Andy Warhol, Artist, August 14, 1969, courtesy of Gagosian Gallery and The Richard Avedon Foundation
Abbie Hoffman, Yippie, New York, September 11, 1968, courtesy of Gagosian Gallery and The Richard Avedon Foundation
Andy Warhol and members of The Factory: Gerard Malanga, poet; Viva, actress; Paul Morrissey, director; Taylor Mead, actor; Brigid Polk, actress; Joe Dallesandro, actor; Andy Warhol, artist., New York, October 9, 1969, courtesy of Gagosian Gallery and The Richard Avedon Foundation
Dao Dua, "The Coconut Monk", Mekong Monastery, Phoenix Island, South Vietnam, 1971, courtesy Gagosian Gallery and The Richard Avedon Foundation
Rose Mary Woods, secretary to President Richard Nixon, Washington D.C., August 10, 1975, courtesy Gagosian Gallery and The Richard Avedon Foundation
Florence Kennedy, civil rights lawyer, New York, August 1, 1969, courtesy Gagosian Gallery and The Richard Avedon Foundation
Photo by Robert McKeever, courtesy Gagosian Gallery
Photo by Robert McKeever, courtesy Gagosian Gallery
Photo by Robert McKeever, courtesy Gagosian Gallery
Photo by Robert McKeever, courtesy Gagosian Gallery
Photo by Robert McKeever, courtesy Gagosian Gallery
Though he may no longer be with us, it's clear that the work of Richard Avedon is as alive and relevant as ever. Gagosian Gallery is currently hosting a display of the esteemed photographer's portraits of radicals from the turbulent early 70s. Avedon's subjects lived extraordinary lives: their vision and accomplishments influenced the civil, artistic, and military progress of that decade that many of us take for granted.
The photos are gigantic and the space is as still as a sanctuary, creating an ambiance that resurrects the dead in black and white. It's stunning to see how, with the excessive rhetoric surrounding Occupy Wall Street, a portrait of the Chicago Seven is a bigger statement than hours of news commentary; ironic that with all the controversy over gay rights, Allen Ginsberg and Peter Orlovsky say the most by locking lips.
Through July 6th, 2012
GAGOSIAN GALLERY 522 West 21st Street
New York, NY 10011 MAP