Anna-Lou "Annie" Leibovitz
() (born October 2, 1949) is an American portrait photographer whose style is marked by a close collaboration between the photographer and the subject.
|
ANNIE LEIBOVITZ TICKETS
|
Early life and education
Born in
Waterbury, Connecticut, Leibovitz is the third of six children in a
Jewish family. Her mother, Marilyn Leibovitz, was a
modern dance instructor, while her father, Sam Leibovitz, was a
lieutenant colonel in the
United States Air Force. The family moved frequently with her father's duty assignments, and she took her first pictures when he was stationed in the
Philippines.
[1]
In high school, she became interested in the various artistic endeavours, and began to write and play music. She attended the
San Francisco Art Institute, where she studied painting. She became interested in photography after taking pictures when she lived in the Philippines, where her Air Force father was stationed during the Vietnam War. For several years, she continued to develop her photography skills while she worked various jobs, including a stint on a
kibbutz Amir in
Israel for several months in 1969.
[2]
Career
Rolling Stone
magazine
When Leibovitz returned to the United States in 1970, she started her career as staff photographer, working for the recently launched
Rolling Stone
magazine. In 1973, publisher
Jann Wenner named Leibovitz chief photographer of
Rolling Stone
, a job she would hold for 10 years. Leibovitz worked for the magazine until 1983, and her intimate photographs of celebrities helped define the
Rolling Stone
look.
In 1975, Leibovitz served as a concert-tour photographer for
The Rolling Stones' Tour of the Americas.
Lennon and Ono
On December 8, 1980, Leibovitz had a photo shoot with
John Lennon for
Rolling Stone
, promising him he would make the cover.
[3] After she had initially tried to get a picture with just Lennon alone, which is what
Rolling Stone
wanted, Lennon insisted that both he and
Yoko Ono be on the cover. Leibovitz then tried to re-create something like the kissing scene from the
Double Fantasy
album cover, a picture that she loved. She had John remove his clothes and curl up next to Yoko. Leibovitz recalls, "What is interesting is she said she'd take her top off and I said, 'Leave everything on' — not really preconceiving the picture at all. Then he curled up next to her and it was very, very strong. You couldn't help but feel that she was cold and he looked like he was clinging on to her. I think it was amazing to look at the first Polaroid and they were both very excited. John said, 'You've captured our relationship exactly. Promise me it'll be on the cover.' I looked him in the eye and we shook on it."
[4] Leibovitz was the last person to professionally photograph Lennon—he was
shot and killed by
Mark David Chapman five hours later.
[5]
Other noted projects
thumb, 2008
- In the 1980s,Annie's new style of lighting and use of bold colors and poses, got her the position with "Vainty Fair" magazine. Leibovitz photographed celebrities for an international advertising campaign for American Express charge cards, winning her a "Clio" award in 1987.
- In 1991, Leibovitz mounted an exhibition at the National Portrait Gallery.
- Also in 1991, Leibovitz emulated Margaret Bourke-White's feat, when she mounted one of the eagle gargoyles on the 61st floor of the Chrysler Building in Manhattan, where she photographed the dancer David Parsons cavorting on another eagle gargoyle. Noted Life
photographer and picture editor John Loengard made a gripping photo of Leibovitz at the climax of her danger. (Loengard was photographing Leibovitz for the New York Times
that day).
- A major retrospective of Leibovitz's work was held at the Brooklyn Museum, . The retrospective was based on her book, Annie Leibovitz: A Photographer's Life, 1990 – 2005
, and included many of her professional (celebrity) photographs as well as numerous personal photographs of her family, children, and partner Susan Sontag. This show, which was expanded to include three of the official portraits of Queen Elizabeth II, then went on the road for seven stops. It was on display at the Corcoran Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C., from October 2007 to January 2008, and as of April 2008 is at the Palace of the Legion of Honor in San Francisco. In February 2009 the exhibition was moved to Berlin, Germany. [6] The show included 200 photographs. [7] At the exhibition, Leibovitz said that she doesn't have two lives, career and personal, but has one where assignments and personal pictures are all part of her works. This exhibition and her talk focused on her personal photographs and life. [8]
In 2007, The
BBC misrepresented a portrait shooting by Leibovitz of
Queen Elizabeth II to take the queen's official picture for her
state visit to
Virginia. This was filmed for the
BBC documentary
A Year with the Queen
. A promotional trailer for the film showed the Queen reacting angrily to Leibovitz's suggestion ("less dressy") that she remove her
tiara, then a scene of the Queen walking down a corridor, telling an aide "I'm not changing anything. I've had enough dressing like this, thank you very much."
