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The Arts Intel Report

Otherworldly: Deborah Turbeville Photographs

Deborah Turbeville, Asser Levy Public Bathhouse, New York, for Vogue (New York), 1975.

Jan 17 – Apr 6, 2024
33 Gould St, Toronto, ON M5B 1E9, Canada

By the early 1970s, change was brewing in the world of fashion photography. Traditional well-lit and upbeat portraits were slowly edged out in favor of darker, more psychological images. Three photographers in particular were responsible for the switch: Helmut Newton, Guy Bourdin, and Deborah Turbeville. Shooting frequently in black and white, and dabbling with eroticism and avant-garde aesthetics, Turbeville’s images revolutionized what fashion photography could be. The turning point was her 1975 series for Vogue, “Bathhouse.” It depicted five women in swimsuits and bathrobes, languidly posed in a women’s shower room. Critics and readers alike decried its suggestions of sexual activity, but the series, fearlessly creative, launched Turbeville into the spotlight. “Fashion takes itself more seriously than I do,” she once said. “I’m not really a fashion photographer.” —Paulina Prosnitz

Photo: © Deborah Turbeville/MUUS Collection