The very first photograph I saw on Richard Avedon’s Portfolio, The American West really grabbed my attention. He titles this picture, “Boyd Fortin, Thirteen Year Old Rattlesnake Skinner, Sweetwater, Texas, Texas, March 10, 1979. All photographs: Richard Avedon/The Richard Avedon Foundation.” I found myself staring at this piece for a few minutes before I even looked at other images. I discover more each time I look closer at the boy holding the snake, from seeing its head chopped off to then seeing its skin flayed off against the boy’s shirt. The fact that this picture was taken as a portrait with an off-white background also contributes to its success by clearly focusing on the boy and the beheaded snake he’s holding.
