Wednesday, October 3, 2012

Marilyn Monroe is at the U-Square Gallery

My wife and I received a very generous gift from our middle-daughter's boyfriend.  We took advantage of our time off due to the South Korean 추석 holiday to cash in the gift at the U-Square located in Gwangju-si, Jeollanam-do.  We took the express bus to Gwangju, and it just so happens that U-Square is the home of the express bus terminal in Gwangju.  It was very convenient for us.

We bought something special for my wife, which used up the alloted gift amount in one fell swoop.  She decided she needed to visit one of the hair salons in the square, and that left me with the opportunity to wander.  There is plenty to see and do at U-Square, so I decided to visit the U-Square Gallery.

Marilyn, Forever is the current exhibition at the gallery, and it is simply an amazing presentation of one of the most famous of all pop culture icons in modern history.  I wonder why this event wasn't advertised or highlighted more thoroughly.  Regardless, the event began September 26, and it will conclude October 22, 2012.

There are a large number of smaller sized photographs in the large display cases that face out into the square itself.  Inside the gallery are about a dozen large sized photographs by Bert Stern and Lawrence Schiller, with the majority being Mr. Schiller's work.  While a visitor takes in the large number of photographs and images of Marilyn Monroe in various forms of display within the gallery, an LP (long playing) record spins out Ms. Monroe's songs on a traditional record player.  A separate room showed movies that starred Marilyn Monroe.

Among the large photographs exhibited on the gallery walls, a visitor can read the poignant words that she uttered during her too short life. 

I enjoyed the artistic approach Bert Stern took when he photographed Marilyn Monroe.  Lawrence Schiller is well known for taking a more dynamic, maybe a more candid type shot of his subjects.

Of interest to me, and I'm sure to other photographers, are the contact sheets that are also a part of the exhibition.  To see the markings and notes on the sheets made by the photographer is an interesting lesson to learn about what was important to highlight and to publish.  Seeing an aide holding up the white balance card to Marilyn Monroe's face in some of the frames was very interesting to me.  The professional at work getting it done correctly before, during, and after a shoot.

To learn more about the photographer Bert Stern, visit this website:  Bert Stern: Original Madman.

To learn more about the multifaceted Lawrence Schiller, visit this website:  Lawrence Schiller.

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