In the American West: 20th Anniversary Edition
Category: Books,Arts & Photography,Photography & Video
In the American West: 20th Anniversary Edition Details
About the Author Richard Avedon was one of the most influential photographers of the second half of the 20th century, and his portrait work comprises an authoritative record of our era. As a staff photographer for Harper's Bazaar and Vogue, Avedon redefined fashion photography. In 1992 he was named the first staff photographer in the history of The New Yorker. Read more
Reviews
I remember seeing this book on its release in the 1980s. I couldn't afford it at the time, but I never forgot those images. Looking at them again, I can see the re-release of this group of Richard Avedon's work was fully justified.These portraits are raw - each man, woman and child is exposed. Avedon recognised that each of the individuals in these portraits were an entity unto themselves. Their lives are in their faces; there is no need for props or pictorial backgrounds. Everyone was photographed against a simple sheet of white paper - a groundbreaking approach for this genre at the time. No staging, nothing concealed, nothing enhanced and there is no evidence of tweeking.These photos distressed the romantic notion of 'the west' that prevailed until the late 1980s, and in turn contributed to its redefinition in popular culture. I still find myself looking at these pictures over and over again, wondering about the fate of some of these folks. This is another benefit of a book like this - it poses questions which cannot be easily answered - what happened to these people?I'm so very thankful I got myself a copy. If you, like myself, are working on building a photography book collection, then this is an essential addition.