LARRY BURROWS- WAR PHOTOGRAPHER

Larry Burrows: Doomed Photographer
Eyes to the Horror

In the late afternoon of the 10th of February 1971 the English photojournalist Larry Burrows was pronounced dead after his helicopter was shot down by the Vietnam People's Army in Laos. An incident which also took the life of fellow french photographer Henri Huet who too, boarded that disastrous helicopter flight. Burrows in the wake of his death had managed to show the world the true horrors of war and the length of terror these soldiers were facing both on and off the battlefield. His main accomplishment was his extensive coverage of the Vietnam war between 1965 til his death in 1971. Many of his photos appeared in multiple magazine especially, Life magazine where he was first discovered and worked for since he was only 16 years old; as a result, with their wide audience figures this publication had at the time, his photos were widely praised and inspired many figures to drum up support against this conflict.
 All these photos taken during this period of unrest where collected back together and published in a book pleasantly titled: "Vietnam". This was both a celebration of his work in the conflict as well as a epitaph to his legacy as a photojournalist, this book can truly be seen as his magnum opus.

My Copy of Larry Burrows Vietnam Work

One of Burrows many Life Magazine Covers

Never one for Censorship, Burrows let his photos do the talking!

He tried to Capture all angles of the War

As you can see, many of his photographs encapsulated the real brutal nature of war; with many of his photos displaying injuries, corpses and people who are in dire need of any help. All of his shots were taken without any staging or any form of setting up prior to the lens shutting, before burning an image forever on a blacken screen, a light to our eyes. All his snaps were from the cuff, what you see is what really happened through his eyes. As a result this gave a more authentic look into America's effort to dispel the powerful communist Viet Cong from attaining the country.
 With his wide use of scenery and broad aspects, Burrows stressed the true meaning of team work within his pictures. Each of his images caught a large section of the battlefield, with both the aspects of fighting and artillery bombardment along with the dead and wounded who are left both in the foreground and in the horizon to fight the death within themselves. Not only that, but Burrows successfully managed to highlight the vast and always dense green jungle that the solider waded through on a daily basis which strongly contrasted with the continual appearance of blood and annihilation visible all around these backdrops.    

War is Never Pretty

Additionally, through out his work he focused on individuals too both on and off the arena of war, no matter if they were fighting or not. As shown above, he enjoyed to target people who he felt best represented the daily struggle to survive in this harsh environment. He photographed the needy with various wounds; alive or dying, soldiers committing to the fight, blasting all kinds of weaponry to hold back the advancing forces, and of course the locals who were caught in the eye of the hurricane; whether they favored the Americans liberation or not. This as a result help to spotlight at home the dangers of what was out there and lurked hidden in the wild grass. This as a result, made his work become a weapon in its own right to be used against the Government and support the leave out of Vietnam.          

In the Heart of the Battle

Level of Detail within his shots has never been overlooked

As history has progress and we now look back on this doomed conflict, we seem to use Burrow's photos to help illustrate the great amount of lost America faced in Vietnam but, also that War itself is never a pleasant experience. Burrows along with his strong colours, surrounding and faces all in his photos, managed to run home the genuine grim reality of what was going out there in the jungle. Sadly, as he continued to work he too became a target and his death not only helped to add a little more truth in his work it also added more power to his photos.



- THURSTON

INSTAGRAM
TUMBLR  

SCHOOL, BOATING & CRICKET!

"Blazer Maketh The Man"

Whether it is striped, piped or three buttoned up; there is nothing quite like a sports blazer! With the wide variety of colours, stripes and designs; every summer wardrobe should have at least one of these hanging in there. 

When it comes to the origins of the striped blazer; most fashion historians argue that there were curated back in 1880's where, the Lady of Margret College of Cambridge added stripes to their blazers to stand out from their close competitors. Which in turn created the turn, "blaze of colour!" or "blazer" we now know. 

One Of My Recent Vintage School Blazer

As for myself; I recently found myself traveling up to Sheffield with a good friend to visit the Mecca of vintage garments: Rag Parade. A place acknowledged for a wide variety of old men's fashions from: leather motorcycle jackets, to Army Gear and work wear culled from multiple places around the world and from a cross section of periods in history.
Whist being in this attic of fashion, I noticed a high hanger filled with a wide range of blazers, each with their own curious stripes and badges; representing numerous teams and schools from across the world. I was in love! Upon asking the owner about the blazers, he told me he had a very wide range of them; all from various dates post 1900. All gathered from different places which reflected their rarity influencing their prices. After searching and trying on, two very unique blazers which each fitted like a glove I purchased them. In hope that they would add a little extra flair to my already amazing wardrobe. (If I do say so myself)

One was a rare Cricket Blazer from South Africa in a light blue colour way with a medium yellow stripe running down, shown above. Another purchase was a English 1970's (I believe) black and burgundy striped with a sewed on emblem on the pocket, referencing the academy with letters rather than a crest or animals typical found on these.
Another difference between the two is that the English blazer features a more dated design with patch pockets and a three button closure. However, the South African blue blazer is very different in style, it features offbeat pockets, with metal buttons instead of plastic buttons making fit more with a boating style rather than a school blazer.

