Last night, Simon Doonan, creative director of Barneys, interviewed the great Roxanne Lowit at Milk Gallery. The two were surrounded by photos from the book Roxanne Lowit: Backstage Dior, as well as a crowd of admirers and friends that included designer Pat Field, whose popsicle-colored hair provided a pleasant jolt of color.
The conversation was videotaped, and I’ll be posting it soon, but for now, here are some of the highlights from their chat, which was both entertaining and inspiring.
By the way, Roxanne’s “orgasmically gorgeous” photographs, as Simon described them, are on view at Milk through October 30.
.
Simon Doonan and Roxanne Lowit at Milk Gallery, October 21, 2010. Event photos by Kristina Feliciano.
.
Referring to Susan Sontag’s famous “On Photography” essay, in which she characterizes photography as a predatory act, Simon looked at Roxanne and asked, “Roxanne, are you a predator?” After waiting patiently for the laughter to die down, she replied, “No, I’m a coconspirator, collaborator, and participant.”
Roxanne told a story of being at an event and taking a photo of Irving Penn, and how he hated having his photo taken. (She took it with his permission; in fact, she says she never takes someone’s photo if they tell her not to.) Penn later sent her a note that began as follows: “Dear Photo Rapist…” But then he went on to praise her book Moments, which she had sent him.
Simon, after declaring Roxanne “the undisputed queen of the backstage,” asked Roxanne what makes the backstage at Dior different? “You can’t take a bad picture there,” she answered.
.
.
Asked about her influences, Roxanne noted that when she was starting out, she studiously avoided looking at photography books and exhibitions. She wanted to develop her own style. But when she did begin looking at others’ work, she saw a show by Weegee and thought, “That’s what I do.” It’s not that her work is the same as his, but there’s an affinity there that she instantly identified.
A man in the audience asked what inspires Roxanne, and Pat Field piped up and said, “It’s so hard to dissect creativity,” an observation with which Roxanne readily agreed.
I understand why that man asked that question, though—everyone there wanted to know how Roxanne does what she does. She came as close to an explanation as we can hope for by quoting something Karl Lagerfeld once said of her: “When she’s there, she’s not noticed. And when she’s not there, she’s missed.”
.
.
