Annie Leibovitz: A Photographer’s Life, 1990-2005
Annie Leibovitz, Cafe Flore, Paris 1997 | photograph by Martin Schoeller
I’m feeling very clear of mind after a recent (road)trip south to the city of Sydney; almost so much so that I am in too good a mood to be sitting down and writing. Luckily I have some suitably chirpy music so I can expend my happy energy through foot-bopping.
It may have something to do with the fresh sea air, salt water and sunshine on the way down, the hours of good music and conversation, the endless possibility of a big, new city, or simply just the tendency that a change of scenery has to provide a fresh perspective on life and on oneself.
Seeing some great art is also, of course, a big advantage.
Melbourne will always be my favourite Australian city (it is, after all, my place of birth and I am nothing if not loyal), and Brisbane will always be my home, but there is something about Sydney with its splendid natural beauty and… largeness, in all things… that has a special draw.
It was with this mindset, a whole lot of anticipation, and a tummy full of sweet corn fritters and ricotta hotcakes from Bill’s Surry Hills (marry me, Bill Granger!) that I approached the Annie Leibovitz exhibition at the Museum of Contemporary Art.
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Presenting… Annie Leibovitz: A Photographer’s Life 1990 - 2005
Everything seemed to be coming up roses as my MCA-going companion and I arrived at the gallery precisely, and by chance, fifteen minutes prior to a presentation by Stills Gallery curator Sandy Edwards, who is, herself, a greatly celebrated Australian feminist photographer. This gave us a very pleasant, educated footing from which to experience the exhibition.
Something that I was very aware of before visiting, and which was highlighted by Edwards, was the highly dualistic nature of Leibovitz’s work, and the focus that this particular exhibition has on that dualism. Most people know Leibovitz for her glamorous and heavily produced portraits for Vanity Fair, and, earlier, Rolling Stone magazine. In parallel to this, however, Leibovitz also documents her own life and the lives of her loved ones in a much more natural and unscripted manner.
The exhibition was first shown in Brooklyn in 2005. At that exhibition, Leibovitz is quoted as saying, in relation to the ostensible two extremes in her work, that she doesn’t have two lives, career and personal, but has one. Her assignment work and her personal photography are all part of her life, and her story. It has been said that it was Leibovitz’s partner, writer and theorist Susan Sontag, that encouraged her to dedicate time to personal photographs, and, indeed, Sontag features in large way in Leibovitz’s personal collection.
It is interesting to consider the notion of ‘artistic merit’ in relation to Leibovitz’s assignment portraits versus that which may be found in her personal photographs. Depending on your attitude, it is conceivable that one and not the other may be considered art. The notion of ‘celebrity’ and commerciality is generally frowned upon in the art world, particularly if a piece seems to be promoting or furthering the ideal, or approaching it in a non-critical manner. It is important to note, however, that Leibovitz is a highly skilled and technically brilliant photographer, and that this is evident in both styles of photography. Indeed, it is demonstrated by her versatility.
A lot of people would consider images such as the one below to be extremely beautiful, breathtaking, wondrous; images that are artistic and skilful in the way they are able to create an illusion, and further an ideal - of beauty, glamour, mystery.
Annie Leibovitz | Nicole Kidman New York 2003 | Courtesy of Vogue
And that, to me, is art.
Annie Leibovitz | Mikhail Baryshnikov and Rob Besserer Cumberland Island, Georgia 1990
(Bill Granger, I take it back. Marry me, Mikhail Baryshnikov!) (minus 30 years)
Annie Leibovitz | Johnny Depp and Kate Moss | 1994
Alongside these stunning, produced images of well known personalities, there were quite a number of Leibovitz’s personal photographs, most notably those of her family, children and Sontag.
Annie Leibovitz | Marilyn Leibovitz
Annie Leibovitz | Susan and Sarah, Harbor Island, Bahamas | 2002
Annie Leibovitz | Susan at the House on Hedges Lane | 1988
However it was the photographs documenting the illness and deaths of Susan Sontag and Leibovitz’s father that were the most moving pieces in the exhibition.
The manner in which Leibovitz painstakingly documented Sontag’s illness, was puzzling, particularly in light of Sontag’s own interest in the ethics of photography and ‘the pain of others’. Comments made by Sontag’s son, however, about his inability to acknowledge and grieve for a no-nonsense Sontag possibly help explain Leibovitz’s need to document.
Also interesting, and moving, were images that Leibovitz captured in places torn by war, many of which she was encouraged to visit and document by Sontag.
Annie Leibovitz | Sarajevo: Fallen bicycle of teenage boy just killed by a sniper | 1994
All in all this was a brilliant exhibition, not simply because of the quantity and quality of the works, but also because of the curatorial initiative taken in drawing attention to the parallel nature of Leibovitz’s ‘two lives’. At the end of the exhibition, the original, smaller prints were pinned to a wall in chronological order of when they were taken. The method of display allowed the viewer to scan through the various images produced in a given year, but also easily grasp the incredible development of her work, in both subject matter and quality, through the years.
Something that surprised (and pleased) me (greatly) was the number of large scale, abstract landscape photographs. I was surprised because Leibovitz is known for her portrait and documentary photography, not landscape photography. And I was greatly pleased because these images were brilliant.
I wish I could show you.
Need I say that I highly recommend this exhibition?
It is on at the MCA in Sydney until 26 April, 2011 (recently extended from 27 March).
Go.
