DC-In-Detroit is a longtime contributor to the MCBShe can be reached at DC.in.Detroit [at] gmail.com
MCB was invited to the media preview and reception for the DIA's latest special exhibit, "Avedon Fashion Photographs 1944-2000."
As an unabashed fan of both the DIA and photography, this was an event I really looked forward to. Since the massive renovations at the DIA, there are still parts of the museum I had yet to explore, including the Special Exhibitions wing, off the Farnsworth entrance. After enlisting one of our intrepid MCB photogs, we hit the scene.
The DIA does it up right, of course, and upon landing at the second floor, we were greeted by crisply white-shirted waitstaff and libations to warm us up from the October drizzle. This was not only a media preview event, but a reception by (and for) the Ladies of Avedon, a group of a dozen women integral to bringing this gorgeous national exhibit to Detroit, so the Beautiful People were out in force. As well they should have been! This is a fashion photography exhibit, after all.
The esteemed Ladies of Avedon.The visibility of Richard Avedon's work cannot be over-stated. Even if you aren't a fan of photography or of fashion editorial, you've seen his work, maybe without even realizing it. I've been aware of Avedon's portraiture (and not just Nasstassja Kinski and the snake) for years, but had not seen much of his early work, particularly for Harper's Bazaar, much of which is included in the exhibit.
Avedon's eye for movement and focus was really incredible -- even in a setting as manic and chaotic as the Moulin Rouge, the eye of the viewer lands exactly where Avedon directed it to. There are not only superb technical techniques on display here, but a sense of style and play and life, expertly captured. And this is what made Avedon such a force. He was not one to simply put a beautiful woman in a designer gown and photograph her in a studio -- there are elephants and dancing girls and dogs and Buster Keaton and smoking... always smoking. You might forget for a moment that these are fashion spreads at all -- it's the genius way in.
Donyale LunaThe image chosen to represent this exhibit has special significance for the city of Detroit. While bucking (or creating) trends in photography, Avedon was a long-time advocate for diversity in his industry. The leggy beauty in the billboard image is Donyale Luna, a Detroiter he photographed for Vogue in 1966, on the heels of the major rushes in the Civil Rights movement. Even so, this photograph remained unpublished -- in fact, banned -- due to the sheer controversy embodied by Luna. Sometimes it's easy to forget that there was a time when being gorgeous just wasn't enough.
This is a pretty big exhibit -- although a small percentage of the Avedon Foundation's 500,000 negatives! -- arranged in a clean, well-organized space. Visitors will start with the earliest of Avedon's published and un-published works, one section of which is displayed in a flat-black room to maximize the beautiful contrast of the crisp black and white works. After you've made it through the year 2000, you'll still have plenty of time to tour more of the DIA. Which you should do; you really owe it to yourself. And me. You owe it to me. It'll finally give us something to talk about.
Photos by Deelux Studios10 a.m.-4 p.m. Wednesday-Thursday
10 a.m.-10 p.m. Friday
10 a.m.-5 p.m. Saturday-Sunday
Now through January 17
Detroit Institute of Arts
5200 Woodward, Detroit
313-833-7900
http://www.dia.org/
$12 adults, $6 ages 6-17, includes museum admission.