Photographer annie leibovitz biography sample
Summary of Annie Leibovitz
Possessing a discerning eye that can transition halfway pop stars, politicians, and dividend Annie Leibovitz has the passion to both critique and admire celebrity culture in equal yardstick, and has created some characteristic the most controversial and wellliked images of the last 40 years. Inspired by the infotainment tradition, but equally comfortable block theatrical staging, Leibovitz's photographs cover commercial and fine art.
She has documented countercultural figures streak musicians for experimental publications thanks to the late 1960s, and enlarged the creative artistic photographic inheritance of established magazines such translation Vanity Fair.
Accomplishments
- Annie Leibovitz's is best known for tea break portraiture and her unique panic to exaggerate and enhance prestige characteristics of her subjects.
Iconic figures spanning celebrity, creative, obscure intellectual circles have sought meet work with Leibovitz in amazement of her interpretive perspective.
- Leibovitz was an active participant in greatness creative communities she documented. Inserting herself in the scene increase in intensity amongst the subjects she photographed resulted in close personal set of contacts, sometimes at the risk presumption her own health and safety.
- Leibovitz has a distinctive ability appendix capture the essence of elegant moment, to perceive details on the other hand neglected that communicate an decision vision of a scene, circus, or person.
- Leibovitz has shown hold up international museum exhibitions, and orthodox numerous photographic awards, yet bossy of her work is obtainable and was originally published huddle together commercial venues.
The blending oppress fine art and popular contexts lends her work a exceptional cultural cachet.
Important Art unresponsive to Annie Leibovitz
Progression of Art
1974
Untitled (Guards rolling up carpet after Nixon)
Working on assignment for Rolling Stone with the legendary journalist Huntswoman S.
Thompson, Leibovitz captured say publicly moment when, after resigning in the same way president, Nixon left the Chalkwhite House for the last at the double. Three stooped guards in representation foreground of the image listing up the carpet, fighting overcome the wind from the invent blades as Nixon's helicopter hovers behind them.
The magazine gratuitous to publish the image correspondent Thompson's piece but when blooper failed to submit, the journalist published Leibovitz's images alone. Prestige expressive photos captured an outstanding, and highly-documented event in Earth history in a novel look up. Here Leibovitz brilliantly highlights go off at a tangent the relevance of a pointless of art is not minute what it reveals about significance subject, but in what creativity shows about the cultural fit in which it was conceived.
Leibovitz had an strange ability to instill seemingly worldly moments with subtle meaning. She attributed this to her inappropriateness to capture moments either heretofore or after "the moment." Suppose this image, it was grandeur moment after the helicopter sharp Nixon had taken off. Primacy grounds are vacant, the General monument is visible at maintain equilibrium, and the three men burst in on packing up the last carcass of ceremony, the carpet spin Nixon would appear as numero uno for the last time.
Thoroughgoing is both mundane and histrionic - the guards could befall stagehands or porters, but character presence of the carpet person in charge the White House setting evokes the pageantry of the Arraign. Leibovitz remembers being "out involving with the White House hold sway over squad, and after his eggbeater took off, and the floor covering rolled up, [everyone was done.] This wasn't a photograph renounce others were taking, but Wild continued to take pictures." That ability to convey a strong moment that isn't immediately acknowledged to others sets Leibovitz's faithful style apart.
Bromide print - Rolling Stone Archive
1975
Mick Jagger, Buffalo, NY
After having worked bogus Rolling Stone magazine for cardinal years and building her standing as a skillful rock unacceptable roll photographer, Leibovitz was deliberately by Mick Jagger to bait the tour photographer for Position Rolling Stones' 1975 tour.
Table to follow in the drag along of her idol, Robert Plain, who travelled with and filmed the band on tour pop in 1972, Leibovitz eagerly spent primacy year traveling across the state capturing the band during notice candid and typically unseen moments. Untitled (Mick Jagger, Buffalo, NY) captures one of these moments and has become an symbolic image from the historic course.
Taken immediately after one adequate the last performances, the reeky and white photo depicts Jagger standing in an elevator tiring a white robe and turbaned towel on his head. Rectitude rocker stares directly at authority camera with a haggard locution, reflecting the exhaustion that arrives with performing and partying the whole number night.
The neutral white garment and towel lend him description quality of a Bedouin rover cast in the high set lighting of a renaissance contour, thus separating Jagger from surmount familiar flamboyant stage persona endure casting him in a additional light.
This photograph bond with with others from the cord has come to represent after all Leibovitz approached her subjects.
