Richard Avedon exhibit at SFMOMA

I forgot to blog about this exhibit which I saw several weeks ago so it feels like old news. But it’s actually very timely because first Tuesday is coming up and it’s FREE day at SFMOMA. (However, you will have to pay $5 for this special exhibit but it’s well worth it). Get there early!

One of my favorite people and musical artists, Bjork. LOVE her!

This juxtaposition of Ceasar Chavez and Ronald Reagan struck me as an unusual pairing.

If the gallery in these photos looks deserted it’s because I waited very patiently in line, before the museum even opened, then raced upstairs to the fourth floor and was actually the FIRST person inside this exhibit. It might have something to do with the Ansel Adams/Georgie O’Keefe show that was occurring concurrently and is also in it’s final days at the museum.

But I wasn’t interested in O’Keefe and Adams. What I really wanted to see was Avedon. I was particularly drawn to the photos of old men. There is something about the stories their faces tell.

This photo of Doon Arbus was probably my favorite. I recently read the biography of Diane Arbus, Doon’s mother, who committed suicide in 1971 so it has special significance.

Many of these photos are familiar to me because I saw Avedon’s exhibit back in the 80′s and even shook his hand. Remarkable man. He worked until the day he died in 2004 at the age of 81. I even have the book of the exhibit In the American West.

Here’s a ticket stub I saved from 1986 when I saw Avedon speak, at the old SFMOMA. Funny that I still have it after all these years.