PEOPLE: Celebrating 50 Years
From May 10, 2024 - June 30, 2024, Fotografiska celebrated 50 years of PEOPLE magazine with their PEOPLE: Celebrating 50 Years exhibit. This was the brand’s first museum exhibit, and included covers and images dating all the way back to the inception of the magazine in 1974.
Source: Fotografiska
For years, PEOPLE has been the go-to magazine for many that want to get the inside, personal scoop on some of the biggest celebrities and everyday heroes. The first ever issue featured Mia Farrow and sold over a million copies, providing a little foresight into the success the brand would continue to have.
Source: Fotografiska
The exhibit was organized chronologically, allowing you to make your way through the decades, providing a really lovely visual evolution of the magazine. Other than Mia Farrow’s introductory cover, the exhibit also featured other iconic covers, such as “Sexiest Man Alive” and “World’s Most Beautiful.” Portraits of legends, like Michale Jackson, adorned walls, while Princess Diana, whose photo was featured on the cover more than anyone else, had a whole wall dedicated to her. Along with all the star studded features, there were panels that provided you with behind the scenes information on the making of the magazine, and the magic behind some of your favorite images.
Viewers were met with a multimedia experience, with video interviews, digital archives, and interactive displays– one of which being a photo-op that allowed you to have your own magazine cover moment.
Source: Fotografiska
As Sophie Wright, the Executive Director of Fotografiska New York said, “At the heart of this story is photography, and we are delighted to collaborate on this exhibition that celebrates the images that have defined PEOPLE and brought its human centered storytelling to life.” PEOPLE: Celebrating 50 Years captured the essence of PEOPLE magazine perfectly, and showed the ways in which its blending of celebrity culture and human interest resonates with its large audience. It was an exhibit that appealed to pop culture enthusiasts and die hard magazine readers alike.
Source: PEOPLE
Article by Caroline Nycek, Contributor, PhotoBook Magazine
Tearsheets by Bradley Duley, Graphic Design Intern, PhotoBook Magazine
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