The renowned photographer Catherine Opie takes on a challenging documentary project― an “indirect portrait” of Elizabeth Taylor through her home and possessions. One of America’s most celebrated living photographers, Catherine Opie works in series that are remarkably varied inboth style and subject matter―from intimate portraits of theLGBTQ community to beautiful, nearly-abstract landscapesfeaturing ice-fishing houses. Expanding that astonishingrange of subjects further is Opie’s ambitious recent series ofphotographs taken at the home of late movie star ElizabethTaylor. Though glamour and celebrity are not commonthemes in her work, Opie was inspired by the possibilities thisproject offered―recalling William Eggleston’s series on ElvisPresley’s Graceland, or her own photographs of Obama’s2008 inauguration, both of which represent indirect portraitsof their subjects. The images in this moving collectionwere culled from photos Opie took over the course of sixmonths, both on the grounds of and inside Taylor’s home.The subjects are wildly diverse―a dog-eared remote controlmanual, close-ups of Taylor’s enormous closets, shelves oftchotchkes and priceless works of art―telling more aboutTaylor’s life than any “celebrity” portrait ever could. ThroughOpie’s thoughtful curation, Taylor’s home tells a poignantstory and reveals the arc of a fascinating life.
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