In the American East: Avedon Incorporated

An investigative report on different aspects of the Richard Avedon exhibit ""In
the American West''. In the first part of this article, the author examines the
photographic practice Avedon used for the project; comparing this with Avedon's
well-known portraiture and fashion practice the author concludes: ""Avedon
incorporates and refashions the marginalized class in the American West, and
(...) fashionizes labour''. The second part of the article analyzes the way
these pictures have been used by museums and corporations. Remarkably, the Amon
Carter Museum commissioned Avedon to make this 5-year project in 1979, in
exchange for a full set of prints (124), now estimated as worth US $ 1,7
million. The exhibition, which toured USA, was presented as a full-fledged
media-show. Avedon, together with Public Relation Departments of Museums and/or
corporations, arranged very wide coverage in the media and tried to control the
publicity, resulting in record attendance of the show/exhibition. The author
states: ""Media attention was maximized, criticism minimized''. The author
describes the sponsoring, promotion and use made of the exhibit/show in
Boston's Institute of Contemporary Art. The sponsor, a department store, seemed
to appropriate both institute and artwork in its marketing strategy. A campaign
started for western wear on the basis of Avedon's show. The author's
conclusion: this Avedon show can be seen as exemplary of corporate
appropriation of the (photographic) art scene: ""The work of art is treated as
an empty vessel, used alternatively to promote the artist, the museum and the
corporate sponsor''.