This has already been quite a year for deaths, but I just found out that one of my favorite fashion photographers, Lillian Bassman, has passed on. I’m not an avid follower of fashion photography, though I am fascinated by the world that these photographers seek to create. Perfection has always been a superficial pursuit in this world, but it has rarely been captured with such power in simple black-and-white photos. What is amazing about Lillian is how she became disillusioned with this world, and not only stopped working in it, but also destroyed a lot of her own work. THAT takes a lot of courage.
It’s her later work that I am attracted to. Fortunately, someone found her tossed out treasure and convinced her to take a fresh look at them. Her new outlook changed how she presented these photos, and gave us the mysterious treasures that we’re all fascinated by. The world may continue to turn after each loss of talent and life, but we all feel the loss that each person contributed. Lillian really had a wonderfully abstract view of life that translated beautifully through her lens.
