I've seen many of Avedon's portraits from the "American West," as they are his signature pieces, but seeing all of the portraits collected together was a very powerful experience. So many of the portraits are seriouis and borderline dour that the collection has a slight negative tinge, but I think that this is kind of the point; the "West" in this period of time is going through a certain amount of recession and many are going through struggles with the transition from the prosperous past to an empty future. I'm not sure what the effect of Avedon's collection was on the general public when it came to a public viewing, but I can imagine that the impact was strong. ( )

Voor zijn boek "In the American west" fotografeerde Richard Avedon tussen 1979 en 1984 in 189 steden en dorpen in 17 staten. In totaal fotografeerde hij zo'n 752 mensen. Avedon fotografeerde vooral mensen aan de onderkant van de samenleving die hij vol trots prachtig portretteerde. In dit boek staan prachtige portretfoto's in zwart-wit van zwervers, werklozen, fabrieksarbeiders, mijnwerkers, werkers in de olieindustrie, huisvrouwen enzovoort.
Ik vind dit boek een van de mooiste fotoboeken met portretten dat ik ken. ( )