Elton John’s art collection goes on display at Tate Modern
'One of the best collections in the world.'
By Vivian Kelly
The Radical Eye: Modernist Photography from the Sir Elton John Collection is the latest private collection to hit the Tate, providing a rare opportunity for visitors to check out John’s world famed collection.
The exhibition includes 175 photographs, capturing the trials and tribulations of John's past from 1990 where he began collecting photography in his journey to sobriety.
John said in a press release, 'Photography became this incredible companion. It went hand in hand with my sobriety, which was also fresh and a release. I was like a kid in a candy store.'
Over the past 25 years, the iconic singer-songwriter has collected over 8,000 photographs most of which can be found hanging side by side in his beautiful Atlanta home. The Radical Eye exhibit consists of black and white imagery from the 1920s to the 1950s, when photography came of age, helping to highlight how artists explored the various facets of photography and setting the mark for different approaches and techniques.
Courtesy of Tate Modern
Although John admits he's useless with a camera, it is clear from his collection that photography is one of his biggest passions outside of music.
Nicholas Serota, Director, Tate added: ‘Elton has shown a real commitment to photography as an art form. His passion is evident in the way he has built his collection, with images ranging from the male nude, to show-business celebrities, performers and musicians. These reflect his natural sympathies but also make even more unusual and striking his commitment to the radical pioneers of the twentieth century seen in the Tate Modern exhibition.’
The show will feature photography from artists such as Andre Kertesz, Berenice Abbot, Alexander Rodchenko and more. The display is now open to the public and plans to run until 7 May 2017.
