10/11/2011
What:
Bunny Yeager “Retrospective to the Future”
Where:
The Dezer Schauhalle
2000 NE 146th Street
North Miami, FL 33181
(305) 932-4556
www.dezerschauhalle.com
When:
November 17, 2011 – Feburary 29, 2012
“Her Name is Yeager, Bunny Yeager. “
“Marty the way I see it, if you're gonna build a time machine into a car, why not do it with some style!”
“Ich bin ein Berliner.”
How is there a relationship between Berlin, James Bond, Bunny Yeager and the De Lorean time machine? You will find the answer at the extraordinary opening of the “Bunny Yeager Retrospective“ show at the new DEZER SCHAUHALLE Miami, located inside the Dezer Collection, curated by the Berlin based Helmut Schuster.
The opening reception of the Bunny Yeager show is the first major event of the Dezer Collection in Miami.
It was not a difficult decision to open the Dezer Schauhalle with a Bunny Yeager retrospective. Like no other artist in the world, Bunny Yeager represents the collective brain of Miami and stands for the memories and dreams of all the postwar generations until now.
Women’s representation in popular culture in the fifties facilitates the stereotype of the simple-minded, emotional, and domesticated female.
From the beginning of her career, Bunny Yaeger used these stereotypes, but chose to play with them ironically . Long before contemporary female artists turned around the relationship between model and photographer, Bunny used this change of identities .
Bunny Yaeger’s erotic-urban style, underpinned by excellent technical skills, is still underestimated in the art world.
The Exhibition is called Retrospective and the title is program. The curator, Helmut Schuster, chose 220 photos from the fifties, sixties and seventies. Most of the photos are printed for the first time and most of them have never been previously seen.
There are self-portraits, as well as unseen Bettie Page photos, and many more photos from three decades which are leaving the studio the first time.
Who is behind this new exhibition space in Miami?
The Dezer Schauhalle Miami is a cooperation between the Miami and New York based collector Michael Dezer and the Berlin based art critic and curator Helmut Schuster.
Michael Dezer has been a collector since the 1970’s, accumulating hundreds of vehicles and thousands of memorabilia items. In 2009, Michael’s collection had outgrown his private 18,000 square foot museum located in the Trump International Beach Resort and a new location was sought out only minutes away. The opening of the DEZER SCHAUHALLE MIAMI opens the first building of the 250,000 square feet air-conditioned museum.
The Museum will have five major departments in the future: the Dezer Schauhalle with contemporary art exhibitions, the James Bond collection, the Film Car collection, the Microcar Car collection and the Car museum.
Helmut Schuster is an international art critic, director of the Gallery Schuster Berlin and since 2009 also of the Gallery Schuster Miami.
Helmut Schuster, who has curated independent exhibitions since 1990, is a writer for many international art magazines and has directed the documentary “Scissors and Glue” a film about the Miami cultural scene which is in the official program of the Fort Lauderdale Film Festifal 2011.
Bunny Yeager is a well known photographer, author (of some 30 books on photography), actress and former top model. She began her career as a photographer after retiring from modeling in the early fifties. After meeting Bettie Page in 1954, Bunny began taking photos of Bettie helping her to become one of the most famous models from that era. The iconic photo of Ursula Andress on the beach from Dr. No in 1962 is also the work of Bunny Yeager. Bunny often sewed two-piece bathing suit creations for her photoshoots which has lead to her being credited with introducing the bikini to America. Yeager was played by Sarah Paulson in the 2005 film “The Notorious Bettie Page”. She defined the glamour of the pin-up era with her refreshingly sexy photographs. Her models had no fears in working with Bunny, she gave them a sense of safety and comfort, even when taking very provocative photos.
In March of 2010, the Warhol Museum opened a small exhibtion of Bunny’s work. This exhibiton has lead to a renewed interest in the work of Bunny Yeager, leading to the new retrospecitve exhibtion with the Dezer Schauhalle. Bunny is finally being recognized not only as the creator of iconic pinup photographs, but also as a skillful, artistic photographer with expert skills in lighting and composition that is unrivaled even today.
DEZER SCHAUHALLE MIAMI is an 35000 sqft Exhibition space in North Miami. Dezer Schauhalle is a Cooperation between Galerie Schuster Berlin und the Dezer Collection
