Poolside Gossip
Slim
Aarons
About this photograph :
Poolside Gossip
In 1946, the famous architect Richard Neutra, a champion of modernism, built this desert house situated in Palm Springs for E. Kaufmann. More than 24 years afterwards, Slim Aarons photographs the villa from the pool side. The composition completely revolves around a unique vanishing point situated between the two silhouettes at the end of the pool. Following in the example of the house which is a play on vertical and horizontal layouts, the photograph is supported by parallel and perpendicular lines which seem to cite the modernism of the dwelling. In 2008, Christie’s is entrusted with the sale of this house. The successful bidder pays 15 million dollars at the auction. This acquisition, which takes place as part of a contemporary art sale, puts this villa in an artistic context. Slim Aarons is really photographing a work of art, recapturing the architectural codes of the house and introducing its inhabitants. (1970)
About the artist :
Slim
Aarons
Slim Aarons whose real name is Georges Allen Aarons enlists in the American Army at the age of 18. He becomes a photographer at the West Point Military Academy then a reporter during the Second World War. Regarding his participation in the conflict, which nevertheless earns him a Medal of Honour, Aarons simply says that the only beach worth landing on is the one adorned with ravishing young semi-clad girls, sun-bathing peacefully in the sun.
From 1950 to 1980, he becomes a Jet Set photographer and dedicates himself to the depiction of Hollywood glamour and luxury. The figures are exclusively celebrities, photographed in luxurious surroundings, often around a swimming-pool, in their own home. He constructs his career by only photographing attractive people doing attractive things in attractive places. In 2002, he proclaims to The Independent newspaper: «I knew everyone, they invited me to their parties as they knew that I would not cause them any harm. I was one of them».
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