Fashioning Fiction in Photography since 1990

Apr 16–Jun 28, 2004

MoMA

Cedric Buchet. Untitled photograph from Prada advertising campaign Spring/Summer 2001. Chromogenic color print, 17 1/8 × 24 5/8″ (43.5 × 62.5 cm). Courtesy the photographer, Streeters USA, and Jousse Entreprise, Paris. © 2004 Cedric Buchet

The 1990s witnessed a particularly vital and inventive period when the reciprocal influences of artistic and commercial photography effected a clear change in fashion photography. Fashioning Fiction in Photography since 1990 tracks two of the key routes taken by contemporary fashion photographers: the application of cinematic techniques, as seen in the work of Cedric Buchet and Cindy Sherman, among others, and the snapshot aesthetic, as exemplified by the photographs of Nan Goldin, Juergen Teller, and others. In order to address the concerns, desires, and realities of youth culture, photographers and editors expanded the narrative of fashion photography to depict lifestyles, rather than the clothes themselves.

All of the photographs in the exhibition were commissioned by and reproduced in fashion magazines or advertising campaigns. Fashioning Fiction includes over ninety photographs by thirteen photographers and is accompanied by an exhibition catalogue.

Organized by Susan Kismaric, Curator, and Eva Respini, Assistant Curator, Department of Photography.

The exhibition is made possible by Banana Republic.

Generous support for the exhibition catalogue is provided by Carol and David Appel.

The accompanying educational programs are made possible by BNP Paribas.

Additional funding is provided by the Council of Fashion Designers of America, The Contemporary Arts Council and The Junior Associates of The Museum of Modern Art, and Roark Dunn & Associates.

Special thanks to Time Warner.

Publication

  • Press release 4 pages

Artists

Installation images

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