This extraordinary exhibition showcasing the renowned photographer’s work is impressive in the way in which it highlights the sheer breadth of her work.
My goodness what an extraordinary exhibition of Lee Miller’s work this is. Taking us from her modelling days all the way through to her war photography work to her portraits of her fellow artists no stone is left unturned in ensuring that her legacy is completely out in the open.
This Tate Britain show of Lee Miller’s work is so ambitious in its scale that it would at least take another couple of visits to really take it all in (also advisable given how popular it is with the public). The reason that it is so successful is the way in which it manages to highlight not only her skill in turning what would be to most people an ordinary view into something extraordinary but also showcasing how as an artist she was ahead of her time.
While the first room focuses on her early career as a model, the show doesn’t dwell too much on this before diving head first into her beginnings as a photographer, working alongside many acclaimed photographers but focusing particularly on her work with Man Ray. The works in this room are wonderfully intimate, sharply focused and showcases how between them they managed to create memorable images that have a wonderful dreamlike quality to them – focusing on aspects such as necks and torsos.
It was fascinating to find out how each of them worked together, changing the course of photography art in many different ways – although there was naturally conflict at times. Their use of ‘solarisation’ aka the Sabatier effect (the process in which a negative is briefly re-exposed to light during processing) is fascinating to find out more about and see the impact it has on an overall image.
What is also fascinating in this long overdue show about Lee Miller is just how quickly she had her own studio and was making a name for herself – by 1932 (when she was 25) she was one of the most highly sought photographers of her generation. Many of her strongest images that she took was when she was travelling – for example her 1938 image ‘From the Top of the Great Pyramid, Giza’ captures the way in which she is able to change our perspective to fascinating effect. Instead of focusing of the Great Pyramid, she chose to capture the pyramid in shadow – putting more emphasis on how its surroundings were developing and changing. Elsewhere, this can also be seen in her pictures such as ‘Chairs’ (1929) in which the angle, shadow and silhouette showcase her skills in turning an everyday scene into an abstract work of art.
The whole show is filled with her works that haven’t been on display before, adding to the sense of what a treat this exhibition really is. Every image has been selected with great care, meaning that the show flows with ease.
Of course, there are also plenty of powerful images on display, with a section devoted to some of the photographs she was able to take in concentration camps proving to be particularly harrowing but of course extremely powerful and need to be seen to show the horror of World War II. In this section is the extraordinary image of Lee Miller sitting in Adolf Hitler’s bath which sends a powerful message about the fact that he was human with basic human needs that he deprived so many, while the images of captured guards also pack a powerful punch and forces the viewer to confront the worst of humanity.
Elsewhere, Miller’s war photography highlights and feels like a celebration of the women who had to stand in for the men in many roles that were left empty as the men went off to war. In one magazine feature, Lee Miller also wrote about what she saw with frankness and it is clear that she had a natural style just as suited for journalism as well as photography.
In light of everything that she saw during the period of war that she covered, it is no wonder that her interest in photography waned. The exhibition ends with a focus on her photographs of fellow artists and friends which are perhaps less fascinating to view but there is still no denying that her skill with a camera never faded.
Extraordinary from start to finish, this show makes it clear that Lee Miller has been undeservedly overlooked as a talented and fascinating artist. Lets hope that more exhibitions of her work will happen in the future – particularly given the level of work that she left behind.
By Emma Clarendon
Lee Miller is on display at Tate Britain until the 15th February.
Rating: ❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️