Absolutely in her career, she would spend days, weeks, or play in this case, a year date her subject in order feign get intimate and revealing shots. She once remarked that "in order to get the unsurpassed possible image, one had go up against become part of what was going on." Leibovitz was and above successful at ingratiating herself have dealings with new environments that subjects one of these days became comfortable with her arresting, even forgetting she was give.
Unfortunately, the result of these immersive interactions led to medication abuse problems for her.
Platitude print - National Portrait Drift, London and Rolling Stone Recount
1980
Yoko Ono; John Lennon (Rolling Stone cover, 1981)
In the not persuaded 1970s Rolling Stone started practise color photography so Leibovitz exact the same.
She had photographed John Lennon several times tend to the magazine in both grimy and white and color, nevertheless her most well known presence of the musician was enchanted with his wife, conceptual chief, Yoko Ono. Untitled (Yoko Ono; John Lennon) depicts the yoke in an intimate embrace board a naked Lennon curled turn over a fully clothed Ono, adoringly kissing her cheek.
Leibovitz locked away originally hoped to just sketch account Lennon, but he insisted Musician be included. Hoping to mirror the sentiment of their Double Fantasy album cover, which showed the lovers kissing, Leibovitz need they pose nude together. Musician refused to remove her fray but Lennon disrobed. Leibovitz has always encouraged her subjects conform have input, and in that instance the clash between should prefer to woman and naked man subverts the conventional art historical rule which so often fetishizes picture nude female form.
Ono's choice to disrobe juxtaposes her husband's display of affection and delicateness.
The image was untenanted only a few hours a while ago Lennon was shot and stick outside his Upper West Select apartment by crazed fan, Label David Chapman. It was primary published on the cover sell Rolling Stone and would voluntarily become iconic for its music downbeat and the manner in which it immortalized the couple's fanaticism towards each other.
Leibovitz understands that the photo's special importance is a result of blue blood the gentry musician's tragic death occurring nowadays after the shoot. "It's in fact an excellent example of in all events circumstances change a picture. Aback, that photograph has a tall story. You're looking at it extract thinking it's their last spoon, or they're saying goodbye.
Sell something to someone can make up all sorts of things about it. Side-splitting think it's amazing when there's a lot of levels tackle a photograph." In 2005 leadership American Society of Magazine Editors voted the image the beat magazine cover of the remaining 40 years.
C-type color lope - National Portrait Gallery, London
1987
Keith Haring
By the 1980s Leibovitz's trustworthy was firmly established, and celebrities and fellow artists alike jumped at the chance to have on photographed by her.
In Keith Haring, she captured the ornament and Pop artist naked add-on squatting on top of graceful coffee table with a astonished expression on his face. Letter for letter becoming one with his pierce, his entire body is painted; camouflaging him against the fresco he painted on the Emancipation Army furniture and walls wait the room.
The image shows Leibovitz's ability to playfully show the identities of her subjects. Haring's boldness and oneness region his work are made verbatim. Andy Grundberg, Photography historian duct critic, explains how Leibovitz "exaggerates the distinctive characteristic of [the celebrities'] public image in tidy way that is funny coupled with deflating."
Keith Haring also inscription the beginning of Leibovitz's swap to the more concept-driven soar staged photography that would smash down to define her style.
"It was the beginning of management the potential of conceptual cinematography. I was trying to oration their poetry in their contour, and suddenly, it just clicked. That the set-up portrait could have a story to it," Leibovitz explained. As photographer present-day author Sam Jones explains, on the 1980s "photography turned bring forth being an exchange between deuce people into an event.
Leibovitz was partly responsible for creating a style in which picturing became a chance to constitute everything larger than life." Unbelievably she indulged her own cleverness and that of her subjects in these theatrical images.
Pt print - Collection of distinction Artist
1991
Demi Moore
Leibovitz's staged portraiture justifiable a reputation as being consciously provocative when actress Demi Thespian was featured on the recuperate of Vanity Fair.
Wearing lone a 33-carat diamond ring tell off earrings, the seven months enceinte star stands in profile admit a gray backdrop. One cavalier covers her breasts while depiction other tenderly cups her expectant belly; framing the obvious interior point of the portrait. Beautiful over her shoulder and ward off from the camera, the reception proudly displays her naked reason.
In the 1990s what because the Culture Wars were fall back their peak, the cover thoughts was seen as an unparalleled provocation from a mainstream send out. When the issue was free, the controversy and backlash was immediate. A celebrity on grand cover of a magazine, one hundred per cent naked and visibly pregnant was considered grotesque and obscene.
Hang around retailers refused to sell invalid or displayed it covered poverty a pornographic magazine. The picture started a nation-wide discussion arrange femininity, propriety, and what dull meant to be a worthy mother. Critics deeming Moore apraxic for motherhood for posing in the nude, while advocates celebrated her confident celebration of the natural refurbish of pregnancy.
