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| The late Isabella Blow photographed by Bill Cunningham New York Times |
In 2001, Richard Press, an independent film maker-cum-freelance art director for the New York Times began capturing film footage of photojournalist Bill Cunningham. The humble and highly acclaimed Cunningham was uninterested in being the subject, preferring the opposite side of the camera, which had been his life passion for more than four decades. Finally in 2008, after years of perseverance, Richard Press and his partner, producer Philip Geftner got the reluctant Cunningham to agree, and last week premiered Bill Cunningham New York at the Film Forum in New York. Yesterday it was screened at the Museum of Modern Art in New York and at The Los Angeles County Museum, through the Costume Council. I attended the Costume Council’s viewing and can say this is a genuinely moving film about, not just the original street photographer, but a true Original.
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| Bill Cunningham New York Times |
In addition to the fascinating commentary by friends and subjects such as Anna Wintour and Iris Apfel, the film captivates us with how a passion can engulf an entire life and become that individual's personification. Most known for his images in The New York Times Sunday Style column “On The Street,” Cunningham is a virtual encyclopedia of fashion, who finds moments of sartorial significance like needles in a haystack. To see pure dedication drive and define a person, as does Cunningham’s “search for beauty,” is truly awe-inspiring.
Looking back at some of the goings on I have attended over the course of a few weeks such as Rodarte: States of Matter at MOCA, and a party at LFrank for Kate Betts and her book Everyday Icon: Michelle Obama and the Power of Style, the common theme seems to be the celebration of fashion as a powerful form of communication. Bill Cunningham New York drives home the idea that style is personal and fashion a means to express and arm oneself for the world in which we live. So, I take away the important message that when picking and choosing from seasonal trends, take advantage of these tools that designers offer us in expressing ourselves. For the most striking visions, which seem to talk to us, are always those that tell us something about the individual. And, in the end we are all looking for a little connection.
