Jacob Benjamin Taylor recreates the golden age of the silver screen in all its grace and beauty in "Bygone Era", a collection of photos inspired by old Hollywood, its personalities and iconic film. The photo collection fittingly made its debut at the Piano Craft Gallery (PCG) at 793 Tremont Street on Halloween, inspiring reception guests to dress in period garb and as silver-screen characters. For example, artist Pares Mallis, who moved to the Piano Craft Guild from Greece last November, dressed as Annie Oakley, while PCG committee president and model Colleen O'Malley and her fiancé, gallery director Richard Inonog, were decked out in vintage elegance, and another, unnamed guest wore a green satin gown with a white wrap and gold lame clutch. Longtime Piano Factory resident, photographer and saxophonist Arni Cheatham looked striking in an early-70s tuxedo, complete with blue ruffled shirt and wide-brimmed hat that he drew from his own closet.
Taylor hired a diverse group of models to emulate and update images of the golden age of the movies, with individual portraits and a photo series based on an iconic Rat Pack film. You might feel as though you've seen a photo before, but the success of Taylor's works lies in the fact that different viewers will be reminded of different Hollywood icons based on their own perceptions and tastes. Taylor meticulously employed styling, model casting and photographic techniques to capture the grace of a Bygone Era while concurrently bringing the images into the present. For example, the seven-photo series based on the Rat Pack vehicle "Ocean's Eleven" recasts the primary figures as men of color: an Asian, a Latino and an African American man who recreate the cool sophistication of the fabled ensemble led by Frank Sinatra. Some of the pictures depict the trenchcoat-clad trio in a bank vault in a nod to the caper film's plot, while elsewhere the three pose in formalwear, smiling and smoking like Frank, Dean and Sammy in concert. A portrait of a blonde smoking a cigarette reminded me of an older Lauren Bacall, but another viewer of Marilyn Monroe.
While the exhibit and some of the guests' attire were retro, a few guests sported costumes with contemporary themes. Photographer Justin Tuerk wore business attire and a nametag that said Moderation, and urged his friends to "drink with Moderation". A Cambridge resident named Carla wore sparkly green and carried a bouquet of kale in her portrayal of a Superfood. A mysterious young man wore a Game of Thrones costume.
"Bygone Era" is on exhibit at the Piano Craft Gallery through November 23. For more information on the gallery, please visit http://pianocraftgallery.org/