[9] The BBC later apologised and admitted that the sequence of events had been misrepresented, as the Queen was in fact walking to the sitting in the second scene.
[10] This led to a BBC scandal and a shake-up of ethics training. See
The Tiaragate Affair.
- In 2007, the Walt Disney Company hired her to do a series of photographs with celebrities in various roles and scenes for Disney Parks "Year of a Million Dreams" campaign. [11] [12] [13]
On April 25, 2008, the televised entertainment program
Entertainment Tonight
reported that 15 year old
Miley Cyrus had posed topless for a photo shoot with
Vanity Fair
.
[14] [15] The photograph, and subsequently released behind-the-scenes photographs, show Cyrus without a top, her bare back exposed but her front covered with a bedsheet. The photo shoot was taken by photographer Annie Leibovitz.
[16] The full photograph was published with an accompanying story on ''
The New York Times website on April 27, 2008. On April 29, 2008,
The New York Times'' clarified that though the pictures left an impression that she was bare-breasted, Cyrus was wrapped in a bedsheet and was actually not topless.
[17] Some parents expressed outrage at the nature of the photograph, which a
Disney spokesperson described as "a situation [that] was created to deliberately manipulate a 15-year-old in order to sell magazines."
In response to the internet circulation of the photo and ensuing media attention, Cyrus released a statement of apology on
April 27:
“I took part in a photo shoot that was supposed to be ‘artistic’ and now, seeing the photographs and reading the story, I feel so embarrassed. I never intended for any of this to happen and I apologize to my fans who I care so deeply about."
Leibovitz also released a statement saying:
“"I'm sorry that my portrait of Miley has been misinterpreted," Leibovitz said. " The photograph is a simple, classic portrait, shot with very little makeup, and I think it is very beautiful.""
Archive
Since 1977, Leibovitz licensing images have been represented by
Contact Press Images, a
photojournalism agency based in New York City. Her assignment work is represented by Jim Moffat at in New York.
Personal life
Leibovitz had a close romantic relationship with noted writer and essayist
Susan Sontag. They met in 1989, when both had already established notability in their careers. Leibovitz has suggested that Sontag mentored her and constructively criticized her work.
After Sontag's death in 2004,
Newsweek
published an article about Leibovitz that made reference to her decade-plus relationship with Sontag, stating that "The two first met in the late '80s, when Leibovitz photographed her for a book jacket. They never lived together, though they each had an apartment within view of the other's."
[18]
Neither Leibovitz nor Sontag had ever previously publicly disclosed whether the relationship was familial, a friendship, or romantic in nature. However, when Leibovitz was interviewed for her 2006 book
A Photographer's Life: 1990-2005
, she said the book told a number of stories, and that "with Susan, it was a love story."
[19]
In the preface to the new book, she speaks in greater detail about her romantic/intellectual relationship with Sontag, briefly discussing a book they were working on together and describes how assembling her new book was part of the grieving process after Sontag's death. The book and accompanying show include many photographs of Sontag throughout their life together, including several on her deathbed, even though the two were no longer a couple when Sontag died (Leibovitz had left her for someone else).
Leibovitz acknowledged that she and Sontag were romantically involved. When asked why she used terms like "companion" to describe Sontag, instead of more specific ones like "partner" or "lover," Leibovitz finally said that "lover" was fine with her.
[20] She later repeated the assertion in stating to the
San Francisco Chronicle
:
"Call us 'lovers'. I like 'lovers.' You know, 'lovers' sounds romantic. I mean, I want to be perfectly clear. I love Susan."
[21]
Children
Leibovitz has three children: Sarah Cameron Leibovitz (b. October 2001) was born when Leibovitz was 51 years old. Her twins Susan and Samuelle were born to a
surrogate mother in May 2005.
[
]
Financial troubles
In February 2009, Leibovitz borrowed $15.5 million, having experienced financial challenges in the recent years. [22] She put up as collateral, not only several houses, but the rights to all of her photographs. [23] The NY Times noted “one of the world’s most successful photographers essentially pawned every snap of the shutter she had made or will make until the loans are paid off.”
Famous Leibovitz photographs
right
Vanity Fair
cover photo, 2008.
- John Lennon and Yoko Ono for the Jan. 22, 1981 Rolling Stone cover, shot the day of Lennon's death. [26] [27]
- Linda Ronstadt in a red slip, on her bed, reaching for a glass of water in a 1976 cover story for Rolling Stone magazine.
