Silent Passing

For those aesthetes out there who are already tired of political discourse and Red Sox-bashing. (I never tire of either) Here's something for you.

While I was away on my recent trip to Chicago and Detroit, the world quietly relinquished one of the great visual artists of our time.

Richard Avedon, who went to size up his Maker on October 1st, was arguably the finest portrait photographer of the 20th century. Annie Leibovitz, Walker Evans and Diane Arbus fans might have something to say about that, but he was unquestionably one of the best.

I was lucky enough to stumble across a mention of an Avedon exhibition in the SF Weekly (or possibly the Guardian, but who really cares) a few years back. The exhibition, called 'Made in France' took place at the Fraenkel Gallery on Geary Street in Downtown San Francisco. It was one of those experiences you rarely have at an art gallery or museum, where your entire way of thinking as relates to an art form is forever altered. I have had that happen to me exactly three times. At that Avedon exhibit, at this year's Yves Behar fuseproject industrial design exhibit at the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art and just a day before Avedon's death at a Charles Sheeler photography exhibit at the Detroit Institute of Arts.

But it's Avedon we're talking about here, so I'll stick to that. I personally was most inspired by his portraits of 50s supermodel Suzy Parker. They had a relationship, that is Ms. Parker and Avedon and his camera, that can only really be understood by looking at the pictures, so I won't even get into it. He also created unforgettable portraits of luminaries such as Audrey Hepburn, Truman Capote, Ezra Pound and even George H.W. Bush and Donald Rumsfeld. I highly suggest that you check out some of his work on artnet ('link' below) and try to find a gallery show, if you can. While you're at it, keep an eye out for Sheeler and Behar's work as well.

Avedon 'links':

Richard Avedon on Artnet

Avedon Obituary at UK Guardian