Pollock and Beaton

One of Cecil Beaton's biggest contributions is the merging of art and fashion. Beaton used Jackson Pollock's paintings as a background for his photographs in a three page spread published in Vogue titled American Fashion: The New Soft Look.

Cecil Beaton, The New Look. 1951 by Conde Nast Publications 

Cecil Beaton The New Soft Look. 1951 Conde Nast Publications 

The paintings and clothes create a striking contrast. The photographs show how closely fashion and art are linked together. Anne Soll (2009) throughly evaluates the photographs,

“The light falls diagonally onto the models from above, so that their shadows are thrown in the direction of the viewer, making sections of the painting directly behind the women appear brighter and out of focus. The female figures are the focal point of the photos, the color drippings of the paintings by contrast amalgamate to a soft, blurry surface, pushing the women all the more into the foreground. Yet the women are not entirely distinct from the background: Irene’s slightly transparent silk skirt allows the canvas to shine through, the feather boa on her skirt imitates the softened surface of the canvas; Sophie’s tulle stole blurs her outline, so that through the materiality of her clothing her bodiless is partially blended with the surface of the paintings.”

The photographs not only show how fashion and art are combinable but also help to shape America's new cultural identity. With the war cutting off European influence it was time for America to shape themselves as a country. The photographs show a longing for desire, rawness, creativity and a new American society. 

Bueren, M. (2015). Beaton & Pollock: The new soft look 1951. MLVB. Retrieved from:    http://www.marjoleinlammertsvanbueren.com/beaton-pollock-the-new-soft-look1951/

Soll, A. (2009). “Pollock in Vogue: American fashion and avant-garde art in Cecil Beaton’s 1951 photographs. Fashion Theory: The Journal of Dress, Body & Culture,13(1), 29-50.