Is Fashion! really about fashion?

Now I have seen three times the fashion photo exhibition Fashion! Modefotografi genom tiderna in the Fotografiska in Stockholm.

First time I was a little bit disappointed, thought that the show was a mishmash selection from the German Camera Work Gallery´s collection, picturing the history of fashion photos, designers and celebrities.

Next time I wanted to concentrate in some favourites I admired at the first time. For example Irving Penn´s lovely Café in Lima, Jean Patchett, 1948. Notice that look in the woman´s eyes, see her pearls and her right foot shoe, hanging on her toes. A moment perfectly captured: real life, real woman, real beauty.

And now, at last, I started to think what a good fashion photo is all about. It is not just a picture of clothes – you can see the clothes far better pictured in catalogues or store windows. I think that good fashion photos should have a crack to let the reality in, they should give you inspiration and indicate a secret you can reach by knowing your strengths and weaknesses. They should be tempting and irritating at the same time. Just look at the Paolo Roversi´s dreamlike pictures. Or Ellen von Unwerth´s Couples Breathless, Paris, 1992. Or Marc Jacobs by Mikael Jansson, mockingly made-up and dressed as a woman.

Anyway – if you want to see the exhibition and find out  what to think about it yourself, you have better to hurry. It closes on 9th January 2011.

Welcome to enjoy a real slapstick comedy!

What happens when two well-known artists Saikki and Honksu, Pirkko Saisio and Pirjo Honkasalo, buy a mahogany boat and spend their summers not only travelling in it but mostly repairing it?

The owner-seller of the boat, Mr. Ilola, was weeping when the new happy owners left in their new (read old) boat. Later the happy owners realised that Mr. Ilola was not sad but, true to his name, weeping from joy.

This anecdote tells a lot what Lokikirja (The Logbook) is all about. It is a story about friendship, positive attitude and hunger for adventures. It is a tasty book to enjoy especially during these dark, stormy, snowy winter nights sitting comfortably at home, perhaps sipping a glass of Scotch whisky.

The publisher of this handwritten, illustrated diary is Siltala Kustannus. Pay 28 euros, and it is yours.