BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS.- The Institute of Contemporary Art presents ’Chic Clicks: Creativity and Commerce in Contemporary Fashion Photography,’ on view through May 5, 2002. Fashion photography navigates between two supposedly oppositional forces--creativity and commerce. While fashion photographs are inextricably linked to something being sold and marketed and, therefore, required to be commercially successful, fashion photographers also create images that reflect their personal artistic notions, as well as match the innovation and creativity of the clothing they photograph. With more than 240 photographs from the last decade by forty international artists, Chic Clicks provides the opportunity to see how the interaction of creative expression and commercial viability manifests itself in the world of fashion photography.



The exhibition includes both artists who are well known for their fine art photography and those who are widely recognized for their fashion photography but have not necessarily exhibited their work in a museum. The exhibition space deliberately separates the two types of photographs, with the commercial work exhibited on the ground floor and the personal work on the second floor, acknowledging the distinctions between creative and commercial photography. Yet, more importantly, by including the same photographers in each section, the exhibition highlights how fashion and art photography influence one another.