CHIC CLICKS 8. March until 1. Juni 2003 www.nrw-forum.de foto: Glen Luchford “Vogue Italia”, 1998 more foto >>>
The exhibition includes both artists who are well known for their fine art photography and those who are widely recognized for their fashion photography but have not necessarily exhibited their work in a museum.

The personal work of commercial photographers often presents a surprising contrast to their published photographs, while the artists in the exhibition employ their distinctive style for the commercial work they do, presenting fashion in a new context.

For example, the artist Cindy Sherman, who is known for her representations of female personas, is represented both by her series Fashion (1983/84), which presents clothing not merely as a social sign but also as a fashionable commodity, and with work from a decade later for the progressive Japanese fashion company Comme des Garçons that uses a technique similar to the Fashion series. The self-quotation of her earlier work was ironically defused in the fashion editorial by clown-like make-up and gestures, pseudo-Japanese references, and over-the-top avant-garde garments by the Tokyo designer Rei Kawakubo.

In comparison, the Brazilian-born fashion photographer Marcelo Krasilcic refers to his personal work in a much more direct manner for fashion campaigns. His recent images for Ruffo Research in Milan, which will be included in Chic Clicks, feature models in front of what seem like strangely theatrical backdrops. In fact, these backdrops are blown-up photographs, taken by the artist in his free time, of bourgeois residences in Sao Paulo. Here, the private environment of the artist literally provides the background for his professional work.

The exhibition space deliberately separates the two types of photographs; the commercial work is exhibited on the ground floor and the personal work is shown on the second floor. This layout acknowledges the distinctions between creative and commercial photography. Yet, more importantly, by including the same photographers in each section, the exhibition highlights how fashion and art photography influence one another.

Fashion Lounge
On the mezzanine level of the ICA, visitors can browse the latest cutting-edge art and fashion magazines, such as Dutch, Visionaire, and self service, in a fashion lounge. The emergence of these independent and progressive fashion magazines from the mid-to-late 1980s has been influential in bringing fashion photography and contemporary art increasingly close together. Repertoire, the Boston-based European furniture emporium, designed a retro-chic look for the lounge to complement the exhibition. Two black leather sofas designed by Antonio Citterio provide the room’s elegant focal point, while additional seating around the room includes Lloyd Schwan’s sculptural white plastic molded chair and black leather ottomans by Cuoio & Arte. Red lacquer vases and stacking shelf units complete the Mondrian-inspired palette.

Exhibition Catalogue
Dr. Ulrich Lehman, senior lecturer and postdoctoral research fellow at the Kent Institute of Art and Design, Rochester, England, and the author of Tigersprung: Fashion and Modernity, is the guest curator of the exhibition and co-author of the accompanying exhibition catalogue co-published by the ICA and Hatje Cantz, Germany. The 328-page color illustrated book documents the work in the exhibition and addresses the issues raised by the ever-increasing correspondence between art and fashion.