Among the current exhibits at the Phoenix Art Museum, is Richard Avedon: Among Creatives, featuring more than 50 photos by the 20th century fashion and celebrity photographer: https://phxart.org/exhibition/richard-avedon-among-creatives/
My son and I made the four hour round-trip drive from Flagstaff yesterday to see this and other exhibits. I've long been an admirer of Avedon's photography but this was my first time seeing his works in-person. Among the photos in the exhibit are portraits of Marilyn Monroe, Paul McCartney, Natasha Kinski, Truman Capote, Andy Warhol, and a self-portrait of Avedon.
His fashion photography is also represented. Dovima with Elephants, Carmen Dell’Orefice (homage to Munkasci) and a selection of images from the 1960s and 70s featuring Veruschka, Penelope Tree and Jean Shrimpton are on display.
It's an exhibit that shines a spotlight on Avedon's inclination to add distractions to his photos and on his use of shallow depth of field to keep the viewer's attention on the subject. Dovima is literally flanked by elephants. Warhol raises his shirt to reveal scars from the multiple surgeries performed to repair injuries from a gunshot wound. John Ford was photographed in the last year of his life and he looks close to death.
While most photographers would have used a deep depth of field to accentuate Monroe's figure, Avedon's portrait is only focused on the sadness pouring from her face. None of the fashion photos from the '60s is sharp because slow shutter speeds were used to render the dynamic actions of the models with blur.
The self-portrait captures Avedon in mid-gesture as if raising a camera to his eye. His arms are, again, intentionally blurry. The Marion Anderson portrait shows the contralto mid-note with flyaway hair simultaneously framing and obscuring her face.
And it's all brilliant. Avedon understood the emotional response a photo triggers is what makes it great. He knew how to use a distraction to direct your attention to what he wanted to show you about a subject, how to use depth of field to lock your gaze precisely where he wanted it, and that women wanted to see themselves as dynamic and powerful. His blurry fashion photos probably did more to sell product than any collection of precisely framed, crisply focused images ever could.
Richard Avedon: Among Creatives closes May 25.
My son and I made the four hour round-trip drive from Flagstaff yesterday to see this and other exhibits. I've long been an admirer of Avedon's photography but this was my first time seeing his works in-person. Among the photos in the exhibit are portraits of Marilyn Monroe, Paul McCartney, Natasha Kinski, Truman Capote, Andy Warhol, and a self-portrait of Avedon.
His fashion photography is also represented. Dovima with Elephants, Carmen Dell’Orefice (homage to Munkasci) and a selection of images from the 1960s and 70s featuring Veruschka, Penelope Tree and Jean Shrimpton are on display.
It's an exhibit that shines a spotlight on Avedon's inclination to add distractions to his photos and on his use of shallow depth of field to keep the viewer's attention on the subject. Dovima is literally flanked by elephants. Warhol raises his shirt to reveal scars from the multiple surgeries performed to repair injuries from a gunshot wound. John Ford was photographed in the last year of his life and he looks close to death.
While most photographers would have used a deep depth of field to accentuate Monroe's figure, Avedon's portrait is only focused on the sadness pouring from her face. None of the fashion photos from the '60s is sharp because slow shutter speeds were used to render the dynamic actions of the models with blur.
The self-portrait captures Avedon in mid-gesture as if raising a camera to his eye. His arms are, again, intentionally blurry. The Marion Anderson portrait shows the contralto mid-note with flyaway hair simultaneously framing and obscuring her face.
And it's all brilliant. Avedon understood the emotional response a photo triggers is what makes it great. He knew how to use a distraction to direct your attention to what he wanted to show you about a subject, how to use depth of field to lock your gaze precisely where he wanted it, and that women wanted to see themselves as dynamic and powerful. His blurry fashion photos probably did more to sell product than any collection of precisely framed, crisply focused images ever could.
Richard Avedon: Among Creatives closes May 25.
