This summer, Irving Penn’s masterful Cigarettes series will
be displayed in its entirety for the first time ever at Hamiltons
Gallery, London. Although Penn is probably most renowned for his
photographs of famous fashion models and iconic figures, he was also
equally as accustomed to shooting various forms of still life – in this
case, discarded cigarette butts found on the streets of New York in the
early Seventies. By printing the Cigarettes using the Platinum palladium
process, an extremely difficult and costly photographic technique, Penn
advanced the status of these objects from unwanted garbage to treasured
rarities.
Either arranged as singular objects or clustered in groups, the image
composition remains relatively minimal, however the depth and density
of the tone applied to these black and white shots highlight subtle
details, features and textures which otherwise would go a miss.
All of Penn’s pictures are created with a great attention to detail
and the extreme magnification applied here means this series is no
exception; every burnt edge, rip and fold in the delicate paper is
meticulously captured as are the stray strands of loose tobacco that
sprout out at the butt ends like wiry whiskers.
Another focus is the branding that is stamped onto each cigarette;
even after being smoked, stubbed out, stepped on and subsequently
weathered in Manhattan’s gutters, the marks of Tobacco industry giants
such as Marlboro, Camel and Chesterfield are still evidently fulfilling
their intended commercial purpose.
All 26 photographs from the Cigarettes series are available to view now until 17 August at Hamiltons Gallery, 13 Carlos Place, London.
