I never wanted to be called an artist. I wanted to be called a photographer.
Interpretation
Avedon emphasizes the distinction between the broader term 'artist' and the specific title of 'photographer', highlighting his desire for authenticity in his work.
Richard Avedon's quote expresses his preference for the label of 'photographer' rather than the more general term 'artist'. This distinction reflects his deep commitment to the medium of photography as a unique form of expression, suggesting that he sees photography not simply as a tool but as a nuanced art form that conveys its own artistic vision.
In practice
In a speech about the value of different artistic disciplines, one might quote Avedon to emphasize the importance of specificity in art.
There's always been a separation between fashion and what I call my 'deeper' work. Fashion is where I make my living. I'm not knocking it. It's a pleasure to make a living that way. It's pleasure and then there's the deeper pleasure of doing my portraits. It's not important what I consider myself to be, but I consider myself to be a portrait photographer.
I am, and forever will be, devastated by the gift of Audrey Hepburn before my camera. I cannot lift her to greater heights. She is already there. I can only record. I cannot interpret her. There is no going further than who she is. She has achieved in herself her ultimate portrait.
Photography has always reminded me of the second child.. trying to prove itself. The fact that it wasn't really considered an art.. that it was considered a craft.. has trapped almost every serious photographer.
My portraits are more about me than they are about the people I photograph.
When you pose for a photograph, it's behind a smile that isn't yours. You are angry and hungry and alive. What I value in you is that intensity. I want to make portraits as intense as people.
I think all art is about control, the encounter between control and uncontrollable.
Art has a way of confronting us, of reminding us, of engaging us, in what it means to be human, and what it means to be human is to be flawed, is to be contradictory, is to be often weak, and yet despite all of these what we would consider drawbacks, that we're also quite beautiful. Spin is the opposite.
My design always has a political agenda. When I borrow components from various cultures and juxtapose them in an object, it is a message that co-existence is indeed possible. Design creates an ideal world where different ideas live close to each other in perfect harmony.
When I was younger, I thought I had to shut myself off, work really hard to cry. I learned after a while that that's just not... You know, often in life, you cry when you're caught off-guard. That's where I need to be when I'm acting, too.
Most of us do not consciously look at movies.
The thing that was important to me about Hemingway at the time was that Hemingway taught me that you could be a writer and get away with it.
Making money is art and working is art and good business is the best art.
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