"Dick and Dirk, My time with Avedon" by Dirk Kikstra

Sept 2004. the phone rings, upon answering, all I hear on the other
end is a fumbling line and then a clearing of the throat. "Dirk, Dick,
Is everything ready for D.C.?" "Yes Dick, no problems" "Great" "How is
it going in Texas?" "Wonderful, I really think this project is coming
together, can't wait to be in D.C.", "OK, see you soon" "Bye" "Bye".
That's it, the last conversation I had with Dick. Short but sweet,
kind of like most of the words we spoke. Dick was in Texas working on
a project for the New Yorker, that would become Democracy, the next
day he was admitted into the hospital and within a week he would be
gone.

My relationship with Dick started a few years before I had even meet
him. He was Richard Avedon to me then. In 1994, I was at school
studying to become a photographer (a car photographer to be exact).
American Photo came out with a special issue dedicated in big letters
to AVEDON, with a picture of a man covered in bees and a women in
front of elephants. Little did I even dream that in five years from
studying that issue with its lighting diagrams, peeks into his
equipment room and stories about his famous pictures, that I too would
be walking every day past a huge print of Dovema and the Elephants to
my desk, my desk as assistant to Richard Avedon. The road to that desk
was fairly surreal, I guess like most whom ended up working for Dick.

After completing school in Santa Barbara, I headed up to San
Francisco. Starting my first job, in a still life studio, which
extended my technical base that I had learned at university. People,
had always been my biggest fear, I based my whole school curriculum
around not having to take portraiture class. Once comfortable with a
person it was OK, but going up and asking a stranger a question, much
less asking to take a picture was death to me. Some how my time in San
Francisco change all that, I wanted to conquer my fear, I wanted to
become a fashion photographer. With that in mind I knew I had to move
to the fashion photo capital of the world New York City. After a year
or so of assisting various advertising and fashion photographers, a
friend from school, told me of a freelance position working for
Patrick Demarchelier. The man who was shooting everything from
Harper's Bazaar to princess Diana. I thought I had made it. Working
for Patrick was wonderful, he was doing up to three sittings a day and
there was always a lot of energy in the studio, he was at the height
of his career. The same friend who got me in the door at Patricks, I
forgot to mention previously, was Richard Avedons assistant. A few
months into my Demarchelier adventure he calls again. "Can you stop
freelancing for Patrick and take a full-time position as second
assistant here at the `Avedon Studio?" I had to think for a few
seconds "Yes!".

The Avedon studio has run on a hierarchy system for as long as anyone
can remember. Assistants are selected from top schools as interns,
then if there is a full time position, it is filled by the best
intern. One starts as a fourth assistant, then moves up to a third,
who hands film (8x10) on set and is in charge of equipment checks and
dark room supplies. As the top moves on, so do the other positions,
once you get to second assistant you are on camera, focusing, cropping
and following Dicks framing requests, also as second you are printing
all the black and white prints that come out of the studio. One does
the printing so that when he is promoted to first (studio manager)
assistant he has a full understanding of how Dick wants things lite.
We all learned from each other and mostly from the handed down system.
So me coming in as a second assistant and becoming first with in a
year and a half was quit rare and exciting.

I knew a few inside things before my first meeting (interview) with
Dick, one, he himself is rather short, so does not always like tall
people. The staff had warned Dick of my height and sold me as a
"Gentle Viking". Dick also runs his studio like a Samurai, he will cut
your hand off for little mistakes, but is forgiving on big blunders
and would say "You only get better when things go wrong!" I had never
been so nervous to meet someone, after all he was the man that shaped
modern fashion photography and had conquered both commerce and art. My
nerves were tested even more on the first day of photographing, "Oh
God, I hope it's all in focus" was all I could think about until the
film rolled out of the dark room. The next day as Dick walked into the
studio, my joy came out, by picking him up (later I heard from
witnesses his feet where dangling off the ground) and screaming "It's
great and in focus!".

I had the luck to come into the studio at a wonderful time, we were
shooting major campaigns (Dior, Hermes, Oscar del la Renta), printing
books (Made in France, Portraits) and we were working on a major
retrospective of his work at the Metropolitan Museum of Art. It was
wonderful watching him direct and delegate through all that work. He
spent everyday working and thinking about his craft. The funny thing
is, with all the time spent together, on trips or around the lunch
table or at sittings he rarely spoke about "photography", He spoke
often and passionately about literature or the theater (his big love)
or politics, but photography came up sparsely and really only to
convey a feeling he wanted to get in an image on instructions before a
sitting.

Dick had many sides to him, the crazy, demanding artist that would hit
you if you were not loading film fast enough or kick an art director
out for asking a stupid question (Is there going to be detail in the
black?) but also the compassionate human that called me about a
hundred time while my wife was in labor with our first child. I think
that that is why is was so good, yes he had talent and yes was at the
right place at the right time, and most certainly yes he had amazing
drive, but most of all it was his perfect balance between demanding
artist and compassionate human. For all that I count my self
incredibly luck to have spent almost five years with him. I often
still think of him, "What would Dick do?", when I'm working on a
fashion story or photographing a cover, or portraying a famous person.
I'm still to a certain point that shy student in California, but now
i have the confidence that Dick gave me.

PICTURE : Dick and Dirk 2004 by Lee Friedlander

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