From Mark Brown at the Guardian
Tate Modern’s Radical Eye exhibition features 200 of 8,000 works collected by singer since he quit drinking 26 years ago.
Almost 200 modernist photographs from a vast collection built by Sir Elton John after he stopped drinking 26 years ago have gone on display at the Tate Modern.
The singer has about 8,000 works – some of which he hangs in his penthouse in Atlanta, Georgia – in a private collection considered one of the finest in the world.
The photographs lent to the London gallery are images from the 1920s to the 50s by some of the most important photographers of the past century, including Man Ray, André Kertész and Berenice Abbott.
John explained how his passion for photography was inspired by sobriety after leaving rehab. “What drew me to photography was I got sober in 1990. I’d had my pictures and photograph taken by a lot of great photographers and never knew anything about it as an art form whatsoever,” he said.
He bought his first images, black and white fashion photographs, while staying in France with a friend. “I thought these are amazing, I bought maybe 12.”
Since then, John said, photography had taken “over my life in a way … It’s been the art form I’ve loved the most ever and I’ve loved all sorts of art forms. This is the one I’m most passionate and know most about.”
John uses his 18,000 sq ft apartment in the Buckhead area of Atlanta as his private gallery, displaying the images in gold and silver frames rather than the usual black metal.
991.com has a vast selection of rare vinyl records, CDs, posters and artwork by Elton John – find it all here
Be the first to comment