- Hardcover: 64 pages
- Publisher: Harry N. Abrams (Sep 17 2002)
- Language: English
- ISBN-10: 0810935406
- ISBN-13: 978-0810935402
- Product Dimensions: 26.6 x 21.2 x 2.2 cm
- Shipping Weight: 980 g
- Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
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Amazon Bestsellers Rank:
#400,248 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #5 in Books > Arts & Photography > Artists, A-Z > ( A-C ) > Avedon, Richard
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Product Details |
Product Description
From Publishers Weekly
The subject of an upcoming retrospective at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, Avedon long ago entered the canon of fashion photography and modern portraiture. His trademark images of people standing against white backdrops, at once unflinching and glamorous in their effect, have helped define our idea of celebrity itself (if Avedon shot them, they must be famous). This slipcased, accordion-fold collection of 50 black and white portraits from the past 50 years, produced for the exhibition and including an essay by curator Maria Morris Hambourg and Met research assistant Mia Fineman, as well as a brief word from the photographer himself, will do little to change Avedon's reputation. It offers, in essence, a greatest hits collection of well-known faces---Andy Warhol, William Burroughs, and that pale, hairless beekeeper covered in bugs. For those unfamiliar with Avedon's work, or for true completists, the classy package of tri-tone reproductions will prove enticing.
Copyright 2002 Reed Business Information, Inc.
Copyright 2002 Reed Business Information, Inc.
Book Description
For over 50 years, Richard Avedon (b. 1923) has captured the creative genius of our time with dazzling insight and incomparable style. Spanning the artist's entire career, from the late 1940s through his most recent work, Richard Avedon Portraits offers a superb selection of his photographic portraits.
With uncompromising directness, Avedon portrayed his subjects against a white background, with no extraneous details to distract from the essential specificity of face, gaze, dress, and gesture. This challenging innovation, coupled with the artist's intense interest in his subjects and mastery of his craft, resulted in mesmerizing portraits-among them Truman Capote, Willem de Kooning, Samuel Beckett, Francis Bacon, and Marilyn Monroe, as well as the uncelebrated Americans of his project, "In the American West"-that rival the greatest works in the portrait tradition.
Richard Avedon Portraits is published to accompany a major exhibition at The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York. With its innovative accordion-style design and superb reproductions, the book is a virtual stand-alone mini-exhibition in its own right.
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Most helpful customer reviews
5.0 out of 5 stars
Marriage of Book and Exhibit,
By Mark Ensslin (Bergen County, NJ United States) - See all my reviews
This review is from: Richard Avedon Portraits (Hardcover)
Richard Avedon wears several hats. As an artist creating innovative commercial images; He is behind the most dynamic magazine pages of the day,... He is witness of the greatest generation to social and political fact; He tells stories of icons and common men. He places them alike: actors, writers, poets, politicians and artists. The poet who recites through his lens.Published to accompany a major Metropolitan Museum of Art exhibition, Richard Avedon Portraits celebrates His lifetime of achievements and almost does justice to the work.
5.0 out of 5 stars
The Book as Art,
By
This review is from: Richard Avedon Portraits (Hardcover)
RICHARD AVEDON PORTRAITS is a stunning work, not only because of the usual expected glory of his photographs, but because of the genuinely artistic concept behind this catalogue for a Museum Exhibition. Slipcased, the book opens as an accordian with single and diptych/triptych photographs viewable by placing the unscrolled book on a tabletop or bookshelf. Not that there are any new moments here: this is a collection of some of Avedon's famous faces and bodies, curated for a specific purpose. But to view Andy Warhol together with his co-creators of his photos and films standing on one page clothed and on another nude intensifies the manner in which Avedon's manner of capturing the star's works so well. We are treated to a full face of Francis Bacon and in the next panel a partial view of his entire body. All manner of odd characters inhabit these deliciously synchronous pages. The back side of this tableaux discusses Avedon, his influences and appropriations from painting and other art forms, and does what it sets out to do - make the pieces of the tableaux relevant in the history of the time in which they were photographed. This is a clever and rewarding book and the book itself becomes art.
