Quantcast
Channel: Beautiful/Decay » pin-up girls
Viewing all articles
Browse latest Browse all 3

Pin-Up Model Bunny Yeager Captures Herself And Bettie Page In Intimate, Alluring Photographs

0
0
Self Portrait in Black Lingerie with Camera and Mirror, 1955

Self Portrait in Black Lingerie with Camera and Mirror, 1955

Bettie Page Reclining on Sofa at Coral Gables, FL, 1954

Bettie Page Reclining on Sofa at Coral Gables, FL, 1954

Self Portrait in Polka Dot Bikini with Rolleicord Camera, 1963

Self Portrait in Polka Dot Bikini with Rolleicord Camera, 1963

 

Original personal and behind the scenes photographs of infamous pin-up models Bettie Page and Bunny Yeager are now on view at the art gallery Gavlak, in Los Angeles as part of the exhibit How I Photograph Myself. You may think this is a strange title, but it actually refers to a book that Bunny Yeager herself wrote during her lifetime. Born in 1929, Yeager was not only a wildly successful pin-up model, but also a photographer herself who very often took her own photographs. She came into modeling after meeting actress Bettie Page shortly after studying photography at Lindsay-Hopkins Technical College. Bettie Page asked Bunny Yeager to photograph her, and Yeager eventually began modeling herself. She was not only an accomplished photographer and model, but also a scriptwriter and author, publishing How to Photograph Nudes and How I Photograph Myself, hence the exhibition title. These books went on to influence such well-known photographers as Cindy Sherman and Diane Arbus.

What is so interesting about these photographs, besides the obvious appeal and seductiveness of the pin-up style clothing and curvy women, is that Bunny Yeager was able to become so successful both as the photographer and model; the artist and the muse. Her femininity and beauty was laid out on a silver platter as a model, yet she could be taken seriously in a time when men dominated almost any scene. To portray yourself in such a sexual way and also sought after as a woman in your craft would still be an accomplishment today, let alone in the 1940s and 50s. Bunny Yeager was able to work against the traditional male gaze, and create her own photographic style that is both delicate and alluring. How I Photograph Myself will be on view at Gavlak from July 25th to August 29th.

Bunny with her Burke & James 8 x 10 Camera, 1963

Bunny with her Burke & James 8 x 10 Camera, 1963

Bunny Self Portrait Viewing Photographs, Miami, FL, 1959

Bunny Self Portrait Viewing Photographs, Miami, FL, 1959

Bunny in bed nude with sheet, 1962

Bunny in bed nude with sheet, 1962

Bunny in 2-pc. Suit with Mirror and Camera, 1955

Bunny in 2-pc. Suit with Mirror and Camera, 1955

Bunny Yeager in Black Lace with Her Rolleiflex Camera, 1955

Bunny Yeager in Black Lace with Her Rolleiflex Camera, 1955

Bunny Yeager Self Portrait in One Piece Suit with Rolleiflex at Naples, FL, 1963

Bunny Yeager Self Portrait in One Piece Suit with Rolleiflex at Naples, FL, 1963

Bunny Yeager Self Portrait with Lori Shea, Naples, FL, 1954

Bunny Yeager Self Portrait with Lori Shea, Naples, FL, 1954

Bunny at Picnic Table in Handmade Bikini - Miami, FL, 1963

Bunny at Picnic Table in Handmade Bikini – Miami, FL, 1963

Bunny in bed covered with sheet

Bunny in bed covered with sheet

All Photographs
Courtesy of Bunny Yeager Archive and Gavlak
Installation Credit: Jeff McLane

The post Pin-Up Model Bunny Yeager Captures Herself And Bettie Page In Intimate, Alluring Photographs appeared first on Beautiful/Decay.


Viewing all articles
Browse latest Browse all 3

Latest Images

Trending Articles





Latest Images