"Exercises for Skeptics," in Harper's Bazaar

Art Director Alexey Brodovitch American, born former Russian Empire, now Belarus

April 1952

Not on view

"For the skeptic who thinks her waistline is hopeless," or "the skeptic who thinks only a brassiere can lift her bosom," Harper’s Bazaar offered a scolding corrective in the form of this hyperstylized home workout. Bassman’s graphic guide illustrates each move step by step. The linear grid—a mod homage to nineteenth-century motion-sequencing—is striking but simply conceived. Bassman staged the photographs in front of the same striped backdrop, with an eye to their eventual arrangement in the magazine’s spread.

Artwork Details

Object Information

Overview

Title: "Exercises for Skeptics," in Harper's Bazaar
Artist: Lillian Bassman (American, Brooklyn, New York 1917–2012 New York)
Art Director: Alexey Brodovitch (American (born former Russian Empire, now Belarus), Ogolitchi 1898–1971 Le Thor, France)
Publisher: The Hearst Corporation
Date: April 1952
Medium: Photomechanical reproduction
Dimensions: 13 × 18 in. (33 × 45.7 cm)
Classification: Periodicals
Credit Line: The Joyce F. Menschel Photography Library
Object Number: BASS.08
Rights and Reproduction: Courtesy of Harper’s BAZAAR/Hearst Magazine Media, Inc.
Curatorial Department: Photographs

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