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Richard Avedon: Portraits of PowerJun 6, 09 thru Sep 6, 09Widely regarded as one of the greatest fashion and portrait photographers of the 20th century, Richard Avedon developed a signature style that explored his subject’s innermost character. A new exhibition at the San Diego Museum of Art reveals how Avedon applied his technique to expose the personalities of those in power. Featuring over 200 examples of Avedon’s work from 1950 to 2004, Richard Avedon: Portraits of Power examines the artist’s fascination with power, whether it be from above (those with established authority) or from below (the disenfranchised and those challenging the status quo). His work chronicles the era of the civil rights movement and the conflict in Vietnam, a time when the two sides couldn’t have been in greater opposition. Avedon’s early works demonstrate a clear bias: figures like Billy Graham from the “Nothing Personal” series are shown almost buffoon like, in stark contrast to the seriousness and dignity afforded to African-Americans in images from the same series. Indeed, Avedon often resorted to trickery to get some of his subjects to present an unflattering expression.
Funding his experiments in portrait photography through lucrative assignments for Harper’s Bazaar, Vogue, and The New Yorker, Avedon eventually formulated what became known as his signature style. By 1975 his sitters were treated the same, shown waist up against a plain white backdrop as seen in his famous Rolling Stone series, The Family. This stripped down, almost anthropological style put greater emphasis on individual personality, whether it be Henry Kissinger, Ralph Nader, or John Stewart San Diego Museum of Art
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