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.
Interpretation
The quote expresses awe for Audrey Hepburn's natural beauty and artistry, highlighting the photographer's role in capturing rather than enhancing her essence.
Richard Avedon reflects on his profound admiration for Audrey Hepburn, emphasizing that her intrinsic qualities and charisma are already of the highest caliber, making it impossible for him, as a photographer, to elevate her image further. Instead, his role is merely to capture her essence, acknowledging that Hepburn's true artistry and beauty are inherent and require no additional interpretation or enhancement.
In practice
In a speech at a photography exhibition, one might say, 'As Richard Avedon illustrated with Audrey Hepburn, great art lies in capturing the essence of the subject.'
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 never wanted to be called an artist. I wanted to be called a photographer.
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.
Songs for me are like a message in a bottle. You send them out to the world, and maybe the person who you feel that way about will hear about it someday.
When I listen to 'Nevermind,' I hate the production, but there's something about it that almost makes me cry at times.
I am not immune to the lure of a signed record, flier or set list. The fact that your music heroes potentially had, in their own hands, the record you now have in yours is kind of cool. When the musician has departed, it can give the thing a unique power.
Hang yourself, poet, in your own words. _x000D_ Otherwise, you are dead.
The artist part of me always wants to be appreciated. I read every review. But I never wanted to seek validation by awards or anything controlled by politics.
Beauty in music is too often confused with something that lets the ears lie back in an easy chair. Many sounds that we are used to do not bother us, and for that reason we are inclined to call them beautiful. Frequently, when a new or unfamiliar work is accepted as beautiful on its first hearing, its fundamental quality is one that tends to put the mind to sleep.
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