The Mapfre Foundation in Madrid presents an exhibition of 110 photographs by Richard Avedon, taken for his 1985 book In the American West. The exhibition portrays ordinary people from the American West, such as workers and miners, capturing their reality without idealization. It is a free opportunity to see a raw and human portrait of that era, accessible to everyone.
Avedon's technique: direct light and neutral background for social portraiture 📸
Avedon used a white background and natural light to isolate his subjects, removing any distractions from the environment. This technique, similar to that of a portable photographic studio, allowed the dusty clothes and marked hands of the workers to be the focus of each image. The result is a series of frontal portraits that document without adornment the living conditions of miners, cowboys, and the unemployed of the American West in the 1980s.
Cowboys without Photoshop: this is what selfies from the real West looked like 🤠
Forget about Instagram filters. There are no horses at sunset or perfect hats here. Avedon portrayed his models with the same rawness with which a miner shows coal under his nails. If you were expecting to see Clint Eastwood posing, forget it: here are guys with sweaty shirts and the looks of those who have woken up earlier than you have in your entire life. Free, though.