The pictures have a reality for me that the people don't. It is through the photographs that I know them.
Richard AvedonThere was no such person as Marilyn Monroe. Marilyn Monroe was an invention of hers. A genius invention that she created, like an author creates a character. She understood photography, and she also understood what makes a great photograph. She related to it as if she were giving a performance. She gave more to the still camera than any actress-any woman- I've ever photographed.
Richard AvedonWe all perform. It's what we do for each other all the time, deliberately or unintionally. It's a way of telling about ourselves in the hope of being recognized as what we'd like to be.--PERFORMANCE
Richard AvedonI hate cameras. They interfere, theyโre always in the way. I wish: if I could just work with my eyes alone. To get a satisfactory print, one that contains all that you intended, is very often more difficult and dangerous than the sitting itself. When Iโm photographing, I immediately know when Iโve got the image I really want. But to get the image out of the camera and into the open, is another matter.
Richard Avedon