{"id":6403,"date":"2019-11-22T14:17:24","date_gmt":"2019-11-22T19:17:24","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.ceros.com\/inspire\/?p=6403"},"modified":"2021-03-10T11:47:14","modified_gmt":"2021-03-10T16:47:14","slug":"richard-avedon-behind-the-scenes-book","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.ceros.com\/inspire\/originals\/richard-avedon-behind-the-scenes-book\/","title":{"rendered":"The Secrets of Richard Avedon and His Legendary Studio"},"content":{"rendered":"Reading Time: <\/span> 7<\/span> minutes<\/span><\/span>\n

When the postman came to deliver the mail, Richard Avedon would invite him into his Manhattan studio. Avedon\u2014the man who had photographed everyone from Marilyn Monroe to Malcolm X to Ronald Reagan, who had major shows at the Met and the MoMa, who is arguably the most famous fashion photographer of all time\u2014would casually walk the postman over to a butcher block table where prints were being considered. And then he\u2019d ask the postman for his preference. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Why would he do that? <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cNew eyes,\u201d Avedon said. \u201cAlways new eyes.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"
Father and son, 1974.
From Avedon<\/em> by Gideon Lewin, published by powerHouse Books.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

To understand how Avedon stayed creative while running a successful studio for more than five decades, Ceros sat down with Gideon Lewin, who worked at Avedon\u2019s side for 16 years. Lewin was Avedon\u2019s studio manager, master printer, and problem-solver-in-chief, and his new, revealing, photo-driven memoir, Avedon: Behind the Scenes<\/em> 1964-1980<\/em><\/a>, has just been published. Here, Avedon\u2019s strategies, work habits, and rituals.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

How Richard Avedon Got The Most From His Team<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

In his book, Lewin writes that Avedon inspired his people to work beyond their limits. \u201cHe truly believed that every problem has a solution,\u201d says Lewin. \u201cAnd that became the reality in the studio.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"
Lauren Hutton on set, Vogue, 1974.
From Avedon<\/em> by Gideon Lewin, published by powerHouse Books.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Avedon set the bar high on Lewin\u2019s first day on the job. \u201cDick told us that he wanted to create something for a shoot. The studio manager at the time and I looked at each other and said, \u2018It\u2019s impossible.\u2019 Dick got very angry, and said, \u2018There’s no such thing as impossible. Go back and think. Every problem has a solution<\/em>.\u2019\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Lewin says that that attitude turned everyone in the studio into problem-solvers, and today he looks back on it as \u201ca life lesson. That line stayed in my mind, and it was the last time I ever said something was impossible.\u201d   <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"
Polly Mellen and Patti Hansen creating “the look” for Vogue, December 1977.
From Avedon<\/em> by Gideon Lewin, published by powerHouse Books.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

How Avedon Hired for Success<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Avedon\u2019s studio was inundated with resumes. So who made the cut and why? <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Lewin would interview candidates first, looking for specific skills and capabilities; only if he thought the person had the chops would they meet with Avedon. But Avedon, says Lewin, was less interested in their specific talents and more focused on their intellect, in the ideas they could bring into the studio: \u201cDick would ask, \u2018What was the last book you read? Have you read Kafka?\u2019\u201d Lewin remembers. Avedon wanted ideas and perspectives from all over the world and so, by design, \u201cWe had assistants from Sweden, France, Italy\u2014a real mix,\u201d says Lewin, who himself was born in Jerusalem. \u201cHe didn\u2019t want the studio to be a boring place.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"
Avedon, Hiro, Arbus, The Master Class, 1967.
From Avedon<\/em> by Gideon Lewin, published by powerHouse Books.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

He succeeded in that: Many of the pictures in Lewin\u2019s book depict a studio filled with a sense of energy and community. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

What Avedon Valued Most in His Collaborators<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Highly creative people often want to focus on their vision rather than on the duct tape, paper clips, and chicken wire that it takes to bring the vision to life. This was certainly true of Avedon. And this is why he valued people who could not only crack any problem put in front of them, but also anticipate his needs. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Lewin, for instance, learned how to fix frozen camera parts weeks before<\/em> Avedon\u2019s iconic Vogue<\/em> shoot in Japan\u2019s snow country with the model Verushka\u2014skills he ended up using on the trip. But the best of example of this silent anticipation took place during shoots, with the all-important lighting. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n
\"\"
Veruschka being styled, Hokkaido, 1966.
From Avedon<\/em> by Gideon Lewin, published by powerHouse Books.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Lewin knew exactly<\/em> the kind of shots Avedon was likely to take as well as the kind of lighting and shadow that turned a picture into an \u201cAvedon picture\u201d and he responded accordingly: \u201cDick would be behind the camera, and I’d be holding the light, moving with the subject,\u201d Lewin says. \u201cI could hear the click of his camera in my mind even before he took the picture. He wouldn’t have to tell me, \u2018I want the light here, I want it there.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"
Ara Gallant creating a bracelet for Veruschka, Tokyo, 1966.
From Avedon<\/em> by Gideon Lewin, published by powerHouse Books.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Curiosity Kept Avedon Current<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

