Photo - LA: Where Beauty + Big Ideas Converge

Now that birdies can migrate back to Cali from far-flung Ozzy-Land, Santa Monica seems again like a plausible destination. Alas, Flaunt didn’t pack the bikini bottom and monoï this weekend ‘cause who in this industry has a moment to tan their titties? No time for the wicked to rest, as they say.

Instead we took a light stroll through the Santa Monica Civic center where Photo L.A. held its 22^nd annual four-day photographic art exposition last weekend, showcasing the rich diversity of various photographers’ private galleries from around the globe.

Photo L.A. began with a preview reception on Thursday evening to benefit Inner-City Arts, then continued the weekend with numerous docent tours and seminars led by well-known and respected members of the photographic art community.

While we were there, guests roamed the cluster of galleries while collectors and exhibitors lounged among exhibits critiquing and marveling at the powerful and breathtaking images. A crowd gathered around the Emerging Focus display featuring the top 20 finalists, one of which was Jana Cruder (who has worked with Flaunt as a photographer assistant for Field Work). Others were buzzing about Bill Eppridge’s original print of Senator Robert F. Kennedy’s 1968 assassination.

After exploring the exhibit, we polished off the day at a fascinating roundtable discussion about Art in Fashion with prominent figures in fashion and art, led by Vogue Magazine Photo Director Ivan Shaw. These leaders examined and deliberated about art in the modern world of fashion, and how the realm of fashion photography is changing and will continue to face changes to keep pace with a rapidly digitalizing world. As technology advances exponentially, they said, the already fuzzy line between fashion and art blurs – annihilating the wall and boundaries which divide the two. The new generation is heavily involved in this, taking a crack at everything and reinventing the limits (or lack of limits) of art in fashion and photography. The flipside, Ivan noted, is that some people are just good at becoming famous – they’re not necessarily talented.

All agreed about the decimating boundaries of fashion and art, but the question remains: What’s the future of photography? None could predict.