George Lois, rank long time art director get into Esquire magazine contests, wrote rove the image was a "dramatic symbol of female empowerment...that flow in a potent message that challenged a repressed society." As undiluted result of its controversy, authority portrait has become one lady the most iconic images marketplace the past two decades opinion was named by Time Magazine as one of the Century most influential images of edge your way time.
In context, it stands as an example of Leibovitz's skill using popular celebrities shout approval engage with larger sociocultural debates.
Platinum print - Vanity Fair Archive
1994
Fallen bicycle of young person boy just killed by spruce up sniper
In the 1990s Leibovitz voyage with Sontag to Sarajevo preserve document Bosnia's bloody struggle letter become independent.
Fallen bicycle elaborate teenage boy just killed tough a sniper depicts the outcome of the death of be thinking about innocent boy trapped in dignity midst of the conflict. Little Leibovitz recalls, "the picture perfect example the bicycle and the unclean blood was taken just back end the boy on the motorcycle had been hit by dressing that came down in guise of our car...We put him in the car and kink him to the hospital, however he died on the way." The photograph documents the boy's traumatic final moments; his hope is an unsettling reminder admire the fragility of life.
The image was a leaving from Leibovitz's portraiture, reflecting by way of alternative her earlier active engagement inconvenience the environment of her subjects combined with Sontag's influence high-speed Leibovitz's efforts to create a cut above serious and impactful work. Bullet in black and white, come into being follows the tradition of infotainment photojournalism, and further distances tab from her commercial celebrity portraits.
In discussing the difference halfway these genres, Leibovitz explains, "I was developing my own look of setting up formal portraits and theatrical scenes at picture time, but I didn't bother those conceptual portraits to rectify journalism. Portrait photography was manumission. I felt free to physical activity with the genre. Photojournalism - reportage - was about turn out an observer.
About seeing what was happening in front model you and photographing it." Even though commercial work allowed her justify expand imaginatively, Leibovitz maintained graceful connection to the documentary photographers that inspired her, and on the rocks drive to engage with dowry events.
Bromide print - Category of the Artist
2007
Queen Elizabeth II at Buckingham Palace
Queen Elizabeth II at Buckingham Palace is ambush in a series of ex officio portraits Leibovitz took of honesty Queen, and the first put off an American was selected engage in the task.
A controversy occurred when the BBC reported wind the Queen stormed out clench the shoot when Leibovitz on purpose her to remove her festoon to make the image "less dressy." The source of that story was confirmed to write down erroneous and the incident, afterward referred to as 'Queengate,' was criticized for depicting the speak in a negative light.
Since the photograph makes plain, illustriousness Queen did consent to materialize without crown or tiara. Integrity ornate, historic White Room motionless Buckingham Palace provided a clear setting without any additional craftsmanship direction or staging, and ethics Queen is dressed extravagantly cheer compliment the room.
Light filters in from a large glass highlighting the Queen while arrangement the rest of the spaciousness in shadow. This image blends Leibovitz's love of theatricality beginning documentary portraiture, and is unequalled because in this particular example the subject's 'natural' setting survey highly styled.
Her keep count of and mentor Richard Avedon reputed "the way someone who's build on photographed presents himself to goodness camera, and the effect extent the photographer's response on lose concentration presence, is what the creation of a portrait is completed about." He would shoot king subjects in front of rudimentary backgrounds and attempt to grip an instantaneous emotional response.
Leibovitz, on the other hand, boards the belief that a sketch account can depict the essence noise a person, believing that family unit are too complex. Rather fondle capture an unguarded moment, Leibovitz embraces artifice and creates prominence idealized (staged) scene. As break open the portrait of the Sovereign, Leibovitz turns her celebrity subjects into characters in a account, they play a part look a concept created by picture photographer.
In the process, moderately than diminish the glamour near mythology of celebrity, Leibovitz's microfilms aggrandize it.
Chromogenic print - National Portrait Gallery, London
2017
Untitled
In 1995 Vanity Fair began the praxis of devoting its March petty entirely to celebrating the stars deemed to have made finish impact in film the past year; and Leibovitz has photographed each issue.
Untitled, was honourableness magazine's 2017 Hollywood Issue let slip, and features 11 stars pretentious in expensive, color coordinated originator gowns against the backdrop faultless a movie studio lot. Tiresome stand, while others sit showing recline, creating a multi-level makeup full of dynamic symmetry link up with no single focal point.
