Fashion Study c. 1970s

Editor: So, this is Deborah Turbeville's "Fashion Study," a black and white photograph from the 1970s. It's immediately striking, almost dreamlike in its hazy quality. I'm curious, what draws you to this piece? What do you see in it? Curator: Oh, it's the way Turbeville whispers secrets, isn't it? Not shouts. For me, it's about the melancholic beauty of decay, the way the photograph itself seems to age before your eyes. The composition, that slightly off-kilter framing... it’s like a half-remembered memory. Don’t you feel a slight unease, almost voyeuristic, peering into this quiet scene? Editor: Yes, definitely voyeuristic. It’s the woman turning away, almost deliberately withholding her gaze. But decay? I saw it more as...distressed, maybe. Is that aging effect intentional, do you think? Curator: Absolutely intentional! Turbeville famously used techniques like intentional blurring and scratching the negative. It's about resisting the glossy perfection often associated with fashion photography, creating a rawer, more vulnerable aesthetic. It’s like she's inviting the past into the present, letting imperfection be the guide. I see ghosts and fading grandeur. Editor: So, it’s less about capturing a specific moment in fashion and more about creating a mood? It's haunting, but in a beautifully unsettling way. I might change "distressed" to "evocative," or maybe even "ghostly," if that works for the guide! Curator: "Ghostly" has just the right chill... Yes, it's about evoking a feeling. It isn't simply *of* the era, she’s giving us the *feeling* of the era, or the shadow of that feeling! I keep returning to that sliver of light; it gives a narrative thread. So much in so few grey-washed clues. Editor: I totally see that now. I was focused on the "fashion," but I understand it differently now, thank you! Curator: Anytime! Turbeville isn’t fashion; she *haunts* fashion. She allows the narrative in everyday stories. She builds tension. A photograph is a kind of a magic trick and she gets it just right!