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews on Amazon.com (beta) Amazon.com:
4.4 out of 5 stars (16 customer reviews) 30 of 32 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars
The Book as Art,
By Grady Harp - Published on Amazon.com
This review is from: Richard Avedon Portraits (Hardcover)
RICHARD AVEDON PORTRAITS is a stunning work, not only because of the usual expected glory of his photographs, but because of the genuinely artistic concept behind this catalogue for a Museum Exhibition. Slipcased, the book opens as an accordian with single and diptych/triptych photographs viewable by placing the unscrolled book on a tabletop or bookshelf. Not that there are any new moments here: this is a collection of some of Avedon's famous faces and bodies, curated for a specific purpose. But to view Andy Warhol together with his co-creators of his photos and films standing on one page clothed and on another nude intensifies the manner in which Avedon's manner of capturing the star's works so well. We are treated to a full face of Francis Bacon and in the next panel a partial view of his entire body. All manner of odd characters inhabit these deliciously synchronous pages. The back side of this tableaux discusses Avedon, his influences and appropriations from painting and other art forms, and does what it sets out to do - make the pieces of the tableaux relevant in the history of the time in which they were photographed. This is a clever and rewarding book and the book itself becomes art.
13 of 13 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars
Beyond art book, beyond photography,
By Fernando Melendez "fermed" - Published on Amazon.com
This review is from: Richard Avedon Portraits (Hardcover)
It is not really a book, but an art object: accordion folded and neatly ensconced in a box, its heavy cardboard structure makes it a durable thing, one that transcends the notion of a mere "book." It is an object of intrinsic beauty and the mere holding of it in one's hands conveys the good taste, fine quality, and the superb craftmanship that were blended to create PORTRAITS.One side of the fold contains text -with some pictures- and the other the portfolio of portraits. Maria Hambourg and Mia Fineman collaborate in the essay "Avedon's Endgame," which presents, analyzes and brings into focus the extraordinary talent behind the portraits; and Richard Avedon gives us a touching essay called "Borrowed Dogs," in which he addresses some of his unquiet talents. The other side is one's private gallery of 27 pictures (including the covers) to be savored at home, each image a meticulous print. In all it is an extraordinary performance by those involved, and a jewel to possess. Avedon has pushed the borders of his art far beyond picture taking: a master psychologist, his portraits are potent statements about the soul and the fears and the anger and the dilapidation and the triumph and the humanity of his subjects. His pictures are so intense and revealing that the viewer cannot remain neutral. The diptych of Clarence Lippard, a drifter, makes one see more than we have any right to ask for: because if we must view the horror of a wasted life on one panel we must also accept the defiant triumphalism and humor that the second panel conveys. Waste no pity on Mr. Lippard, he asks no such thing from you. I shall often return to this jewel for solace; and for a jolt about the meaning of being alive and a human being. 4 of 4 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars
'Portraits' was a beautiful composition of Avedon's work,
By Stephanie Bueltel - Published on Amazon.com
This review is from: Richard Avedon Portraits (Hardcover)
Not only was I excited about the low price offered by amazon.com for this book, I couldn't believe the wealth of information it withheld. The book itself is innovating, working as an accordian-style setup with text on one side and full-size, beautiful portraits on the other. The written portions spoke of Avedon in his early years, what his inspirations were, and how the affected his work later on. As a young photographer, this was valuable information for me.Avedon speaks closely of his work, and his persistance of breaking through fake smiles and charlatans, seeking out the truth in people, from the famous to the overlooked. My favorite photograph is of a drifter named Clarence Lippard, a man Avedon randomly came across and photographed. This drive, this exploration that possessed Avedon was a beautiful thing, and this showcase of his work greatly portrayes it. |
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