Tori Winn worked in Richard Avedon’s studio in the 80s. This week I’m featuring an exclusive series of short essays about her experiences with him, his studio and his work.
EAST 76th STREET.
I got the job and I spent the next two years of my life working from within this marvelous townhouse studio on East 76th Street. It was like being part of a creative circus with a great family of people surrounding me. We all worked hard and were a troupe made up of photo assistants, studio assistants, art assistants, researchers, curators and specialists brought in to support whatever extracurricular projects and activities were going on. There were about 16 of us full-time. I was the youngest and my days were quite varied and would range from helping to manage and publish his poster collections to working with researchers and curators on art projects or helping his core team of 6 photo assistants. All of us contributed to making every day within the studio as great as it possibly could be. I often got to work in the archives–organising contact sheets and prints and looking through a world of images. Often on my own I would spend hours at the light box looking at film and moments often singled out with the mark of a red wax pencil. These visual riches made a huge impression on me and have fed my love and appreciation for how powerful a captured moment can be. And how poignant it is to be human. At Avedon’s I felt safe and I was given the freedom and encouragement to get involved in all kinds of projects. It was wonderful and with it came new opportunities to learn and grow all the time. I got paid barely anything but I was well fed and every day was new.
DICK AVEDON. 2.
Dick had vigorous energy and a passion for blending art with commerce in much of what he did. Every day was different with someone new coming in to be photographed and the studio was always busy. We were continually shape shifting to accommodate the different specialty acts that would walk through the doors to be photographed on a daily basis. Dick loved to tell stories and he often would come up with ideas that forced him to explore new ways of looking through the lens so he could capture and experience something magic and unexpected. A surprise. He photographed everything and almost everyone—he did editorial fashion work, advertising projects, portraits of cultural icons and people, and people with product. His ads for Calvin Klein fragrance were iconic mini movies that captured man’s obsession with woman. He did art and commerce and he worked mostly in the studio and sometimes on location. He surrounded himself with a tight team who were organized and disciplined and helped it all run smoothly so he could focus on the work.