When I was in college my mom and I took one of our many trips to NYC, where we would have lunch , stop into a few bookstores, and occasionally go to Soho to visit galleries. (Soho you say? What’s that?) On one trip I picked up a paperback copy of Richard Avedon’s incredible book of photographs, ‘In The American West’. I remember looking at the pictures the entire ride home and then using the inspiration I got from it in my own work. At that point I was half way through college (RISD) and found Avedon’s portraits profoundly influential. Cut to almost twenty years later and I discover that Avedon’s assistant on that photographic expedition was a woman named Laura Wilson, who wrote a book about it called; ‘Avedon at Work in the American West’. Turns out she is the mother of the Wilson brothers, Luke, Andrew and Owen, who have collectively been in some great movies, all made by Wes Anderson. Certainly not breaking news to anyone but me, but interesting just the same. I can’t remember if I knew this back in college, or even cared, but that’s college for you… -JR
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