Lee Miller Exhibit

My first trip into Philly was certainly an exciting one; after climbing the god-awful steps of the Philadelphia Art Museum, I reaped the benefits of seeing the exhibition of Lee Miller’s work. This exhibit really encompassed everything we have discussed in class, because it displayed her works from all facets of ‘documentary’- self-portraits, portraits of famous friends such as Picasso, photos of her taken by others, and her startling war photography including her at Hitler’s house. Starting as a model and becoming a photojournalist and working for Vogue, the exhibit itself was a sort of documentation of her journey.
All of Miller’s work was done in black and white, and of course in analog, and probably around 10x16 in size. Many of the images were even smaller, and it made me feel more intimate with her work and her life, because they documented herself and those close to her, and you yourself had to get physically closer to imbibe and truly appreciate every aspect of each photo.
One of the photos that I loved was not taken of Miller herself, but by Edward Steichen in 1928. It is a beautiful, romantic black and white of Miller sitting outdoors in a sun hat, gazing off into the distance. Her arm is bent with her hand at her throat, forming an upside down triangle across her body. Though she herself only takes up the bottom half of this vertical shot, she is clearly the main focus, and the first place your attention is drawm to. The top half of a wicker chair is visible in the bottom of the image, and tall, thin greenery sets the background for her, all of which provides a nice variety of textures. However, the main focus is her ethereal face, peaking out from under her sun hat but not overshadowed.
I’m really glad that I was able to make it to Philly for this exhibit. Lee Miller was the most iconic model of the 1920’s, and the work that she went on to do as a result was stunning and masterful.