Sunday, June 5, 2011

Dovima with Elephant: evening dress from 1955


Richard Avedon

Richard Avedon was an American photographer born in New York City to a Jewish Russian family on May 15, 1923. He started his life as a photographer at Merchant Marines in 1942 taking identification pictures of the crewmen. Working his way up through the company he finally opened his own studio. He then began shooting photos for vogue and life. He shot pictures of famous models such as Brooke Shields and Gianni Versace. Since the beginning of Richard’s Career, he has been interested in the way portraiture captures the personality and soul of a subject.

Avedon became the first staff photographer of The New Yorker in 1992. He also won awards such as The International Center of Photography Master of Photography Award in 1993. Richard Avedon died on October 1, 2004.

The specific photo that I found compelling of Richard Avedon’s is the Dovima with Elephant: evening dress from 1955. I was drawn to this photo because of the combination of animals and humans. Animal behavior and human behavior have been compared for centuries and combining the two and having do similar poses makes for an interesting relationship. I like the rough texture of the elephants skin and the smooth material used for the woman’s dress. Also the contrast between the elephants gray skin and the ladies white and black dress, really draws in the viewer to a focal point. I feel the photo is well balanced and holds an interesting composition.

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