Archived posting to the Leica Users Group, 2001/08/13

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Subject: Re: [Leica] ELEKTRONIX
From: Daniel Bowdoin <danlb@mindspring.com>
Date: Mon, 13 Aug 2001 18:32:57 -0700
References: <20010813211859.QXOU19732.femail43.sdc1.sfba.home.com@[65.1.114.25]>

Henry Ambrose wrote

> . . . Avedon's pictures are from reasonably current days and guess what?
>I still don't see "The American West" in them. The people he chose are 
>simply the subjects that he found interesting - again his take on what he 
>saw. What he saw as a fashion photographer. There's lots more to any 
>country or area than finding some "photogenic subjects" and calling them 
>representative.
>
>I can see how some would call them lies. They certainly are not accurate 
>images of Americans as I know them. Some of them could be "The Mexicans" 
>as far as I know. . . . .

>I don't see "The American West"

I would respectfully point out that the title of Avedon's book was not
"The American West". It was "In the American West." I do not believe that
Avedon has ever claimed that he was trying to find "representative"
images to illustrate the western United States or that he has ever
claimed that his subjects were "representative" in the sense that you
seem to expect of him. 

Daniel Bowdoin

Replies: Reply from Mark Rabiner <mark@rabiner.cncoffice.com> (Re: [Leica] ELEKTRONIX)
In reply to: Message from Henry Ambrose <henryambrose@home.com> (Re: [Leica] ELEKTRONIX)