Avedon: The Sixties

by Richard Avedon and Doon Arbus

Random House, 256 pp., $75

Richard Avedon’s book The Sixties speaks for itself about the decade that best represents the 20th century. It is one of the most visually compelling volumes of photographs from one of the most visually compelling photographers of the century. With Doon Arbus alongside as scribe (she is the daughter of photographer Diane Arbus), the words come as hard as the faces, though the sentiment is sometimes as soft as the youth within. Like no other decade, the Sixties were about youth. Avedon’s photos define that decade even more so than Warhol’s peculiar self-consciousness, from the solarized color image of John Lennon on the front cover to Abbie Hoffman’s fuck-you on the back. When all the millennium hoo-rah is over and a little dust has settled on the Nineties, the perspective might be different, for Avedon has also documented the decades since. Still, it’s a safe bet that The Sixties will stand as one of the enduring chronicles of the eponymous decade.

This article appears in December 17 • 1999.

A note to readers: Bold and uncensored, The Austin Chronicle has been Austin’s independent news source for over 40 years, expressing the community’s political and environmental concerns and supporting its active cultural scene. Now more than ever, we need your support to continue supplying Austin with independent, free press. If real news is important to you, please consider making a donation of $5, $10 or whatever you can afford, to help keep our journalism on stands.

SUPPORT US