Name of Artist: Richard Avedon
Dates of Artist’s Life: May 15, 1923- October 1, 2004
Sources:
1. Personal Background:
Richard Avedon was born and lived in New York City. He attended DeWitt Clinton High School in the Bronx, where he co-edited the school’s literary magazine, The Magpie, with James Baldwin. Avedon joined the armed forces in 1942 during World War II, serving as Photographer’s Mate Second Class in the U.S. Merchant Marine. After two years of service, he left the Merchant Marine to work as a professional photographer, initially creating fashion images and studying with art director Alexey Brodovitch at the Design Laboratory of the New School for Social Research. At the age of twenty-two, Avedon began working as a freelance photographer, primarily for Harper’s Bazaar.
2. Style:
Richard Avedon has a unique visual style that all of his images posses. Most portrait photographers seem to stick to a certain format for all of their images. Avedon chooses very striking poses, lighting setups, and photograph models for each photograph very differently, making his photographs more visually and aesthetically pleasing. All of Avedon’s photographs are very unique and all differ, not only from other photographers work, but also his own. Because Avedon passed away in 2004, lots of his photographs are in black and white, I personally really like this, and think it makes his images look uniform and not too cluttered when all placed next to one another.
3. Philosophy:
Richard Avedon’s work was about himself, ultimately the photos we take are more of a reflection who we are than they are the subject. “Sometimes I think all my pictures are just pictures of me.” Avedon believed strongly that photography was an art form and I think that it was a great outlet for Avedon, as he seemed to have a complicated and busy life. Avedon even confided in longtime studio director, Norma Stevens about his homosexual affairs. Avedon worked with Harper’s Bazaar for 20 years, but I think ultimately, his photographs were a very personal thing to him.
4. Influences:
Richard Avedon was influenced by Martin Munkácsi and Henri Cartier-Bresson. Richard Avedon was also inspired by Alexey Brodovitch, Diane Arbus, and Modern Photography. Richard Avedon has influenced me by showing me that less in more and that the beauty of his work was in the simplicity of it. I personally have always liked a simple, non-cluttered look and really enjoy the aesthetic of his photographs. Avedon’s photographs are very striking and I think they are all beautiful and unique. Some photographers take many photos of the same subject or person, but Avedon uses different angles, wardrobe, lighting and props to make all of his photographs interesting and different.
5. Sources:
Dates of Artist’s Life: May 15, 1923- October 1, 2004
Sources:
- https://www.avedonfoundation.org/
- http://iphf.org/inductees/richard-avedon/
- https://www.icp.org/browse/archive/constituents/richard-avedon?all/all/all/all/0
- https://www.instagram.com/avedonfoundation/?hl=en
1. Personal Background:
Richard Avedon was born and lived in New York City. He attended DeWitt Clinton High School in the Bronx, where he co-edited the school’s literary magazine, The Magpie, with James Baldwin. Avedon joined the armed forces in 1942 during World War II, serving as Photographer’s Mate Second Class in the U.S. Merchant Marine. After two years of service, he left the Merchant Marine to work as a professional photographer, initially creating fashion images and studying with art director Alexey Brodovitch at the Design Laboratory of the New School for Social Research. At the age of twenty-two, Avedon began working as a freelance photographer, primarily for Harper’s Bazaar.
2. Style:
Richard Avedon has a unique visual style that all of his images posses. Most portrait photographers seem to stick to a certain format for all of their images. Avedon chooses very striking poses, lighting setups, and photograph models for each photograph very differently, making his photographs more visually and aesthetically pleasing. All of Avedon’s photographs are very unique and all differ, not only from other photographers work, but also his own. Because Avedon passed away in 2004, lots of his photographs are in black and white, I personally really like this, and think it makes his images look uniform and not too cluttered when all placed next to one another.
3. Philosophy:
Richard Avedon’s work was about himself, ultimately the photos we take are more of a reflection who we are than they are the subject. “Sometimes I think all my pictures are just pictures of me.” Avedon believed strongly that photography was an art form and I think that it was a great outlet for Avedon, as he seemed to have a complicated and busy life. Avedon even confided in longtime studio director, Norma Stevens about his homosexual affairs. Avedon worked with Harper’s Bazaar for 20 years, but I think ultimately, his photographs were a very personal thing to him.
4. Influences:
Richard Avedon was influenced by Martin Munkácsi and Henri Cartier-Bresson. Richard Avedon was also inspired by Alexey Brodovitch, Diane Arbus, and Modern Photography. Richard Avedon has influenced me by showing me that less in more and that the beauty of his work was in the simplicity of it. I personally have always liked a simple, non-cluttered look and really enjoy the aesthetic of his photographs. Avedon’s photographs are very striking and I think they are all beautiful and unique. Some photographers take many photos of the same subject or person, but Avedon uses different angles, wardrobe, lighting and props to make all of his photographs interesting and different.
5. Sources:
Richard Avedon, Henry Moore, England, January 26, 1963
Richard Avedon, Martha Plimpton, December 16, 1982
Richard Avedon, Robert Dixon, Meat Packer, Aurora, Colorado, June 15, 1983
6. Compare and Contrast:
The first image (the hand) the positioning was very difficult t get the positioning correct. I also think that the background could have been whiter. The second image (the girl) once again, the background could have been whiter. Another thing I could have improved was the amount of space on the top of the image, in the original, the girl has less space above her head. In the last image (the boy), It was once again difficult to get the positioning right, and getting my brother to make the right face was difficult. The model’s face was also slimmer than my brother’s.
7. Personal Artist Statement:
My first image is a hand grasping for a better future. The hand of a potter, who uses his hands for his craft, and not for beauty. His hands may be conventionally “dirty” or “rough”, but as with many other things, it is what they create that is important. The second image shows an innocent girl who is smiling because of how great and simple her life is. The third image is a young man who is rough around the edges, but once you get to know him, he is a great, kind person.