Erwin Olaf
Catwalk II - Hirsch & Cie 1882 - Rijksmuseum
2015
Lambda print on Fuji Chrystal Archive digital paper
133 × 100 cm
Ed./10 + 2AP
Location: Paris, France
Arianee token ID
542994766
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About the artwork
Against a background reminiscent of studio photography, a fashionable woman from the late 14th century seems to challenge us with her gaze. Captured from the waist up, she elegantly wears a garment designed by the haute couture house Hirsch & Cie (active between 1882 and 1976). While the artificial light of the photograph evokes portraits of the great Dutch masters, the artist's native country, Erwin Olaf seems to be highlighting fashion and photography's struggle for recognition as museum art. Part of the Catwalk series, this work was produced in collaboration with Amsterdam's prestigious Rijksmuseum, where it is now on display.
Expert opinion
Like the other works in the series, this photograph is part of the history of fashion, reviving a notable piece of haute couture, essentially designed to be worn, as a historic moment captured by photography.
About the artist
Erwin Olaf (1959 - 2023) is a Dutch photographer. His work borrows from the codes of both photojournalism and fashion photography, which he has mastered to perfection. In 1988, the photographer was awarded the Young European Photographer prize for his Chessmen series, marking his entry onto the international scene. Preferring to work in series, the artist tells tragic or sordid stories, constructing them through strong contrasts between photographed subjects, lights and objects. His work has been the subject of group and solo exhibitions worldwide, including at the Centre Pompidou in Paris, the Bilbao Art Center and the Museum of Modern Art in Moscow.
“The exciting and prestigious mission entrusted to me by the most exceptional museum in the Netherlands - to design and shape the Catwalk exhibition - has come at just the right time. For several years now, I've been exploring other ways of presenting my photographic work and integrating it into installations, sounds, videos and films, in order to immerse viewers in a world that challenges and questions them.”
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