28/05/2026
Irving Penn: Elevating Debrit to High Art
In the early 1970s, Irving Penn began collecting discarded cigarette butts from the street and photographing them in his studio. Whether grouped, paired, or shown individually, Penn positioned each cigarette against a plain background, creating close-up studies of their varied forms. His photographs transform these discarded remnants of consumer culture into symbolic representations of contemporary society.
The Ci******es series was made using the Platinum Palladium process, an expensive technique that produces a nuanced tonal range and requires considerable technical skill. Although Penn had previously printed works using the platinum process, this series represents his first conscious engagement with the technique as an aesthetic choice.
To learn more about this series, please vist the SOL LDN website.
