Disney and Other Hyenas

Jun 1, 2008 · Comments
exhibition

I was confused by the title of the current Tate photography show and after my first visit last week I’m thinking I still don’t quite get it. Street and Studio: An Urban History of Photography is actually about portraiture and claims to highlight “…the crossovers between the genres [Street and Studio] and their influence on each other.” So, sounds interesting but women under hypnosis? I’ll need to read the blurb to see where they fit in. Not that I didn’t enjoy it. There was plenty I hadn’t seen before as well as some old favourites.

The picture that had the strongest impact was this one by Pieter Hugo (the direct link broke but it’s one in that series). I’m a little worried that I’m just impressed by the size of the hyena. I thought hyenas were more reasonable, dog-sized creatures (Max agreed and said this was because we’re informed by Disney films). They had the book of Pieter Hugo’s series which I just about managed to resist buying (Update: of course it’s worth a fortune now). The printing looked great and even the non-hyena pictures seemed to have a strong other-worldly quality. The show is on until 31 August so plenty of time to revisit.

Possibly related posts:

• June 15, 2006: Onto the Streets
• May 25, 2005: Meyerowitz
• July 4, 2008: Street Photo Workshop 2008 - no. 2
• May 19, 2008: Summer Street Photo Workshops
• August 28, 2007: 3 Views on TV vs RL