Tim Walker at the V&A, London, 2019
The acclaimed British fashion photographer Tim Walker has spent decades immortalizing the ethereal and uncanny through his lens. Celebrated for his extraordinary creativity, his works encourage observers to see beyond the mundane to the magical. The current exhibition at the Getty Museum in Los Angeles builds upon his 2016 showcase at London’s Victoria & Albert Museum, where Walker explored its vast collection and selected an array of “wonderful things” – vivid Indian miniature paintings, luminous stained glass windows, jeweled snuffboxes, golden shoes, and a 65m-long photograph of the Bayeux Tapestry – that served as inspiration for a series of nine shoots. In the same spirit, the Getty Museum invited Walker to survey its pieces and embark on an additional photo session. Images inspired by the two paintings Walker chose are on view at the museum for the first time.
Cloud 9, 2018
The first challenge in bringing an iconic V&A exhibition to the new space was to edit and distill the objects. “It required that I cut the list by approximately 40%,” shares Paul Martineau, the curator of the presentation. “I wanted the artwork to be very front and center, and less immersed in an environment, so that people could really look carefully at the work and appreciate its strengths. I think they walk away with a greater appreciation for the vision and artistry of the photographer.” The first section features more than 20 snapshots from Walker’s career as a fashion photographer. The following 10 segments each host museum collection objects, pictures, short films, and photographic sets, providing a behind-the-scenes look at Walker’s creative process.
Cloud 9, 2018
For the vibrant Out of the Woods section, the first artwork that captured Walker’s attention is a German Renaissance one by Cranach the Elder, titled A Faun and His Family with a Slain Lion. Walker recalls the first time he saw it. “There’s…
