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Photographs have a strange and powerful way of shaping the way we see the world. The most successful images enter our collective consciousness, defining eras, making history, or simply touching something so fundamentally human and universal that they have become resonant icons all over the globe. To explore this unique influence, Photo Icons puts some of the most important photographic landmarks under the microscope. From some of the earliest photography, such as Nicephore Niepce's 1827 eight-hour-exposure rooftop picture and Louis Daguerre's famous 1838 street scene, through to Martin Parr, this is as much a history of the medium as a case-by-case analysis of its social, historical, and artistic impact. We take in experimental Surrealist shots of the 1920s and the gritty photorealism of the 1930s, including Dorothea Lange's Migrant Mother. We witness the power-makers (Che Guevara) and the heartbreakers (Marilyn Monroe) as well as the great gamut of human emotions and exp...

This is a collage of still life, pornography and cityscapes. Nobuyoshi Araki is one of Japan's best-known artists, and his photograph feature in exhibitions in all the leading museums of the world. For more than thirty years he has been working on a project that is close to his heart: a portrait of the Tokyo that lies beyond all moral values and taboos. His artistic strategy is simple yet extremely effective. In his books, of which over 100 have been published in Japan, he juxtaposes snapshots with nude photos, and still life with hardcore pornography. The photos for "Tokyo Lucky Hole" were taken between 1983-85 in Sinjuku, Tokyo's famous red light district, which was closed by judicial decree in 1985. In over 800 photos, Araki documents life in this "forbidden city": from the customer whose every desire is satisfied, to prostitutes after a hard working day, from slaves in their dominatrix' cage to the show girl in the peep-show. ...