"I don't take pictures," explains Bailey. "I make pictures. A five-year-old can take a picture. But that is not what it's about or what I do. I don't think of myself as a photographer or an artist. I don't even care how I am perceived. But there is a difference between making pictures and taking pictures. It's an art. Bruce Webber can do it. Robert Frank can, as did Cartier-Bresson. But photographers come here to take photographs of me and don't even talk to me. And they take so fucking long. It's like masturbation for them. I talk to people more than take their pictures. Probably an hour's talking to 10 minutes of shooting."
Considering that Bailey has not only photographed the truly iconic but, is an icon himself, one wonders why this exhibition hasn't happened before? "You'll have to ask all those scholarly fools!" He snarls. "They overlook and marginalise photography."
"But it is not a retrospective," he stresses. "It's in no order whatsoever and it's not about looking back. I'm still working flat out. I've got a lot of work left in me."
And looking at the man – a veritable bundle of combustible energy – I could not agree more.
Bailey's Stardust, National Portrait Gallery, London WC2 (020-7766 7331) to 1 June
Do you have a story for publication? Send your press release/articles to; exclusiverawnaija@gmail.com
Facebook-; http://facebook.com/exclusiverawnaija
Twitter-; http://twitter.com/rawnaija_gist
Website-; http://exclusiverawnaija.com
0 Comments:
Post a Comment