Jean Shrimpton, Evening Dress by Cardin, Paris Studio, January 1970," gelatin silver print.
San Francisco Chronicle art critic Kenneth Baker on the new Richard Avedon show that opened at SFMOMA over the weekend:
Why do I think of MTV when I see the work of Richard Avedon? Because in his early fashion photographs, Avedon invented pictorial-style-as-branding. It envisions all demeanor as performance and uses movement that meets the camera more than halfway. These qualities reached an unanticipated apex in music videos but made their appearance first in Avedon’s innovative magazine pictures of the late 1940s.
Those feeling inspired by the exhibition should DIY their own Marilyn photograph like Flavorpill’s Adda Birnir did back in December.