If you've been meaning to get to the Avedon exhibit at the Corcoran, you're running out of time. The "Richard Avedon: Portraits of Power" exhibit closes January 25. I went the other night and, though I wouldn't describe it as a can't miss event except for avid photography buffs, it was interesting to see, on the eve of the inauguration, which people the artist considered to be powerful at different points in the last few decades. The fee for admission to this exhibit is $14. If you're going with a friend, be sure to print out this two-for-one coupon before heading out: Download Corcoran two-for-one coupon. (I can't find the link on the website anymore, so have attached a file. I hope this works.) If you're going anytime near the inauguration (which I don't recommend!), be sure to check for last minute changes to the hours. Once the exhibit closes on the 25th, the museum will be closed until March 13 for roof restoration.
Here's the Corcoran's description of the exhibit:
Richard Avedon, America’s pre-eminent portraitist and fashion
photographer, portrayed significant figures of the American political
landscape throughout his career. This exhibition brings together
Avedon’s work on the subjects of politics and power for the first time.
Juxtaposing more than 200 images of government, media, business, and
labor officials with photographs of artists, activists, and ordinary
citizens caught up in national debates, Richard Avedon: Portraits of Power explores a five-decade photographic inquiry by one of our finest artists.
Two images of the Volpi Ball in Venice, including the one above, were my favorites (albeit not typical of the exhibit). This description from Newsweek, however, certainly casts it in a new light -- I had no idea they were collages.
Pushing photojournalism into controversial new areas, he shot the 1991
Volpi Ball in Venice, a gathering of desiccated aristocrats he captures
with a Proustian eye. What the viewer won't see is that these pictures
are collages: he's guiltlessly manipulated the party to create his
stifling images of alienation.
More typical was this series, as described on the museum's website:
Among [several extended photographic essays with political themes], his groundbreaking 1976 portrait series “The Family” is most
significant. Commissioned by Rolling Stone magazine, Avedon made 69 portraits
depicting elected officials, government bureaucrats, lawyers and lobbyists,
captains of industry, and union leaders—all representatives of the American
political, military, media, and corporate elite.
It's interesting to see people like the senior George Bush, described as "Director, CIA," included in this series in 1976, with no knowledge how much of an influence he (and his offspring) would have in the coming decades.
Corcoran Gallery of Art
500 17th Street, NW
Washington, DC 20006
(202) 824-0786
nearest metro: Farragut West (blue/orange line)
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