A companion to the State Library of Victoria's 'As modern as tomorrow' exhibition. Includes images held in our Pictures Collection and links to external sites. Explores individual photographers and photographic styles.
In the mid-20th century, Melbourne was shaped by modernist influences from abroad. This period saw an influx of people from Europe, including Wolfgang Sievers, Helmut Newton and Henry Talbot.
They brought with them a modern aesthetic and new skills from their training at influential schools such as Berlin’s Reimann School and Contempora School of Applied Arts.
Female employees constructing cars at Ford Motor Company, Geelong, Wolfgang Sievers, 1951, H98.30/21
Institute of Victorian Photographers' Exhibition at Gallery 'A', Toorak Rd, South Yarra, Vic, 1963, H2003.100/637.
The Melbourne Camera Club had several professional members including Wolfgang Sievers, H. Dacre Stubbs and Norman Ikin.
Model Vali Myers, Norman Ikin, 1955, H2007.114/222
Photographic timeline
Young child using a camera H83.314/2
History of the camera
Kallo 35mm camera H92.20/6561
Photographic film
Film from camera film RAAF H98.100/3919
Modernist photography
Night shots of Melbourne H2011.62/154a
As modern as tomorrow: photographers in postwar Melbourne showcased striking commercial photography from the Library's collection.
Displayed with the corporate and advertising material in which they originally appeared, the photographs provided unique insights into the changing social fabric of mid-20th-century Melbourne.
Featured photographers included Maggie Diaz, Norman Ikin, Helmut Newton, Athol Shmith, Wolfgang Sievers, Mark Strizic, Dacre Stubbs and Henry Talbot.
Working in fields as varied as fashion, advertising, architectural and industrial photography, the talented group of commercial photographers had an eye for capturing images unlike anything Australia had ever seen.
The exhibition was held from 1 July 2011 to 5 February 2012.
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