A Place in the Sun
From Beachside Beauty to Sun Stroke Stimulus: Talking with photographer Miles Ladin
“Sun, surf, fabric stretched against buttocks, cleavage, and biceps are all tactile elements that give our eyes pleasure. The acquisition of the tan, the physique, the lifestyle, is all meant to entice the viewer to desire what they see.”
Sun worshippers wear barely there swimwear to reveal perfect physiques, tan lines and cleavage for maximum effect.Or perhaps it’s the allure of a luxe hotel, a chic bathing suit or glamorous lifestyle that creates the quest for the perfect body. These are current trends in beach culture, but the body and bathing culture haven’t always been so exposed or acceptable in society. Swimwear has evolved over past 100 years, changing with the attitudes, social values and technology of the times. “Beauty on the Beach:A Centennial Celebration of Swimwear” and “Sun Stroke Stimulus” are two current exhibitions at The Wolfsonian-Florida International University, in Miami Beach, Fla., that explore the evolution of swimwear design and document contemporary bathing culture. The exhibitions are part of the ongoing “Celebrating America” series of exhibitions at The Wolfsonian, which explore different aspects of American life from the 1900s to today.
The “Beauty on the Beach” exhibition features a retrospective of swimwear—including iconic swimwear from the Jantzen archives—and examines how swimwear design and marketing have shaped and reflected evolving attitudes toward the body, health, beauty and what is considered glamorous.
To document contemporary bathing culture, The Wolfsonian commissioned photographer Miles Ladin to create a photographic installation to portray the Miami Beach scene. Ladin has become celebrated for his ability to document the human condition reflected through the social outlook of the times. In “Sun Stroke Stimulus” Ladin’s photographs reveal, in his words, “both the raw beauty found in bathing culture as well as the aspirational desires presented in the display of flesh.”
He digs deep to portray the impulse behind the subject rather than just what is presented on the superficial level. Ladin’s photography has been featured in Harper’s Bazaar, W magazine and The New York Times Style section. In addition, his work is included in the collections of The Victoria & Albert Museum in London; The Museum of Modern Art Library in New York; and the Special Collection Library at The Whitney Museum of American Art in New York. His photos will also be featured in a book due out in the United Kingdom in October, titled “World’s Top Photographers Celebrity and Performance.”
While in Miami Beach for Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week Swim, Fashion Editor Jayne Seward caught up with Ladin to talk about the creation of “Sun Stroke Stimulus.”How did you get involved in this project?The Wolfsonian asked me to create a contemporary reportage on Miami bathing culture as a contrast to the Jantzen exhibition, which highlights 100 years. It’s a real historical take on both the design and the body in American life—how it evolved and what was permissible in terms of fashion. They wanted a contemporary counterpoint. Tell me about your background and how it relates to this project?The commercial work that I’ve done—and I’m sometimes known for—is a lot of high-profile A-list events, nightlife and celebrity portraits, sort of candid off-beat moments in New York, for the most part. But I’ve also shot the fashion shows in Paris. I did the political conventions for George magazine back in the day. My background is photographing the human condition in a candid idiom, trying to reveal something more than the superficial. Miami is all about the superficial, but I’m also interested in the impulse behind that. You know, why be at a fabulous swimming pool looking at your Blackberry and looking at a travel magazine when you’re at one of the most fabulous locations in the world? That reflects the time that we’re in now or a certain type of person. It’s just an observation. It’s not necessarily a critique, but my work is social commentary. What was your inspiration for “Sun Stroke Stimulus?”I was shown a selection of [Jantzen] advertisements to give me an idea of that exhibition, but when I go out and make pictures, it’s more out of a spontaneous impulse—looking at gestures, looking at moments, looking at beautiful or interesting people and asking if I can photograph them. Seeing something a little offbeat or a little over the top that catches my attention.Where did you go in Miami Beach to create the story?I went to some fabulous swimming pools, to the beach and all around Miami Beach and took a lot of pictures of swimwear and interesting people. I spent a good amount of time at The Standard, which is “the” place nowadays, Lummus Park and some private parties. What people did you find most interesting?At Lummus Park, I saw these guys that were really intent in working on their bodies, but at the same time it was a very public forum. It’s not like going to the gym. It was a combination of showing off their physiques and working on it in the sun. It was a whole combination of impulses, which I found really interesting. Nothing here is private—everything is out on display. Everything is for show. A lot of it from my point of view deals with aspiration—the aspiration to have a better body to seduce the world, to look great and to show off being at one of the most fabulous places in the world.What type of format did you use for the show?They are two separate exhibitions, but they complement each other. My photographs are in the lobby entrance, which is a fabulous space. I saw the space before I even made the pictures, and that sort of informed how many pictures. They are large prints that I’ve produced myself. I’ve been producing these sorts of prints for a few years now, and they are an impressive size. They are about 44” by 63”—so they are life-size, one could say.What was the most interesting part of the process or discovery you made while shooting?When I’m shooting, I’m sort of in a zone. I only had five or six days in Miami Beach, so I really pushed myself to go to the most amount of places and take the most amount of pictures to create an informative take on contemporary bathing culture in Miami. One of the things I came away with is that being in Miami Beach and indulging in these fabulous locations is as much about showing off the body and the aspiration for being even more fabulous than being at the best hotel and having the best body and the best suntan. It’s sort of are we ever satisfied? Are we ever truly enjoying ourselves in the sun or is it wanting more?How does that fit into American culture since most of America is much more conservative than Miami? I think that it’s a different scene poolside in Miami than it would be in other places in America. It gives visitors permission to wear that over-the-top two-piece or enjoy life in a decadent way that wouldn’t be permissible at their neighborhood swimming pool. I think that it is permissive in a certain way, but at the same time, I think Miami Beach definitely reflects America in a certain way. Some [cable channels], like VH1, have shows in this location. People aspire to spend their down time here—to stay at these fabulous places, to wear the Versace bathing suit, to have the mojito, to have the plastic surgery, to have the bank account that is more and more and more. And at this specific time and place, that makes one wonder.
I titled the show “Sun Stroke Stimulus,” and there are a lot of different meanings in that. I like the fact that the word stimulus at the end places it at a contemporary point in time, which is our economic situation at the moment. Do we reflect on that and do we change our behavior and change our way of thinking? Or is it just when things get back to normal, it’s business as usual and it’s OK to aspire to a bigger bra size or a bigger bank balance?What’s next for you?I’m actually trying to extend the project for a possible book.
I’ve been shooting swimming-pool parties in other representative locations of bathing culture, such as the Hamptons, Fire Island and different locales other than Florida.
