"Have mercy on me," said Henry Kissinger as he was about to be photographed by Richard Avedon. Avedon was known for his ability to lay bare the souls of his subjects, often photographing them against totally white or otherwise stark backgrounds. At one time, Avedon was the highest paid fashion an

Documentary photography, Dramatic, Elegant, Eroticism , Fashion photography, Gritty, Intimate, Severe, Spare

Baldessari's work involves mundane objects tagged with equally unremarkable texts that often produce barks of laughter and/or cynicism from viewers. His compositions are montages of apparently unrelated visual or textual fragments from photographs, film stills, newspapers, magazines, and artworks.

Conceptual photography, In-your-face, Quirky, Visceral, Whimsical

His artistic avocations were many -- poet, novelist, painter, playwright, set designer, actor -- but Jean Cocteau's work as a filmmaker distilled his creative vision with a special lucidity. In film he could bring his Surrealist language and imagery together, making the dreamlike palpable and present

Existentialist literature, Horror, Surreal, Surrealist film, Surrealist literature, Surrealist photography, Trippy

"The choice of a new generation." It's the cheesiest!" "You are not yourself." Guess which one of these catchy slogans came from Barbara Kruger. Here's a hint: it made you paranoid. Kruger combines unsettling slogans with found or fabricated images from popular culture -- photographs from magazin

Cartoonish, In-your-face, Media art, Political, Pop, Spectral