tate etc. magazine recently published the views of contemporary photographers on pieces from the exhibition ‘street and studio‘ – currently on show at the tate modern, london. in the article juergen teller enjoys the timeless charm of a cecil beaton portrait, david goldblatt believes helen levitt is one of the ‘truly great photographers’ ; sarah jones finds inspiration in the work of august sander for her photographic series actor, while chris killip celebrates the brutal power of boris mikhailov’s portrayal of post-communist russia.

juergen teller on cecil beaton’s miss nancy beaton as a shooting star (shown above)

‘it’s a lovely picture, like a fairy tale. It’s not necessary to know the allegorical reference,
and maybe it isn’t specific to the sitter, but the photograph is really magical and the use of that foil
is such a simple way to put some glitter and fantasy into it. In his early portraits beaton often used
backdrops of beautiful fabric or other material to surround the subject, and it distances them from
their real selves as much as the imaginative costume. the photograph, and the sitter, is timeless,
charming and innocent.‘

read the article in full