Name: Richard Avedon
Date of birth: May 15, 1923
Deceased: October 1, 2004
Where: New York
Sujet: Fashion photography and portraits
Notably: revolutionized the world of fashion photography because he combined haute couture with everyday settings
Richard Avedon is one of the most influential and valuable photographers of the 20th century. In fact, I could simply name everyone and everything he had in front of his lens and it would become clear how well loved he truly was.
He opened up his own design studio in New York after having finished his studies at Alexy Brodovitch. Soon after that he managed to pull his very first deal with no other than the Junior Bazaar magazine and provided it with portrait photographs. However, he had his true breakthrough when he became fashion photographer for Haper’s Bazaar.
The perks of leading a successful life are versatile. One of which is having your life chronicled. Richard Avedon got his very movie. “Ein süßer Fratz” is based on his biography. One of his former models, actor Fred Astaire plays the role of Dick Avery. You can imagine how people are looking up to him. He was the one everybody turned to when looking for the next new trend. He was the one, who decided to take the step outside and put haute couture in an everyday setting. One of the hugely successful results is a picture from the Dior collection, where the model was photographed next to a chained up circus elephant.
To every story there is a darker side. Richard wasn’t only the fashion mogul, who spent his whole day working with beautiful models, no. He was known to be very politically active. He documented the civil rights movement in the south of the states and focussed on Vietnamese children, who were burned during the napalm attack as a statement against the war. That’s the only time where violence is the centre of his work because he was a true believer of having violence in his work would just provoke more violence.
Even after his death he still is considered as a true role model for aspiring photographers. He passed away 10 years ago and still he is as influential as ever. His foundation supports talented, young photographers.
Copyright and Source: http://www.richardavedon.com/
