Example Of Essay On Darkness And Light Richard Avedon

Darkness and Light, the documentary film by Helen Whitney, follows the life’s work of Richard Avedon, a legend who sparked a revolution in the world of fashion and portrait photography. The documentary provides viewers with in-depth insight into the inspirations, personal life, and work ethics of Avedon. The thing that stands out about Avedon after watching the documentary is the fact that he tries to nurture perceptions that are discarded by most people.
Richard Avedon appears to be a photographer who is really in tune with himself. It is easy to be impressed by Avedon, mainly because of his never ending personal charm and photographic inventiveness. The documentary makes it apparent that Avedon is a ‘creator’ who creates through self-examination, and he makes it appear seemingly effortless. It also becomes evident that Avedon is fond of using stark white backgrounds, where every smile, smirks, stare and wrinkle in his subjects is highlighted. This is definitely his signature, which makes him stand out from other fashion and portrait photographers. This is why his work is so distinctly recognized all over the world.
Avedon’s process of capturing images appears to be absolutely marvelous and surprising. An emotion and personality is brought out from the models by Avedon’s own movements, which is probably something that was not common for that time. Personally, I see the growth of Avedon a portrait photographer from the fact that he is able to reveal character. He has used both publicly known and unknown subjects for his works, and his photographs service as distinct documents the variety of the human experience.
Richard Avedon’s philosophy is certainly agreeable that in order to become a photographer, things that are discarded by most people need to be nurtured. Indeed, much like Avedon, I also refuse to believe the photography is merely a passive reflection of the real world. Just like him, I hope to invest all of my works with fragments of my own face and soul. The art of self-examination is something that can be learned from Avedon, but unlike the visual genius, I have barely scratched the surface.
Although I cannot say for sure whether such self-examination can be unlocked through time and work, or whether there is some trick to it, or even whether Avedon simply inherited a self-examination gene. However, after watching the documentary I do personally feel that an enormous amount of creativity can be unlocked through self-examination when it comes to photography, and I want to continue exploring.
Another thing that I have learned from watching this documentary and from Richard Avedon’s photographs is that the reason they became so iconic in culture is because they manage to change the thinking of the society of “Celebrity.” Avedon’s photographs revealed not only the glitter but also the terrors, which the film most distressingly shows in Avedon’s late night portraiture of Marilyn Monroe. As Avedon keeps on reiterating throughout the film, I agree that an art like photography has to deal with much greater issues.
Whether someone is already familiar with Richard Avedon’s name or learns about him by watching Helen Whitney’s documentary film, Darkness and Light, it cannot be denied that Avedon left a lasting impression on every aspect of advertising, fashion and portrait photography in the past half century. As pointed out in the film, the relationship between photographers and their subjects was forever change by Avedon, transforming the photographers into a dominant force, and giving them total control. Based on all of this, not only do I appreciate Richard Avedon’s craft, but the man himself, as well.