Young British Artists (YBA) Photography

Savannah Spirit Waiting Silver gelatin on Ilford multigrade paper, signed, edition of 5 Scroll for more on the artist and this series and an excerpt from the recent monograph, The Archive #6: Savannah Spirit, published by Quiet Lunch: "When I first saw Savannah Spirit’s early nudes, I felt immediately struck by their power and awareness. Of course, they were traditionally beautiful, with classical lighting and shadows from Venetian blinds. Some of them were sexy, in the way bodies are sexy. But they weren’t sexualized. Looking at them, I felt powerful. I felt good. They depicted the body of an adult woman viewing herself with love. I’ve been devoted to them ever since. To me, these portraits invoke the power of a landscape. The way the light rolls over the body evokes the body’s connection with the earth, with sunrise and its long deep shadows. The patterns of darkness can break the figure into geometry, creating a distance between the viewer and the image, as in End of An Era and Staying Abreast. Yet others, like Resist and Be The Woman You Needed When You Were Younger, create direct address, and sometimes empathy. Sometimes, the viewer takes the vantage point of the artist, and the piece becomes a further study in introspection. The titles, like The Bottom Line and Read Between the Lines, often invoke idioms, figures of speech, or stereotypes that themselves point back to the culture that produced them. As conceptual components, they are both playful and political, which, when juxtaposed against image to elicit a mood or reaction. For me, it’s different every time. I am often pricked to discover how the vernacular of Hollywood capitalism, juxtaposed to a powerful, nude self-portrait of a woman, almost always feels a bit surprising–as if I wasn’t expecting her to be there. Recent works, like Network, use both shadow and mirror to create a doubled image, the artist and her reflection, further suggesting the sense of a dialogue with the self. The two bodies are not a mirror image, though seen in a mirror: a conversation between two sides of oneself, rather than a literal twinning. Over the past decade, as this series took on greater and deeper life, Savannah and I have had countless wonderful discussions about women, bodies and art. As a former artist’s model, early in her career, she participated in the form of power that was available to her: that of the quieted muse. She knew she was being objectified, she recalls, but at least she was included in the club. I instantly recognized that message. She was still creating her own work, though, and one day, she realized she’d had enough of seeing herself through someone else’s lens. She turned the camera on herself, and began to take a very different kind of picture. During the pandemic, the feeling of being alone with oneself can sometimes feel overwhelming. These recent pieces reflect that agitation of the dialogue alone, the being with oneself, seeking connection..." - Katie Peyton Hofstadter Classic black and white silver gelatin print, signed by the artist Savannah Spirit. This is a self portrait of the artist. Categorize between self-portrait, contemporary feminism, take back control, I am my own muse, my body my choice...

Dancer Leland Schwantes, nude for After Dark magazine, 1970. Vintage silver gelatin exhibition photograph made by Jack Mitchell. American photogra...

11 x 14" vintage silver gelatin photograph of Tony award-winning playwright Terrence McNally photographed nude in Mitchell's studio for 'After Dark' m...

Savannah Spirit The Remedy Silver gelatin on Ilford multigrade paper, signed, edition of 5 Scroll for more on the artist and this series and an excerpt from the recent monograph, The Archive #6: Savannah Spirit, published by Quiet Lunch: "When I first saw Savannah Spirit’s early nudes, I felt immediately struck by their power and awareness. Of course, they were traditionally beautiful, with classical lighting and shadows from Venetian blinds. Some of them were sexy, in the way bodies are sexy. But they weren’t sexualized. Looking at them, I felt powerful. I felt good. They depicted the body of an adult woman viewing herself with love. I’ve been devoted to them ever since. To me, these portraits invoke the power of a landscape. The way the light rolls over the body evokes the body’s connection with the earth, with sunrise and its long deep shadows. The patterns of darkness can break the figure into geometry, creating a distance between the viewer and the image, as in End of An Era and Staying Abreast. Yet others, like Resist and Be The Woman You Needed When You Were Younger, create direct address, and sometimes empathy. Sometimes, the viewer takes the vantage point of the artist, and the piece becomes a further study in introspection. The titles, like The Bottom Line and Read Between the Lines, often invoke idioms, figures of speech, or stereotypes that themselves point back to the culture that produced them. As conceptual components, they are both playful and political, which, when juxtaposed against image to elicit a mood or reaction. For me, it’s different every time. I am often pricked to discover how the vernacular of Hollywood capitalism, juxtaposed to a powerful, nude self-portrait of a woman, almost always feels a bit surprising–as if I wasn’t expecting her to be there. Recent works, like Network, use both shadow and mirror to create a doubled image, the artist and her reflection, further suggesting the sense of a dialogue with the self. The two bodies are not a mirror image, though seen in a mirror: a conversation between two sides of oneself, rather than a literal twinning. Over the past decade, as this series took on greater and deeper life, Savannah and I have had countless wonderful discussions about women, bodies and art. As a former artist’s model, early in her career, she participated in the form of power that was available to her: that of the quieted muse. She knew she was being objectified, she recalls, but at least she was included in the club. I instantly recognized that message. She was still creating her own work, though, and one day, she realized she’d had enough of seeing herself through someone else’s lens. She turned the camera on herself, and began to take a very different kind of picture. During the pandemic, the feeling of being alone with oneself can sometimes feel overwhelming. These recent pieces reflect that agitation of the dialogue alone, the being with oneself, seeking connection..." - Katie Peyton Hofstadter Classic black and white silver gelatin print, signed by the artist Savannah Spirit. This is a self portrait of the artist. Categorize between self-portrait, contemporary feminism, take back control, I am my own muse, my body my choice...

