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Sometimes it takes years for a talent to be recognized as a great artist at work. Often, many of the great masters in the art world were scoffed at during their lives, living as paupers, being ridiculed, going insane for the intensity of their artistic visions, and dying in anonymity, beneath the dank cloth of unrealized appreciation.
Growing up in a Gothic community, it wasn't unusual to hear about Bettie Page or her icon status. Her kink, her tweakiness and her undeniable raw sexuality were marvels that made her an idol. This is to say nothing of her look itself, with her trademark raven locks and deep bangs that hinted at perkiness while subtly whispering sensuality and mischievousness. Her arched brows, her painted nails, her mouth open with anything ranging from a pout to a wide smile to a wicked grin to a sardonic smirk... This has all become part of the stock of her legend. But it was Page's adventuresome qualities that made her a hero to many women (and a few boys), and this was something I realized was appreciated outside the Gothic community as well. In an era of Leave It to Beaver moms with the crinoline skirts and triple rows of throat pearls, life had become a watered-down sanitized version of what the world was like. Nothing upset the balance, Dad had all the answers, cigarettes had vitamins in them, Pop smoked a pipe, hamburgers were the national diet and sex was something that was never, ever spoken about.
In a time when even the thought of BDSM was enough to get you tossed off the PTA and have your cookies ignored at the local pot-luck, Bettie unabashedly got tied up and tied others up, got spanked and was spanked, and more. We loved her for it, because once again, there was nothing timid in those shots. They seemed real and comfortable. Perhaps it was the artistry of the photographer, perhaps it was because Bettie just knew how to embrace things with a lusty gusto, but the sexuality that reaches out from each photo is enough to make Ashcroft want to put a sheet over her head. One of the talented photographers who captured Bettie's ever-shifting moods for us was Bunny Yeager. A gorgeous woman in her own right, her creative mind captured many of Bettie's most captivating images. Bunny started her career as a pin-up model, and it was her comfort in front of the lens that aided her abilities behind it. As a model, Bunny learned which poses sold, and she was therefore able to mold and sculpt many of her subjects, including Bettie, later on. In 1959 she was chosen as "Photographer of the Year" and shortly after she was selected as one of the top ten women photographers in the U.S.
Thankfully, these photos have stood the test of time, and withstood the moral outrage that surfaces occasionally and threatens works of art like these. You can now view these incredible selections of Bunny Yeager poses and Charles West pics at the Clair Obscur Gallery in Los Angeles. More photographed than Marilyn Monroe, Bettie became known through Yeager, when Page became Playmate January 1955. After mysteriously disappearing in 1958, Bettie has now resurfaced to claim her icon status. She has achieved a cult-like following through the 80's and 90's, and two films are currently being produced about her. In collaboration with Yeager, a selection of Fine Art Prints was chosen for this exhibition, most of which have never have been published before. The 2nd Show will contain extremely rare Camera Club Photography which has never been shown. All photographs are signed by either the photographer and/or Bettie Page. A 3rd show of Bondage Photographs will be shown later in 2025.
The Clair Obscur Gallery is open Wednesdays to Saturdays from 1-6pm. Visit them at 4310 Melrose Avenue, Los Angeles. You can call ahead to see what is waiting for you by dialing (323) 662-6693 or you can go online and check out www.clairobscurgallery.com. "Clair obscur" is also an artistic term in its own right, taken from the term chiaroscuro, meaning "1. The technique of using light and shade in pictorial representation. 2. The arrangement of light and dark elements in a pictorial work of art. 3a. A woodcut technique in which several blocks are used to print different shades of a color. b. A woodcut print made by this technique. In all senses also called claire-obscure." (Definition from bartleby.com) And didn't Bettie Page definitively embody the light and dark elements of a pictorial work? Interestingly enough, she was both the light and the dark elements. Travel to Clair Obscur to see how.
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