Thursday 26 August 2010

Monroe by Eve Arnold


A thoughtful moment, The Misfits 1960, Eve Arnold

I thought I better write about this before I forget and it's too late. Castle Galleries situated in Manchester on Deansgate is currently showing an exhibition of Marilyn Monroe limited edition prints of the famous photographs by Eve Arnold (who incidentally is now 98!)

I had read about the rare photos online last week and then literally stumbled upon the gallery the following day! It is well worth a visit and the staff are really knowledgable about the subject matter and happy to chat. It seems Marilyn inspires opinions and anecdotes whenever her image appears.

These particular images show Marilyn in a very different guise to her normal publicity shots, rather than an iconic golden goddess we see Monroe off guard, pensive, imperfect and almost rough around the edges.

It only serves to remind us that she was a real person and for me complements her appeal as a female idol rather than a one dimesional caracature.

1 comment:

Kittie Howard said...

I bet Eve Arnold is still beautiful at 98. I don't know what it is about MM that intrigues, perhaps the transitional era in which she performed, the Kennedys...but she definitely intrigues. A talk show guest who had known her as Norma Jean said she was a poor country girl in over her head. Don't know, don't know.