28th
Richard Avedon: Larger than Life
Last week I visited the Grand Rapids Art Museum (GRAM) with a few of my favorite classmates. The Richard Avedon: Larger than Life exhibit is on display there from 10/03/08 – 01/04/09.
Avedon (1923 – 2004) has been described as one of the most influential American photographers in the last century, as well as one of the greatest portraitists of our time. He got his start by doing freelance fashion photography, eventually served as chief photographer for Harper’s Bazaar. There, he created a new look for fashion photography. He took the models out of the studio into the real world, and within the studio, he had them move and leap frame after frame.
When Avedon left Harper’s Bazaar to work for Vogue, he began focusing on portraits. This was truly his life work. He took famous “larger than life personalities” and captured their features and faces like no one has ever done before or since. President Gerald Ford, Louis Armstrong, Marilyn Monroe, and The Beatles were just a few of his subjects.
My favorite part of the exhibit were the photographs from his American West, 1979 – 1984 series. This series was different from the portraits of famous actors, writers, and politicians that Avedon had done before. This series included portraits of no-name drifters, factory workers, and miners. I enjoyed looking at these photographs the most—it was something about feeling like I knew these people who I’d never even seen before.