Andrew 'Sandy' Irvine Showing off his Style

1920's Cricket Style

Going back in time, it was uncommon for a man not to rock on of these both on and off the theater of sport or behind a desk; as well as on the street walking or practical anywhere that demanded clothes. Which as a result, these styles of blazer became a sort of institution for the modern man in the early 20th century with a lot of middle class and elite men choosing this garment over anything else in their wardrobe. This included the fateful mountaineer Andrew Irvine who wore his as a result of winning the Cambridge Vs. Oxford boat race back in 1923, a year before his disappearance up Everest.

Although, moving some 40 years later, these types of jackets were rejuvenated by the original Modernist of the 1960's, who chose them as a statement piece to wear on the streets and driving on their scooters. This brought the striped blazer back into contemporary culture again along with into the headlines. With a lot of guys wearing them to Brighton as a form of uniform against the rockers and police in heavily documented brawls, They favored this style largely down to its vintage feel as well as the three button fastening and the bold colours on show. Which all in turn disrupted the idea that they were from working class backgrounds.

Brooks Brothers' Amazing Gatsby Collection

When Baz Lurman took F. Scott Fitzgerld classic novel "The Great Gastby" and ushered it into the modern era, the iconic american menswear brand Brooks Brothers took it upon themselves to recreate the feel of the jazz age, with a deep collection of clothes for the film. A collection brimmed full of tweeds, white linens and of course stripes; as shown above. They expertly chose to recreate the true feeling of nostalgia and make sure you felt as an extra, in this adaption extravaganza. As a an all around fan of Brooks Brothers, I was really excited to see not only their involvement in the film but also the fact that we as customers could purchase these clothes too, After downloading and browsing the catalog I was drawn to the boating/ regatta type outfits with their dandyish flair, slim silhouettes and they way they seemed to channel a more 20's vibes on the whole than some of the other costumes. With this my favorite was the deep burgundy with the crisp clean white stripes with added black lines to create an all round crowning contrast.      

A Scene From The Film "The Go- Between", Very British Film

- THURSTON

INSTAGRAM
TUMBLR

SUPREME X URS FISCHER

Just today, 21/03/16, New York street wear kings announced that this season would feature a very limited collection of exclusive art work by Swiss artist Urs Fischer as part of their ever so popular S/S 16 collection.

A rare collection of skate boards, consisting of three have been produced. These feature a continuing work of art based around that of a lit cigarette designed by Urs and given to Supreme for this season. Other artists who have followed in his footsteps included: Damien Hirst, Jeff Koons, Peter Saville, H R Giger and Mark Flood. To name a few in their deep extensive and sometimes controversial history since 1994.  However, in classic Supreme styling the art does not feature in a conventional frame or being part of a installation, most of all Supreme's artist collaborations are instead placed onto to the backs of skateboards. 
A new canvas!

TOASTED

As for the artist himself, Urs Fischer was born in Zurich in 1973 to two doctors; in his early days he focused on photography and joined the Schule für Gestaltung in the city. Upon juggling his education and bouncing on the doors of the local night clubs and bars, Urs successfully excelled at the subject and managed to move to Amsterdam where he had his first solo show, showing all his work in fine detail. 

As he became more involved in the art scene, he chose to adopt the styling of the Neo-Dada movements, (A favorite of mine), where your art work reflects a kind of anti establishment trait. This appealed to a wide range of buyers and critics as he triumphantly curated numerous well know: objects, drawing, sculptors and room insulation.

FRIED

BAKED

I am very interested in these decks, similarly as I am a fan of both his past work and the design placed on them too. I like the ethos of the cigarette and how it speaks to a history of skateboarding as well as fans of supreme who enjoy divulging in such activities. Plus, these decks explain the ideas surrounding "time", which is closely demonstrated by the general item of a blazing cigarette. An object which represents the matter of time by reducing the consumers own time line and how it over time subtracts itself and slowly burns itself out and become nothing again. A perfect non-permanent object.

Keep your eyes peeled to see if I catch one of these decks, hopefully the FRIED one, or if I burn out. I will be purchasing as fan of his not as a skateboarder although in my youth I did try that and successfully failed.


Urs Fischer x Supreme Collection of three limited Skateboards will be released on the 24th March 2016!

Other Pieces of Urs Work

- THURSTON

INSTAGRAM
TUMBLR