I. M. Pei

Throughout his career, Arnold Newman created portraits for a vast array of people, including politicians, artists, musicians, and celebrities. He pioneered and popularized the environmental portrait, in which the photographer places the subject in a carefully controlled yet personalized setting where all objects within the frame reveal and support the individual’s life and work. Newman photographed I. M. Pei, architect of the Johnson Museum, in 1967. Newman’s composition and use of negative space is reminiscent of Pei’s progressive architectural designs, which were based on simple geometric patterns and cubist themes. The separate aspects of the photograph—Pei, the lighted shapes, and the negative space—distinctly contrast with each other while simultaneously creating harmony and balance. Newman maintained that his photographs should still interest and excite the viewer even if the subject was unknown or forgotten. He was well aware of the elusive and temporal qualities of fame, and was more intrigued by what caused it and what his subjects did with their lives. Arnold Newman collaborated with his subjects to capture their essence and sense of self, proactively shaping their image and legacy—and his own. (“15 Minutes: Exposing Dimensions of Fame,” curated by undergraduate members of Cornell’s History of Art Major’s Society and presented at the Johnson Museum April 16 – July 24, 2016)