I’ve said it before in these articles, and I’ll say it again: I love the Crane Kalman Gallery in North Laine. My knowledge of art doesn’t extend much beyond finger-painting and fuzzy felt, but I can always appreciate a good photo, and Crane Kalman have a habit of showing some truly excellent photographic exhibitions, which are accessible not only to camera experts, but to anyone who’s ever looked into a lens and said cheese.
Their current exhibition, which runs until 28th January, is called Eclectica III, and it turns out to be an apt title. The show features the work of thirteen diverse photographers, from established names to emerging talents, and to say there’s something for everyone would be an understatement.
High on my list of recommendations are the aerial shots by Jason Hawkes, who has produced twenty-five books of aerial photography and seen his work appear in adverts for Nike, Ford and Rolex. His selection includes a stunning shot of a rollercoaster in Maryland, and an overhead view of the Chrysler building in New York, taken in 2002. I’m not sure how he got permission to fly over Manhattan a year after 9/11, but the result is justifiably spectacular.
Italian Giacomo Brunelli gives us a shot of a chicken crossing the road (I don’t know why) and an action photo of a snail, while award-winning advertising photographer Morgan Silk provides an amusing photo of an outhouse in the middle of a desert featuring some very appropriate camel graffiti.
Anyone who had nightmares after watching Dracula should probably avoid the work of Tim Flach, but for me his 2004 photo ‘Bat Bomb’ was probably the most awe-inspiring piece on display: a moonlit sky filled with countless bats in flight, reminiscent of a scene from the film ‘Pitch Black’. The accompanying work ‘Dense Bats’, which features the same creatures hanging from the roof of a cave, is enough to send a shiver down anyone’s spine.
Stuart Redler, whose work is included in the permanent collection at The National Portrait Gallery, displays a sense of humour with photos of a Porsche driving through a rundown neighbourhood, and a giant bull in La Mancha, Spain, but of all the groups of photos in the exhibition, my favourite was probably the collection of black & white photos from the 1960s and 70s by David Steen, featuring the likes of Ian Fleming, Noel Coward and Truman Capote.
Of these, the highlight was a portrait of England football legend Bobby Moore at his Essex home in December 1972, standing in what I’m sure was quite a modern living room in its day, but which now looks like the kind of kitsch scene even your grandmother would consider too much. If you think that posing in a dressing gown in front of the fireplace sounds like a step too far, wait until you see the fur rug he’s standing on.
Another photo from the same period is a simple shot of Peter Cook and Dudley Moore wearing a suit. Unfortunately I mean that quite literally. Bare-legged Pete gets the shirt and jacket, while Dud is stripped to the waist in a pair of trousers. And people think the BBC budget cuts are a new thing.
