Looking through ‘The Radical Eye’: An Insight into Modernist Photography

Imagining our world without photography is close to impossible. The visual image saturates our daily lives; whether it’s the adverts plastered on buses and buildings or the Instagram ‘selfie’- photography is an indispensable feature of our modern life. Until the 21st May, the Tate Modern is providing a rare opportunity to see one of the world’s greatest private collections of Modernist photography. The collection, accumulated by Elton John over 25 years, includes masterpieces from Brassai, Dorothea Lange and Aleksandr Rodchenko. In fact, over 70 artists and nearly 150 vintage prints are exhibited.

Alexander Rodchenko, ShuKov Tower, 1920.

In the classic modernist period, 1920s-1950s, many aspects of our digital age were created. People found new ways to use photography, transforming how we see the world and making it a true art form. Nowadays the digital camera allows us to manipulate an image effortlessly, even our phones have the ability to add filters and edit with ease. The photographers featured in this exhibition had to use their minds. Whether its portraiture, abstract or performance - a controlled thoughtfully staged shot to a fleeting moment captured in still - these photographers were artists in the truest sense, viewing the world through a unique lens.

Ilse Bing Willem, Dancer, 1932.

A series of interconnecting rooms houses these remarkable works. Moving from one to the other, the walls are thoughtfully scattered with distinct pieces, each mounted in an individual frame. Elton John lives amongst these pieces, believing their eccentricity to be representative of his life. And, his personal attachment to them is clearly communicated through the exhibition's eclectic curation. Its true, the experience feels as though you are being allowed a sneak peek into Elton John’s home. This intimacy is heightened by many of the smaller works, which require you to move up close to them to appreciate their detail. They are deeply compelling, provoking a peculiar curiosity through the narrative they tell. Elton John has described this collection as the ‘love of his life’, to have him this share such a personal fondness with us is a joy.