Richard Avedon (1946-2004)--hommage to the american photographer

If you are interested in photography then this is the post for you:

Today I went to the museum in Paris near the Tuileries called the Jeu de Paume. The current exhibit is that of Richard Avedon, an amazing photographer. He almost defines the meaning of a portrait. I wandered though the exposition impressed by the emotion and the power captured through his images. He has done series of photography from fashion photography in 1950's Paris to the intense portraits of his In the American West series where he traveled to over 15 states in the western United States taking portraits of ordinary people. He has done portraits of some of the most world renknowned artists, musicians, actors, writers and models to some of the most normal ordinary people in midwestern America.

He is famous for the idea of taking a portrait on a blank, white background. It shows the gritty-ness of the person and there is no gray area...nothing to hide. He allows the subject to have a relationship with the photographer and the viewer. He also makes it known that he is NOT trying to capture an in depth part of the person. He is in fact capturing the surface and a small piece of that person's personality of state of being in that moment. In most of the portraits the person is staring straight at you making it very intense. I found that as I was walking through the exhibit my adrenalin increased and each photo I looked at made me feel like I had a connection for small instant with the subject. If you can't tell, I LOVED the exhibit and if you are in Paris you should go to the Jeu de Paume soon because the exhibit is over in a few days.


::::sigh:::: if only I was amazing artist.