Savannah Spirit Amor de Artuño Silver gelatin on Ilford multigrade paper, signed, edition of 5 Scroll for more on the artist and this series and an excerpt from the recent monograph, The Archive #6: Savannah Spirit, published by Quiet Lunch: "When I first saw Savannah Spirit’s early nudes, I felt immediately struck by their power and awareness. Of course, they were traditionally beautiful, with classical lighting and shadows from Venetian blinds. Some of them were sexy, in the way bodies are sexy. But they weren’t sexualized. Looking at them, I felt powerful. I felt good. They depicted the body of an adult woman viewing herself with love. I’ve been devoted to them ever since. To me, these portraits invoke the power of a landscape. The way the light rolls over the body evokes the body’s connection with the earth, with sunrise and its long deep shadows. The patterns of darkness can break the figure into geometry, creating a distance between the viewer and the image, as in End of An Era and Staying Abreast. Yet others, like Resist and Be The Woman You Needed When You Were Younger, create direct address, and sometimes empathy. Sometimes, the viewer takes the vantage point of the artist, and the piece becomes a further study in introspection. The titles, like The Bottom Line and Read Between the Lines, often invoke idioms, figures of speech, or stereotypes that themselves point back to the culture that produced them. As conceptual components, they are both playful and political, which, when juxtaposed against image to elicit a mood or reaction. For me, it’s different every time. I am often pricked to discover how the vernacular of Hollywood capitalism, juxtaposed to a powerful, nude self-portrait of a woman, almost always feels a bit surprising–as if I wasn’t expecting her to be there. Recent works, like Network, use both shadow and mirror to create a doubled image, the artist and her reflection, further suggesting the sense of a dialogue with the self. The two bodies are not a mirror image, though seen in a mirror: a conversation between two sides of oneself, rather than a literal twinning. Over the past decade, as this series took on greater and deeper life, Savannah and I have had countless wonderful discussions about women, bodies and art. As a former artist’s model, early in her career, she participated in the form of power that was available to her: that of the quieted muse. She knew she was being objectified, she recalls, but at least she was included in the club. I instantly recognized that message. She was still creating her own work, though, and one day, she realized she’d had enough of seeing herself through someone else’s lens. She turned the camera on herself, and began to take a very different kind of picture. During the pandemic, the feeling of being alone with oneself can sometimes feel overwhelming. These recent pieces reflect that agitation of the dialogue alone, the being with oneself, seeking connection..." - Katie Peyton Hofstadter Classic black and white silver gelatin print, signed by the artist Savannah Spirit. This is a self portrait of the artist. Categorize between self-portrait, contemporary feminism, take back control, I am my own muse, my body my choice...

11 x 14" vintage silver gelatin photograph of Joffrey Ballet dancer Christian Holder photographed nude, 1970. Signed on the verso by Jack Mitchell. Come...

Warhol superstars Joe Dallesandro and Sylvia Miles nude in Andy Warhol’s ‘Heat’, 1971, for After Dark magazine. This is an 8 x 10" vintage silver gelatin photograph that was publishe...

Martin’s innovative photographs are created from plants grown by himself in his garden and greenhouse in Cambridge. A keen horticulturist, he cultivates his own plants and flowers, t...

'Headspace', 2020 50x38cm, Edition 1/7 plus 2 Artist Proofs, Digital C-print, Based on an original Polaroid. Signed on the back and with certificate. Artist inventory PL2020-876....

Savannah Spirit My Body, My Choice Silver gelatin on Ilford multigrade paper, signed, edition of 5 Scroll for more on the artist and this series and an excerpt from the recent monog...

"Charis, Santa Monica" is a photograph by Edward Weston. It has the artist stamp on verso, “Negative by Edward Weston print by Cole Weston”. The framed photograph measures 15 1/4 x 1...

In this rich self portrait, Savannah Spirit takes the tradition of black and white female nude photography, and turns the gaze back on itself. In this series, the muse is the artist,...