Richard Avedon's Texas Photos

The Amon Carter Museum in Fort Worth commissioned New York photographer Richard Avedon to create a collection of portraits of the American West in 1978. Avedon, whose credits included portraits of Jack and Jackie Kennedy, Truman Capote, Andy Warhol, Malcolm X, and Pablo Picasso, was at first skeptical about the project. But the work he started at a rattlesnake roundup in Sweetwater, Texas, turned into a major five year project. Rather than photograph celebrities or fashion models, this time he turned his lens toward oil field workers, truckers, and drifters to startling effect.

Martina and I visited the "Avedon in Texas" exhibit at the Amon Carter yesterday afternoon. The moment I entered the gallery I found myself mesmerized by the power of these large black and white photographs. The portraits are haunting and evoke the life and soul of the people portrayed. Their lives are told on their bodies. Sweat, grease, and knife scars testify to the lives lived. The portrait of the young store clerk with piercing, enchanting eyes was hard to turn away from, and the portrait of the long-haul trucker shirtless in his jeans evoked a feeling of timelessness, for this man would not have been out of place in a High Renaissance painting. "Avedon in Texas" is truly an important collection, and if you happen to be in Cowtown between now and July 2, I would highly recommend visiting this free exhibition.  

http://www.cartermuseum.org/exhibitions/avedon-in-texas-selections-from-in-the-american-west