When you\u2019re making images that are not only expected to reflect the culture but actually lead<\/em> it, your radar has to be highly attuned to the slightest ripples in the Zeitgeist. \u201cDick was always way ahead of the game,\u201d Lewin says. \u201cHe knew the pulse of changes in the culture of society and politics.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

How did Avedon manage to be up-to-date in the midst of shooting big-budget ad campaigns, high-concept editorial stories, and personal projects? When he wasn\u2019t working, he went to performances\u2014theater, ballet\u2014and to museums, of course. (Lewin remembers one day when Avedon came back from the Met: \u201cHe\u2019d seen a painting and he said, \u2018This<\/em> is the kind of lighting quality I like to see.\u201d)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"
Inspecting the tan with Rene, for Vogue, Baja, 1974.
From Avedon<\/em> by Gideon Lewin, published by powerHouse Books.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

And he was a big reader of \u201call the heavy stuff.\u201d He hung out with artists and intellectuals (but interestingly, says Lewin, very few photographers) and he would also talk with everyone who came into the studio, both well-known names and less-than-worldly models. \u201cHe\u2019d ask them, \u2018What clubs are you going to, what movies have you seen?\u2019\u201d As a photographer, he observed and absorbed everything he saw, says Lewin. \u201cVisual people just pick up on things that most people don’t.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

What Made Richard Avedon Run<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Parties, events, openings, actors, artists, models\u2014Richard Avedon could have been at the center of a dozen buzzing social circles. But as Lewin says, \u201cI’ve never seen anybody work as hard as he did or be so dedicated to his work. It seemed like he was working 24 hours a day.\u201d And he focused on the work to the exclusion of almost everything else\u2014including his own success. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"
Lauren Hutton on set, Vogue, September 1974.
From Avedon<\/em> by Gideon Lewin, published by powerHouse Books.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

In Behind the Scenes<\/em>, Lewin describes the opening of Avedon\u2019s big show at the Met: \u201cIt was a gala event, a real New York happening. The lines to see the exhibit exceeded all expectations. Yet Dick was already thinking about the next project he would focus on.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Lewin continues, \u201cI have never met anyone so totally committed to photography, continuously creating imagery with a fierce determination to leave a legacy.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The One Thing Richard Avedon Hated <\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

\u201cHe had a tremendous amount of energy, which was contagious, and charm that won your heart,\u201d writes Lewin in Behind the Scenes<\/em>. \u201cHe could be manipulative when he needed to be, vindictive when he did not get his way. He was also extremely critical of his own work.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Oh, and one more thing: Avedon hated<\/em> surprises. This is true of many people who are used to being in control. Avedon, whose vision for a picture story was fully formed before the first snap, was a case in point. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

And this extended beyond the work itself: To celebrate the successful opening of his show at the Minneapolis Institute of Art in 1970, Lewin printed up paper masks with Avedon\u2019s face on them; when the photographer walked into the room, everyone was wearing them. It was meant to be a light moment, but Avedon was furious. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"
Avedon and Ben Fernandez, The Master Class, 1967.
From Avedon<\/em> by Gideon Lewin, published by powerHouse Books.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

\u201cHe had a great sense of humor but he had to be in total control,\u201d says Lewin, and he had to know where everything was heading; being surprised is the opposite of that. It\u2019s worth noting that years later, Avedon agreed to wear the mask while he sat for Lewin\u2019s camera; the result\u2014a brilliant, mysterious portrait\u2014appears on the cover of Behind the Scenes<\/em>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

He Knew How to Work the System<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Avedon shot advertisements for 60 years, including iconic campaigns for Calvin Klein (the controversial ads featuring Brooke Shields), Chanel, Versace, and Dior. But even with a creative master like Richard Avedon, the advertiser still presented him with an approved concept and storyboards to which he was supposed to adhere. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

But, says Lewin, \u201cYou never do exactly that, of course. You do it and you also do your own interpretation, too, and you hope they\u2019ll discover that your idea is better.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"
Avedon with collage, 1965.
From Avedon<\/em> by Gideon Lewin, published by powerHouse Books.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Once, Avedon returned from a shoot for Revlon with three images and showed them to the client… who hated all of them. He demanded a reshoot, and Team Avedon obliged; they returned the next week with the same three images. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The client pointed to one, and said, \u201cI love it.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Bill Shapiro is the former editor-in-chief of LIFE magazine and the author of<\/em> What We Keep.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Legendary photographer Richard Avedon was one of a kind. How did he maintain his creative edge? We spoke with his longtime studio manager to find out.<\/div>\n

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