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Reviewed in the 23 April 2004 Times Literary Supplement (nothing quotable).
Product Description
'Laura Wilson shadowed the Shadower, and showed us as much as can be shown of how his work was done' - Larry McMurtry, from the Foreword. Internationally acclaimed for his portraits of powerful and accomplished people and women of great beauty, Richard Avedon was one of the twentieth century's greatest photographers - but perhaps not the most obvious choice to create a portrait of ordinary people of the American West. Yet in 1979, the Amon Carter Museum of Fort Worth, Texas, daringly commissioned him to do just that. The resulting 1985 exhibition and book, "In the American West", was a milestone in American photography and Avedon's most important body of work. His unflinching portraits of oilfield and slaughterhouse workers, miners, waitresses, drifters, mental patients, teenagers, and others captured the unknown and often ignored people who work at hard, uncelebrated jobs.Making no apologies for shattering stereotypes of the West and Westerners, Avedon said, 'I'm looking for a new definition of a photographic portrait. I'm looking for people who are surprising - heartbreaking - or beautiful in a terrifying way. Beauty that might scare you to death until you acknowledge it as part of yourself'. Photographer Laura Wilson worked with Avedon during the six years he was making "In the American West". In "Avedon at Work", she presents a unique photographic record of his creation of this masterwork - the first time a major photographer has been documented in great depth over an extended period of time. She combines images she made during the photographic sessions with entries from her journal to show Avedon's working methods, his choice of subjects, his creative process, and even his experiments and failures. Also included are a number of Avedon's finished portraits, as well as his own comments and letters from some of the subjects."Avedon at Work" adds a new dimension to our understanding of one of the twentieth century's most significant series of portraits. For everyone interested in the creative process it confirms that, in Laura Wilson's words, 'much as all these photographs may appear to be moments that just occurred, they are finally, in varying degrees, works of the imagination'. Laura Wilson is a photographer whose previous books are "Hutterites of Montana" and "Watt Matthews of Lambshead". Her work has also appeared in the "New York Times Magazine", "The New Yorker", "The Washington Post Magazine", and "London's Sunday Times Magazine". She lives in Dallas.
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
9 of 9 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover
I found this book in a bookstore on a business trip to Stockholm, Sweden. It was WAY to expensive, so I went home without buying the book.
But I couldn't forget the book, so the next time I went to Sweden I bought it, even though it was WAY more expensive than I found reasonable. And way more expensive than here on Amazon ;o)
This book offers a unique look into the work of this exceptional photographer. It's a sort of 'behind the scenes' report by Laura Wilson, a photographer working with Richard Avedon on the photo series "In the American West".
To me the book is both deeply inspiring to read how Richard Avedon approaches his work, and frightening to compare Laura Wilson's photograph of an 'ordinary' girl/young woman to Avedons photograph of the same young woman: Richard Avedon truly has a 'gift' for seeing and making exceptional portrait photographs.
I whole-heartedly recommend this book. It's by far the most inspiring photo book I've ever bought. I wish there were more books looking at exceptional photographers this way.
Even after reading the book cover-to-cover, I still find great pleasure in taking the book from my bookshelf, flipping through the pages, looking at the portraits, Laura Wilson's photographs of Richard Avedon in work, and reading some of the stories.
If you like portrait photography, buy this book!
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover
For my Fotoacademie assignement in Monschau we had to make 3 Avedon-like portraits. The mentor that instructed us gave a very good introduction in the work of Avedon. As it turned out to be a very interesting experience I decided to buy this book and read it cover to cover quickly. It is the most interesting way to understand other photographers and very helpful in developing your own work.
Also, if you like the West, portraits or the work of Avedon in general, you should not miss this title!
Highly recommended.
Also, if you like the West, portraits or the work of Avedon in general, you should not miss this title!
Highly recommended.
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover
I guess i'm disappointed since i thought there was more informarion about the work that he did in the west. The book is about 150 pages, and almost half of it is filled with images which is fine. That is actually one of the good things about the book. But you can litteraly read it within an hour or two if you want and the information she gives is very shallow!
I think it is way overpriced compared to what you get. If i knew it, i would rather spend my money on one of avedons real books!
I think it is way overpriced compared to what you get. If i knew it, i would rather spend my money on one of avedons real books!
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