Richard Avedon - Portraiture

Richard Avedon was an American photographer who’s fashion and portrait photographs helped define America's image of style, beauty and culture. Avedon set up his own studio in the 1940’s and began providing images for magazines such as Vogue, Life and Harper's Bazaar, his style of photography did not conform to the standard technique where models stood emotionless and seemingly bored, instead he showed models and sitters full of emotion and on occasion action.

Henry Moore - what’s in a portrait, this single hand image is so different from the norm, by just showing one of his hands the image seems to encompass his art, inner strength and shows how his chosen carrier has left its mark. It would be very interesting to know what the initial brief was and where the image would be used and what the clients reaction was to seeing the images for the first time...

Maurizio Cattelan is an Italian artist, better known for his satirical sculptures and a reputation as the art scene’s joker, this humorous approach to work is captured well by Avedon the hands could be sculpting, molding or just pulling the face in to any number of looks.

Marcel Duchamp was a French artist whose work is most often associated with the Dadaist and Surrealist movements. I like the way in which the hands have been used to frame the face and also draw your attention to the eyes, the hands also seem to be supporting a floating head which links nicely to the surrealist movement.