wow :)
Posted on 10/01/2004 11:12:50 AM PDT by Borges
Photographer Richard Avedon dead at 81 Friday, October 1, 2004 Posted: 2:04 PM EDT (1804 GMT)
NEW YORK (AP) -- Richard Avedon, the revolutionary photographer who redefined fashion photography as an art form while achieving critical acclaim through his stark black-and-white portraits of the powerful and celebrated, died Friday. He was 81.
Avedon suffered a brain hemorrhage last month while on assignment in San Antonio, Texas, for The New Yorker, taking pictures for a piece called "On Democracy." He spent months on the project, shooting politicians, delegates and citizens from around the country.
He died at Methodist Hospital, said Perri Dorset, a spokeswoman for the magazine.
Avedon's influence on photography was immense, and his sensuous fashion work helped create the era of supermodels like Naomi Campbell and Cindy Crawford. But Avedon went in another direction with his portrait work, shooting unsparing and often unflattering shots of subjects from Marilyn Monroe to Michael Moore.
"The results can be pitiless," Time magazine critic Richard Lacayo once noted of the black-and-white portraits. "With every wrinkle and sag set out in high relief, even the mightiest plutocrat seems just one more dwindling mortal."
As a Publishers Weekly review once noted, Avedon helped create the cachet of celebrity -- if he took someone's picture, they must be famous. His fun-loving, fantasy-inspiring approach helped turn the fashion industry into a multibillion-dollar business.
Photography ping.
I always wondered how long it took to get that shot. Pythons don't exactly pose on demand.
wow :)
All I see is a little red X :-(
Man, it's been a bad year for great photographers. Francesco Scavulo, Henri Cartier-Bresson, and now Richard Avedon. And Herb Ritts just last year.
Sad.
That may have been true at one time, but I doubt it was true recently. I suspect Anton Corbijn is probably the highest paid photographer today. He reportedly commands $125,000 per shoot. Knowing how his signature look on a CD or magazine cover can really drive sales, I don't doubt it at all.
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