- Demi Moore has been the subject of two highly publicized Vanity Fair
covers taken by Leibovitz: More Demi Moore
featuring Moore pregnant and nude, and Demi's Birthday Suit
, showing Moore nude with a suit painted on her body. [28]
- Fleetwood Mac for a 1977 issue of Rolling Stone magazine. Stevie Nicks and Mick Fleetwood are shown lying together, as are Christine McVie and Lindsey Buckingham at the opposite end of the bed. John McVie is shown reading Playboy magazine.
- Brooke Shields, pregnant for the cover of Vogue
in April 2003. This was the first image of a visibly pregnant woman on its cover.
- Whoopi Goldberg lying in a bathtub full of milk, shot from above. [29]
- Christo, fully wrapped so the viewer must take the artist's word that Christo is actually under the wrapping. [30]
- David Cassidy on the infamous Rolling Stone
cover depicting him naked from his head to his waist.
- Dolly Parton vamping for the camera while Arnold Schwarzenegger flexes his biceps behind her.
- Dan Aykroyd and John Belushi, as The Blues Brothers, with their faces painted blue. [31]
- Keira Knightley and Scarlett Johansson, both nude, with a fully-clothed Tom Ford, for the cover of Vanity Fair's March 2006 Hollywood Issue. [32] [33]
- Queen Elizabeth II on occasion of her state visit in United States in 2007. [34]
- Sting in the desert, covered in mud to blend in with the scenery. [35]
- Closeup portrait of Pete Townshend framed by his bleeding hand dripping real blood down the side of his face.
- "Fire" portrait and caption "Patti Smith Catches Fire". [36] [37]
- Cyndi Lauper, She's So Unusual
and True Colors
album covers [38] [39]
- Bruce Springsteen, Born in the U.S.A.
album cover. [40]
- Gisele Bündchen and LeBron James on the April 2008 cover of Vogue
America. [41] [42]
- Miley Cyrus' Vanity Fair photo in which the child star appeared semi-nude, leading to a controversy.
- Michael Jackson twice for the cover of the Vanity Fair magazine, including other additional photographs of him which were not featured on the cover of the magazine.
- Bill Gates for the cover of Gates' book "The Road Ahead".
Leibovitz's photography books
- Photographs
- Photographs 1970–1990
- Olympic Portraits
- Women
- American Music
- A Photographer’s Life 1990–2005
(catalog for a travelling exhibit that debuted at the Brooklyn Museum in October 2006)
- Annie Leibovitz: At Work
References
- How I shot my sister Annie ...
- Annie Leibovitz Biography
- Hours After This Picture Was Taken John Lennon Was Dead
- Issue #335 (Jan. 22, 1981)
- Annie Leibovitz - Life Through a Lens
- From 21 February to 24 May 2009 at the C/O Gallerie.
- Associated Press, 21 October 2007, article by Lubna Taknuri
- Artist Walk: Annie Leibovitz
- BBC sorry for misrepresenting Queen
- Broadcaster sorry for queen claim
- USATODAY Photo Gallery
- Disney's dazzling 'Dreams' - USATODAY.com
- NOTCOT: Leibovitz takes on Disney
- Miley Knows Best, Vanity Fair, June 2008
- Miley Cyrus topless controversy
- Miley Cyrus: I'm Sorry for Photos
- A Topless Photo Threatens a Major Disney Franchise
- Through Her Lens
- From Annie Leibovitz: Life, and Death, Examined
- Title Unavailable
- Love, family, celebrity, grief -- Leibovitz puts her life on display in photo memoir
- That Old Master? It’s at the Pawnshop
- http://www.advocate.com/issue_story_ektid75784.asp
- Allen Salkin, "Lender Sues Annie Leibovitz," The New York Times, July 30, 2009 [1]
- Allen Salkin, "For Annie Leibovitz, a Fuzzy Financial Picture," The New York Times, July 31, 2009 [1]
- John-Lennon.com - 1980 Rolling Stone Interview With John Lennon by Jonathan Cott
- Rolling Stone cover: January 22, 1981
- [1]
- [1]
- [1]
- [1]
- [1]
- [1]
- [1]
- [1]
- RS 270 (July 27, 1978)
- Patti Smith Catches Fire
- [1]
- [1]
- Bruce Springsteen.net
- Some Call LeBron James' 'Vogue' Cover Offensive, News & Notes, 2008-03-27
- LeBron James' 'Vogue' cover called racially insensitive, USA Today, 2008-03-24