Getty Images Gallery
The Fabulous People Fabulous Lives exhibition
Review
If a picture could speak a thousand words, Getty Images might have the loudest voice. And you can now hear (or see) a selection of these voices (or photos) at Westfield London in the "Fabulous People Fabulous Lives" exhibition.
The gallery features photographs of famous stars including Audrey Hepburn, Mick Jagger, and Twiggy. Many of the photos selected from the massive Getty Images collection consist of beautiful debutantes lounging about doing what they do best: looking beautiful. Browsing through the selection, attendees can view photos of French sex bomb Brigitte Bardot smoking a cigarette, a seductive Marlene Dietrich looking directly into a camera, and a stressed Faye Dunaway at a hotel the day after she won an Oscar.
The photos are stunning, shot with a precision and style that's often absent in today's phone-camera existence. Studying each photo, you realise that each tells a story. Seeing Truman Capote in his cluttered apartment tells us the man was an eccentric genius; a photo of Marilyn Monroe all alone in a subway tells us that despite being one of the most beautiful women ever, there was a loneliness that plagued her.
The photos also represent the end of an era. This was a period where glamour was earned, not found between the sheets with a football player - are most of today's stars "glamorous?" Itchy has our suspicions.
The public, especially those of a younger persuasion, should take advantage of this free gallery. As Louise Garczewska, the Getty Images Gallery Director told Itchy, the gallery is here to appeal to "the general public as a whole." And it achieves that with great success.
The photos are stunning, shot with a precision and style that's often absent in today's phone-camera existence. Studying each photo, you realise that each tells a story. Seeing Truman Capote in his cluttered apartment tells us the man was an eccentric genius; a photo of Marilyn Monroe all alone in a subway tells us that despite being one of the most beautiful women ever, there was a loneliness that plagued her.
The photos also represent the end of an era. This was a period where glamour was earned, not found between the sheets with a football player - are most of today's stars "glamorous?" Itchy has our suspicions.
The public, especially those of a younger persuasion, should take advantage of this free gallery. As Louise Garczewska, the Getty Images Gallery Director told Itchy, the gallery is here to appeal to "the general public as a whole." And it achieves that with great success.
Andrew Benjamin
