Avedon's political work
23 Mar 1963
Richard Avedon started out as an advertising photographer in 1944 before moving to fashion photography in 1945 (nytimes.com 2004). He would stay in fashion photography and move to taking photographs of those like the Chicago Seven, a counterculture group targeted by the DOJ for attempting to protest the DNC in 1968, and members of The Factory (nytimes.com 2012). His other photographic subjects include a victim of napalm, the SNCC led by Julian Bond (pictured above), the destruction of the Berlin Wall, and those who were institutionalized (avedonfoundation.org). Avedon's work, especially photographing members of The Factory and Warhol, is a snapshot of American life at the time of the 1960s, marked by turbulence and counterculture. Warhol’s own works are no different, showcasing his avante-garde inclinations (how many conformists would consider photographing those who are considered outsiders?). Both Warhol's and Avedon's works would shape 1960s pop (counter-) culture and, in turn, reflect counterculture; and neither of them flinch from what might be considered provocative (Avedon's subjects have been spoken for; Warhol's film works would barely follow the Hays Code, which was in place until 1968—and he had an FBI file on him for obscenity, which will be elaborated on later).
