Sunday 28 October 2018

Old Photo Pick - 3

Dreams and Science

I've always wondered why there are magically stunning photos and... usual ones. Learning style helped me to understand and explain the magic, at least sometimes :-)
Magic beauty of the look comes from harmony in between all elements, clear message or idea that look delivers, and ... face and clothes. We can learn a lot from couture photos, because magnificent artists are working there.
This is a Dior picture from 1967. It is not high-contrast dramatic image we got used to associate with the word 'beautiful' nowadays. It brings the idea of calmness and thoughtfulness. It is in the static pose of the girl, softly rounded geometric forms, clear horizontal lines of skirt and jacket hemlines. There is another horizontal line - of the girl's chin. Her face is based on geometric straight lines too (as fas as we can see on the old photo, they are not very clear). 
And of course colours. Dull dusty blue and white. Colours of the sky and clouds. Rounded shapes of the hat and jacket, and even gloves remind us about clouds too, though hat texture is more shape-stable. The only sharp pointed things are shoes, and they go with the stiff line of the chin and red lipstick. 
In the 1960th space costumes were one of the main fashion trends (it's understandable). No direct link here, but hat shape keeps a hint of a helmet.
I can find and describe nuances of this look for hours, but main point that makes it stunning is a delicate play of soft and sharp, of rounded and straight, dreams and science. Magnificent.

No comments:

Post a Comment