Ageing and artifice up close in the extraordinary Beauty Papers
I love the way Beauty Papers commands the attention of its readers. The size of the thing makes it pretty difficult to ignore, but it’s the originality of the clear-eyed, confrontational and compassionate stories that really stick in the mind.
For my money the most impactful images this time come in Bruce Gilden’s series of close up portraits, which also feature on the front and back covers of the edition shown in the video above. (The issue has eight alternate cover images, but of course this one is my favourite.)
There’s no text to accompany Gilden’s images – all we’re told is the information contained in the title; “Bruce Gilden NY 24.04.2018”. At first I was a little disappointed – coming straight after an enlightening interview with Gillian Wearing I was left wishing that similar space had been given over for Gilden to explain his influences and motivations. But having lived with the magazine for a couple of weeks I’ve come to love the starkness of it – the photographs are left to speak entirely for themselves with no context or other adornment.
As you can see from the video above, this latest issue is a real embarrassment of riches and well worth a space on your shelf if you’re interested in alternative perspectives of fashion and beauty. We have a limited number of copies available, so if you like what you see here, head to the Stack shop to buy yours!
