Exploring week # 3
March 3, 2010
So i remembered this movie I saw in high school that was loosely based on Richard Avedon early career in 1957. The film was called Funny Face and stared Audrey Hepburn and Fred Astair as the photographer Dick Avery.
The reason I pick to talk about the movie first is because I think it is pretty cool that a movie is based of Richard Avedon. The other reason is to talk about Richard Avedon. I have heard the name before but real could not recall any of his pieces of work. Avedon is another portrait photographer that if I am remembering correctly had an touring exhibition that stopped in the Columbus Museum of Art in the fall of 2006. The Title of this show was called The American West and is another example just like Diane Arbus a series of portraits that are meant to make one feel uneasy. The are not intended to be pretty they are meant to show a side of the US that is not seen very often. This is somewhat of a leap from his Fashion work that is mostly what Funny Face focuses on in reference to his career.
This last picture is a self portrait.
So why care? What makes these portrait so different and why give a damn about Avedon. Well I guess the best reason to care in my opinion is that if a movie is based on your career then that in itself is a pretty big message that you made an impact on the world. As for his work well I only saw the American West Show and as a viewer for someone to show me a side of this country that is getting in your face (the prints were huge) it makes an impact. If anything that is where the beauty of these images comes into play. You don’t forget them. I just didn’t have the name to connect to the pictures until just now..
