They are rare and remarkable things, photographs wondrous enough to come alive. Richard Avedon’s images, currently displayed at the SFMoMA, exemplify that wonder: supple shades of black and white, matched like coffee and cream; a riveting dialogue on the human dilemma; a quiet surrender of the subjects’ inner life. As an artist, Avedon masterfully grasps what it means to take a picture.
Richard Avedon was born and raised in New York in 1923. His first job, at age 19, was to take photos of sailors throughout the nation for the U.S. Merchant Marine. He thereafter returned to New York, and began photographing to advertise for a department store. Soon he began taking photographs for Harper’s Bazaar, Life, and Look. By 1946, the lensman had launched his own studio.
Avedon began his work in fashion photography, taking such pictures as Dovima with Elephants, a photograph that remains one of Avedon’s most famous – a gorgeous model stands in a black-and-white gown between two large elephants, her delicate beauty strikingly contrasted beside the animals’ sheer weight and size. This phase of Avedon’s career was loosely depicted in the 1957 film, Funny Face.
In the 1970s and 1980s, Avedon began work photographing vital public figures of the time, including Louis Armstrong, Malcolm X, Bob Dylan, and Andy Warhol.
After years of exploring various mediums and styles, Avedon focused in on rural Western America, creating In the American West, a series he compiled during the five year period between 1980 and 1985. These photographs capture the divide between pastoral America and the more industrial parts of the country. Among the most impactful images in this collection are Sandra Bennett, a dour, haunting farm girl from Colorado, and Ronald Fischer, a man laden in his livestock of choice: bees.
Richard Avedon has inspired both budding and established photographers alike. In the Urban community, some students are deeply spurred by Avedon’s photographs. Freshman Kyle Chong admires Avedon because “he is very academic and methodical with his work.”
Kyle also appreciates the artist’s ability to produce photographs that are “visually academic;” that employ “a certain constitutionalism for composing a picture.” Indeed, his work follows a distinct rhythm. Most distinguishable is the artist’s method of placing his subject before a white screen, and solely capturing the human nature.
Kelli Yon, Urban’s new photography and video teacher, says that Avedon has “set the standard for fashion photography” with his exquisite work and aesthetic.
Yon notes how his simplistic means of portraying the subject allows the viewer to observe “an incredible amount of detail … in every portion of the face or body that is illustrated.” Avedon was able to capture his subjects when “they are really being themselves.” He put the models “at such an ease, so he could capture them at in-between moments” when they showed their true colors.
Whether you’re interested in fashion or stunning examples of the human race, Avedon is an awe-inspiring photographer. The exhibit will be displayed at SFMOMA until Nov. 29.