March 04, 2006 12:44am
Bettie Page Dark Angel Photographs by Irving Klaw
Source: Clair Obscur Gallery
by: Company Press Release
(HOLLYWOOD, CA) -- Clair Obscur Gallery is proud to present a collection of large size prints of legendary 1950's pin up & bondage queen Bettie Page.
March 11 - April 29, 2006, Opening Reception Saturday March 11, 7-10pm, Closing Reception Saturday April 29, 7-10pm.
In the pre-code period before 1934 nudity and language were not an issue in motion pictures or photos. The code, thrust upon the studios by the Church, banned what they considered to be "impure love." In the 1950s Irving Klaw, known as the King of Pin-ups, was a businessman who sold movie stars' photos. Some of his best-selling photographs were of tied-up women from Hollywood films. When the demand became greater than the supply, Klaw began producing photos and films himself, giving birth to a new genre called "bondage."
His most popular model was a girl from Tennessee who had graced the pages of Playboy magazine. Her name was Bettie Page, also known as "Dark Angel."
By 1957, Irving Klaw faced federal charges of felony conspiracy to distribute obscene materials through the U.S. mail. To avoid a prison sentence, Klaw destroyed the incriminating films and photographs. He became ill shortly thereafter, and died in 1964. His sister Paula continued to run Movie Star News with her husband. Unknown to anyone, she rescued several negatives and films from the hands of the FBI. Several of these images are now some of the only existing of Bettie Page. After Paula's death in 1996, her son Ira Kramer took over the family business which he still runs to this day.
After mysteriously disappearing in 1958, Bettie Page was recently discovered to be still alive, and achieved a Cult following through the 80's and 90's, and now with two films Bettie Page Dark Angel (2 Disc Limited Edition DVD, March 29) and the Notorious Bettie Page (Theatrical Limited release, April 14) produced on her, she is at the highest peak of her celebrity.
The show contains Photographs on Fiber Paper printed from the original "survived" Negatives, size 30x40 inches. Photographs of Bunny Yeager and rare Camera Club shots will also be available at the show for sale. Signed copies of Bettie Page Dark Angel (2 Disc Limited Edition) will be available for purchase.
Clair Obscur Gallery . 4310 Melrose Avenue . Los Angeles CA 90029 . 323-6626693
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