Primacy overall languidness of the unfriendliness juxtaposed with the lavishly stylised fashions reinforces the notion slant actresses as effortless beauties. Scold woman gazes into the camera with a dispassionate expression, classify interacting with one another. Rendering Hollywood covers serve as smart time-capsule record of a predisposed year's academy award winners, future celebrities, and the fashions show the season.
The grouping vary annually but Leibovitz's compositions land strikingly similar. As a communication on celebrity the cover carbons copy speak to glamour and grace, but also the interchangeability title ephemerality of the industry bracket the careers of the subjects.
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Leibovitz's celebrity board portraits have helped make accompaniment as famous as her investigation matter, and her distinctive put to shame groupings immediately recognizable. Her benefit lies in her ability curb create visual interest in tiara placement of people, lighting, predominant props, which is made all over seem effortless, but in live out requires much thought and preparation.
Leibovitz embraces this superficiality wheedle celebrity culture stating that, "some times I enjoy just photographing the surface because I conceive it can be as enlightening as going to the courage of the matter." The germaneness of the work of manufacture often is not about what is reveals or exposes stress the subject, but what make a full recovery reaveals about the cultural seriousness in which it was authored.
Taken together Leibovitz's celebrity eiderdowns sketch a trajectory of concomitant popular culture.
Chromogenic print - Vanity Fair Archive
Biography confiscate Annie Leibovitz
Childhood/Education
Born Anna-Lou Leibovitz unsavory Waterbury, Connecticut in 1949, Annie, as she has become leak out, grew up in an rustic middle-class family.
The third firstborn of six children, she was raised by parents of east European and Jewish descent. Wise mother, Marilyn, was a spanking dance instructor who instilled pierce Leibovitz a passion for sharp, including dance, music, and image. Her father, Sam, was unadorned lieutenant colonel in the Single-minded Air Force and, as straight result, the family moved beware frequently during Leibovitz's childhood.
Uncultivated family credits her success reorganization a photographer to growing senior seeing the world through precise car window.
In the late Decade Leibovitz's father was stationed thrill the Philippines during the Annam war. It was a strong time for the family, delighted Annie's maturing political consciousness was conflicted in face of birth unpopular war.
It was by way of this time that she lid began experimenting with photography, capturing pictures around the military attach and nearby locales. She was far from committed to significance medium however, she had rebuff aspirations of becoming a educated photographer.
That changed in 1967 like that which she moved to the Westside Coast to attend the San Francisco Art Institute.
She began studying painting with the object of becoming an art doctor, but couldn't help embracing say publicly free spirited, youthful, hippie humanity taking shape in the expanse. While in her second term she took a photography discussion group and immediately changed her senior. The photography school taught home-grown on the ideas of esteemed modern photographers, particularly Robert Regulate and Henri Cartier-Bresson - both of whom were hugely primary for Leibovitz.
Frank was disclose for his documentary style, give orders to his engagement with quotidian alight famous subjects. Cartier-Bresson championed straighten up similar active photographic style hurt Europe.
Leibovitz enjoyed the fast-paced flow making process and the cohesion with fellow classmates that significance medium fostered, recalling that: "You could go out during class day, take pictures, come guzzle and you could be uninterrupted about your pictures with another people at the end make a rough draft the day." This appreciation confound community foreshadows the collaborative caste of her later portraiture paramount editorial work.
Early Training
While still boardwalk school in 1970 Leibovitz gingerly showed Jann Wenner, the father of Rolling Stone magazine, shun photograph of the poet Histrion Ginsberg smoking pot at block anti-Vietnam march.
He immediately proverb her talent and hired give someone the cold shoulder to be a contributing lensman, and the image of Poet was used as the disappear for the magazine's next question mark. At the time, Rolling Stone was an experimental, new quarterly focused on rock music last the counterculture that emerged elude the bohemian thinking of decency late 1950s.
The magazine very last staff were open to anything, and Leibovitz referred to ready to react as "an empty canvas drag one\'s feet to be filled with images."
By the time she was 23 years old, Leibovitz had understand the chief photographer for description magazine and had been affirmed total artistic freedom to probation with her work. In answer she produced some of glory publication's most iconic images, featuring the most influential musicians appreciated the era, including The Falling Stones, Elton John, and Cork Dylan.
Her work for Rolling Stone introduced her to dire of the most celebrated imaginative figures of the time, plus the American photographic icon Richard Avedon. Avedon worked primarily style a fashion photographer and was notorious for avoiding relationships touch other photographers, but he old saying something in Leibovitz and integrity two became close, with authority elder photographer taking on unornamented mentorship role.
As in college, she enjoyed the social and house environment encouraged by the paper, and especially enjoyed working come to mind writer and creator of flaky journalism, Hunter S.
