and powerful. 

 

Guerrillero Heroico still resonates   5 decades later, and it is found on everything from coffee mugs to t-shirts. Alberto Korda’s famous masterpiece hung in his bathroom for 7 years before an Italian publisher by the name Giangiacomo Fetrinelli visited him in Havana. It has become a symbol for rebellion, and in some cases, hope. Due to Fidel Castro’s refusal to sign the Berne Convention, Korda couldn’t receive any royalties for his intellectual property, until the early 1990s when a London court prevented the use of the image in a Smirnoff advertising campaign for copyright reasons. Alberto Korda passed away in Paris in 2001, but because of his strong image, this revolution will continue forever. 

Kimiko Yoshida: a Zen Baroque Monochromic affair

Seductive minimalism in photography is uncommon, but Kimiko Yoshida has managed to achieve it through her work. She “fled” her native Japan to come to France because of what she calls the “mortifying servitude and humiliating fate of Japanese women”, and this is reflected through the disappearing women in her Self Portraits. The use of monochrome adds to the disappearing woman who is there but not there, so she is a woman in hiding. Hiding from what? She says in a statement that these Self Portraits are a “representation” herself, and not a “reflection” of herself. I had a conversation about one’s identity with a friend of mine; I said identity is one’s religion, culture, and beliefs. Kimiko Yoshida states that her ’quest for identity’ has led her to realize that she is not everything she says she is. So the woman in hiding is hiding from who she is because she is not what she says she is. 

Kimiko Yoshida applies a ‘flat’ method to her lighting, which is common in most Japanese photography and cinematography. The lack of shadows in her photographic work creates the lack of desire, a very minimalistic, Zen-like approach. Perhaps this is why she says: “To show doesn’t mean giving us everything to see, to look means seeing that something escapes the gaze”. Another interesting aspect of her work is in the idea of the Brides. Behind these Brides is her face, in other words, a Japanese woman behind what is perceived to us as a Kenyan woman’s identity. These images leave me shocked and inspired at the same time. They also give me hope; hope that maybe one day we can look past what has already been presented to us as being us.

Unseen Bourdin

 

When I first saw Guy Bourdin’s work, I immediately asked myself, “wow, photography from the pre-Photoshop era with layers? How did he do it so well?” perhaps I should leave that one to the Discovery channel. What stands out about Bourdin’s work is his minimalistic approach. I find it very hard to identify with today’s photography regarding what matters most i.e. the subject, the colours, and the message, and to me photography is more than taking pictures of burning houses and displaying them at a gallery somewhere. By looking at Bourdin’s work you’ll notice a creative dimension to his photography. 

During his career, Guy Bourdin refused to display his work at formal exhibitions; he instead opted to feature some of his famous work in publications such as the French Vogue, British Vogue and Harpers Bazaar. It seems as though his photography is made to shock, and you do feel a sense of rebellion portrayed through his work. His quick rise to fashion photography fame  came in 1955 when he captured haute couture models alongside butchered cow heads. He took fashion photography and made it a platform for voicing out social issues (portrayal of women, religion, sex, equality). Guy Bourdin was way ahead of his time.

George Lois: the Poison gas guru

The man uses the words “poison gas” to describe his grasping, bold, and rebellious advertising style. George Lois, along with then Esquire editor Harold Hayes, released a series of covers which would go on to become the most recognized in the magazines history. Political incorrectness is perhaps the reason this Esquire series was so successful.The Cassius Clay (Mohammad Ali) St. Sebastian cover was done just when the famous boxer had just converted to Islam, and his refusal to take part in the Vietnam War. Lois’s portrayal of Mohammad Ali in a pose with arrows in his body is a reference to a Roman soldier St. Sebastian. St Sebastian survived execution after he had converted to Christianity.  

George Lois also chose to use Sonny Liston as a black Santa Claus on one of his Esquire covers. It happened during the civil rights revolution and the country was going through racial tension. He came under fire from publishers and advertisers for using a man who was known as “the meanest man in the world”-because although Sonny was a famous boxer at the time, he had been to jail for armed robbery, and he was black. 

George Lois saw advertising as a smart man’s game. In one interview he mentioned how it is impossible to find a creative person at Harvard even if they taught advertising. According to him a brand was famous only if normal everyday people could identify with it.  And after reviving brands like ESPN, MTV, and Xerox, you could argue that he is probably one of the most influential creative directors of our time.

Theo van Doesburg’s Dada and Style

De Stijl (1917)

The De Stijl (The Style)movement wanted to reflect the basic elements of art and design through shape, colour, and composition. Paintings were characterized by cubes (known as cubism) and natural colours. Theo van Doesburg is the lesser known of the De Stijl founders. Theo van Doesburg’s De Stijl publication has raised more questions than answers. Is style related to simplicity? Why would one try to define style if the definition is rooted to an individuals tastes, traits, and personality? Is there such a thing as ‘basic’ art and design? Do you think Ndebelism is a characteristic of  De Stijl?

Dadaism (1916)

So the Dada movement came before the De Stijl. I won’t bore you with a history lesson, but Dadaism was founded in protest towards WWI. Dadaism is anti-art. Theo van Doesburg was a key member of the movement too. I guess this is why Dada art came across as being an extreme case in trying to define what style is or what expression is.It left me puzzled.

Theo Van Doesburg’s work shows us how important it is to be controversial in art and particularly in design. Start something new and believe in it.