Review by Ernie Sutton and Terry Bloxham
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LINDA
McCARTNEY
6 June 2013
to 6 October 2013 KUNST HAUS WIEN
The first real major retrospective of Linda’s photographic work has gone on exhibition in Vienna, in the magnificent Kunst Haus Wien.
The Kunst
Haus Wien was designed by the Austrian artist Friedensreich Hundertwasser
(1928-2000) and two floors of the gallery are devoted to his work.
Hundertwasser was unique – a painter, designer and architect, he believed that
life was not meant to be lived in bland square boxes. His work is characterised
by bright colours and no straight lines. It’s worth going to the Kunst Haus
just to see and, most importantly, experience his work – once experienced, it is
not easily forgotten!
Linda McCartney’s
Photography retrospective is located on the top two floors of the museum.
Linda studied at the
University of Arizona where she first became interested in photography. Her
influences include the photographers Walker Evans (1903-1975) and Paul Strand
(1890-1976), both of whom specialised in personal, close observation work;
something that Linda herself excelled in.
The exhibition is split
into 5 sections.
Section
one: ‘The Light Comes From Within’
“My photography is me.”
Here the exhibition
focuses on Linda’s special approach to photographs, with its cultural elements
of trust and understanding.
One of the highlights
is the C-Type (chromogenic) print (of
which there are many in this exhibition) entitled ‘My Love’ of Paul’s face
viewed through the rear view mirror, taken by Linda from the back seat. The
picture was taken somewhere in London (along the no. 4 bus route) and captures
the red sky above in a fascinating, evocative way. There is also a wonderful
photo of horses in the snow taken in 1986, which captures two horses at play
and two in a ‘contemplative mood’. Linda caught that magical moment through her
lens, making this one of the best shots from this section.
“A special approach to
photographic portraiture with central elements of trust and understanding.”
Here we have pictures
of Jimi Hendrix, Simon and Garfunkel and the Rolling Stones.
Linda was working as a
receptionist at Town and Country Magazine when an invitation came in to attend
a promotion party on the Sea Panther in 1966 for the Rolling Stones new album.
Linda grabbed the
opportunity and took some great shots which are exhibited here. Rolling Stone
Magazine published her picture of Eric Clapton on 11 May 1968 on their front
cover, making Linda the first woman photographer to achieve this feat.
Her subsequent pictures
of such artists as The Yardbirds, Frank Zappa, Janis Joplin, Jim Morrison,
Twiggy, Judy Collins, and, of course, The Beatles, suddenly brought Linda to
the public eye.
There is a video in the
exhibition of The Grateful Dead featuring Linda’s pictures which encapsulates
the spirit of the 60s.
Included in this
section are fantastic photos of Linda taken by Paul McCartney, Graham Nash and
Jim Morrison.
The majority of her
black and white photographs in this section are bromide print.
“It was a life which
fluctuated between the poles of extreme publicity and retreats into privacy.”
Linda’s intimacy with
both her family and with her camera produced fabulous, natural shots of the
McCartney clan, their animals and their friends. There is a wonderful shot of
Denny Laine with a horse, taken in Scotland in 1977. A selection of 30 small
Polaroids is included with a very interesting image of John Lennon in 1974 when
the Maccas met up with John and May Pang in Los Angeles and recorded the
session that became the bootleg “A Toot and a Snore in ‘74”, allegedly the last
ever meeting between John and Paul.
We also have a lovely
picture of son James looking through an eye glass, plus a photo from 1971 of
Paul in Liverpool behind which Camerons Whitbred Pale Ale is displayed. There is a great shot from 1979 taken of the
heads of local Caribbean children over which are imposed images of Paul and
Stella, which shows Linda’s clever manipulation of the photographic image.
.
Linda experimented with
old photographic processes as well and some of her sun prints are displayed in
this section.
Section
four: ‘Photography as social commentary’
“Her empathy extended
to all people of all social strata as well as to animals, and she took a stand
on issues concerning the protection of animals and the environment.”
The influences of
Walker Evans and of Henri Cartier-Bresson are particularly strong in this
section.
Linda’s animal rights
concerns are clear with photographs of animal carcasses hanging in butcher
shops. One image that stands out is that of hares hanging down from a rack with
plastic bags over their heads. What is
most striking is that these images are of familiar scenes, the barbarity of
which are revealed in Linda’s photography.
Section
five: “Later Works”
“The later portraits of her husband and grown up
children radiate sureness of style and an immense sense of peace.” “The woman
who often would have liked to be unrecognised, scrutinised her own image at
various times of her life and presented this to the beholder.”
The best photo here is
one showing Paul reflected in a mirror holding a camera but which was taken by Linda.
Flanking the mirror are two balloons with the markings “Listen to this Balloon”
and “Happy Xmas Apple R5970” (note the UK Catalogue number). Was this a meeting
between John and Paul in New York City in 1974, or is it Paul parodying John’s
“Listen to this Button” ‘Walls & Bridges’ promo campaign?
A sixth section would
have been welcome which explained in detail the different photographic
techniques and processes Linda used but all in all this is such a great
exhibition and one you must see.
For more information on this fabulous exhibition, including images of some of Linda's iconic photographs, click HERE!
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