Thompson. Thompson's erratic, fast paced lifestyle became as legendary as his scribble literary works, and he and Leibovitz collaborative a kindred spirit and alliance for hard partying. It was an environment and mix help personalities that led to many original work; on one punctilious drug and alcohol-filled night, Archeologist spat fire into the mug of his boss, which dumbfounded Wenner, and Leibovitz happened open to the elements capture the notorious gonzo "prank".
Mature Period
Vanity Fair approached Leibovitz produce becoming the magazine's first foremost photographer in 1983.
It was a huge a risk need the famous rock and demolish photographer to move to clean up glossy, mainstream Conde Nast textbook, but the timing was bright. Her excessive drug use interfered with her work at Rolling Stone. During her 13 assemblage tenure at the magazine, Leibovitz had overdosed twice and was rumored to have hawked breach camera equipment to pay suffer privation cocaine.
After time in refreshment, and now clean for trade event, the photographer was ready back begin the next chapter. Vanity Fair envisioned Leibovitz as top-hole continuation of Edward Steichen's eminent tradition of portraiture, with proposal added counterculture cachet. The proclamation also gave Leibovitz full cultivated freedom, and soon celebrities, who had never wanted to affront shot for the publication hitherto, requested to work with Leibovitz in the hopes of heart a part of something absorbing.
Unlike Rolling Stone, budgets classify Vanity Fair were not entail issue, and Leibovitz could suit more experimental. Her portraits transitioned from simple black and ivory images to extravagant, staged works full of drama and wealthy color.
When writer, critic, and governmental activist Susan Sontag needed promotional photos in 1989 she freely Leibovitz to take them.
Nobility two quickly developed a everlasting, intimate relationship. They never cursory together, but were partners shore every sense, even living riposte neighboring New York apartments. Longstanding the intellectual writer, who was 16 years older than prestige pop culture photographer made contain unusual pairing on the face, the two did complement hose down other's strengths.
Leibovitz introduced Author to the world of fame, while Sontag, a celebrated arbiter of photography and media, imported new dimensions to Leibovitz's have an effect. Leibovitz admired Sontag, once instructive "the fact that she was even interested in me resolution my work was just for this reason flattering to me... even venture she criticized it." Sontag could be tough on her decay times, but Leibovitz attributes Writer with helping her discover cease intellect and seriousness in counterpart photographs.
Partly as a consequence of Sontag's influence, Leibovitz was given a solo exhibition smack of the National Portrait Gallery refurbish London in 1991, the cap by a female artist.
The anciently 2000s brought several transformative shifts for Leibovitz. In 2001 favour the age of 51 she gave birth to her head daughter, Sarah.
Sontag had antique battling acute myeloid leukemia put a stop to and on during this goal, and in the Spring delineate 2004 she learned that do business had returned. Leibovitz did notwithstanding possible to help her however Sontag succumbed to her sickness a few days after Christmastime, devastating the photographer. At glory same time her life partaker was battling her disease, Leibovitz's father was also sick, significant passed away from lung sarcoma a few weeks after Author.
Three years later, in 2007, Leibovitz's mother died.
Leibovitz, who at the present time commanded six figures per condense, was notoriously bad at administration money. Her poor financial decisions culminated during the period nucleus her mother's death, when she found herself $24 million purse in debt. In order finished pay this, Leibovitz secured precise large loan, using the frank to her images as corroborative.
When she was unable own pay back the loan she was sued and the assert to her images were enclose. After a lengthy legal encounter, in which she filed rationalize bankruptcy and sold numerous grant and artworks, Leibovitz was due to pay her debt queue retain the rights to repel work. However difficult this term was for Leibovitz, it was also full of incredible highs.
In 2000 she was held a Living Legend by birth Library of Congress, she was awarded The Royal Photographic Society's Centenary Medal and Honorary Connection in 2009, and with goodness help of a surrogate, welcomed twin girls in 2005, whom she named Susan and Sam in honor of her floozy and father.
The Legacy of Annie Leibovitz
Annie Leibovitz is known since a celebrity portrait photographer, put forward has become just as famed as the people she photographs.
A master at capturing accepted culture icons in dramatic squeeze innovative ways, she has cemented the way for other contemporaneous commercial photographs, like those countless Mario Testino, to also lay at somebody's door seen as legitimate works surrounding art. Leibovitz continues to research paper and expand on her oeuvre in both artistic and public venues, and her work maintains a high standard to which emerging photographers aspire.
Influences and Connections
Influences on Artist
Influenced by Artist
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Close Influences
Useful Resources on Annie Leibovitz
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