The human face is surprisingly full of expression and we tend to “scan” it in order to differentiate the smallest changes in mimics of others. The recognition of human faces and mimics is so important that an entire area in our brains is devoted solely to this task. So it is not too surprising that the portrayal of the human face also takes up a great role in art.
Through the centuries the cult of celebrities has evolved, bringing rapid changes in the course of the last centuries. In the exhibition Famous Faces on view at In Focus gallery in Köln, the visitor can appreciate portraits, of some of the most important faces of the 20th century, portrayed by the best photographers of that time.
Those masters behind the camera are photographers like Elliott Erwitt, Jeanloup Sieff and Arnold Newman, who most likely belong to be best-known photographers of the 20th century. They are accompanied by works by Greg Gorman, Patrick Demarchelier, Abe Frajndlich or Thomas Hoepker. On the walls: actors such as Marilyn Monroe, Sophia Loren and John Wayne, models such as Twiggy or Iman, musicians such as Stravinsky and Barbra Streisand, artists such as Andy Warhol, Joseph Beuys and Picasso, authors such as Lenz, Grass or Böll, but also politicians such as John F. Kennedy and Mao Tse Tung.
Famous faces: Seeing and Being Seen
September 11 to October 13, 2017
In Focus Gallery
Hauptstraße 114
50996 Köln
Germany
