This weekend, I watched Funny Face, and I just got caught up in all of its reverie: Hepburn's wits and charm, her quirkiness as a bookish model with a penchant for existentialism, the song and dance, the endearing Fred Astaire, the fashion, Paris, New York... I couldn't ask for more from a Saturday matinee! Yet, really, what makes this film magical is its cinematography. It's the way it captures the exuberance of Richard Avedon's work at the time. It made me want to see more.
Dovima with elephants, in a Dior dress, 1955 copyright Richard Avedon
Avedon brought fashion photography to a whole new level when things were really starting move. His work, especially here, signals the transition from the uptight 50s to the freewheelin' 60s. Every single one of his pictures is alive. During this period in particular, I find them to be playful and upbeat.
Suzy Parker and Robin Tattersall, at le Moulin Rouge, 1957 copyright Richard Avedon
Through to the 60s, as his work got more experimental, Avedon still knew how to keep the spark alive in his subject. I think that is the mark of a great photographer: to capture what is real in the person he is shooting. Beauty isn't necessarily pretty. Instead, beauty should be raw and honest. Avedon understood this, and his work, fashion related or otherwise, really depicts true beauty. He gives us beauty as both exuberantly light and tragically still.
Audrey Hepburn, 1967 copyright Richard Avedon
Mental Institution #26, 1963 copyright Richard Avedon
For a complete archive visit the Richard Avedon Foundation.
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