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PBS "American Masters" - Annie Leibovitz
I watched this the other night after Summer Wind posted a "heads up", so
thank you Summer Wind. A very worthwhile 80 minutes or so on the life and career (to date) of Annie Leivbovitz. I recorded it on my DVR and will certainly watch it again soon. Some of the text below is a bit of a plot spoiler, so if you're waiting to see the program at some point in the future, better not read! (Points below not necc. in perfect order; I've likely missed some notable points). Immediate impressions: -Army (Air Force) brat -mildly priviledged -indulgent parents -naive. Really, really naive. (... " I had this camera and if I put the needle in the middle, then the exposure would be right " -Annie Leibovitz...) Obviously could have used this NG way back when. I'm sure she knows more about exposure than most of us. Rolling Stone -University: paraphrasing her words "to teach art, one needs to be an artist first... oops!" (not clear to me if she graduated, not that that matters) -became a photographer to back up the editorial, not becasue RS needed a photographer to make statements -fell quickly in league with bad-boy Hunter Thompson -developed as an "environmental portraitist", the environment being 60's counter culture scene -learned to be a photographer long after becoming a photorapher. -toured with the Rolling Stones. RS staff very worried. Nothing implied that she, er, indulged in the excesses as much as she was strongly exposed to it... (later in the show however...) -Style: at some point the staff of the RS decided that henceforth all covers of people (music artists) would be posed against a plain white background. AL was the principal cover photog and went with it... -... during some protest with many music artists, she gathered the artists against a white BG for the cover shot... which was published that way.... -... AL gets lambasted by _____ an influential editor for not doing what was needed with that story. Became a "re-look" point in her career. -due to above, enhances the symbols surrounding the subject. More lyrical and creative. Gets the subjects to do her bidding, often against their own wishes. -John Lennon/Yoko Oh-no! cover just before he was shot (Sidebar: to RS' great credit they ran that cover with no other print on the cover (headlines)). -party time. It was implied that AL partied quite heavilly and used various pharmaceuticals (esp. pot and coke) -RS moves to NYC. AL meets Ricahrd Avedon... she's nervous and floored. Vanity Fair -re-establishing the magazine, getting Annie was buying a degree of respect -covers including the (in)famous Demi Moore nudes. (To me the pregnant DM was just a great cover, but I knew several people who were offended. Know idea why.) -The pregnant DM cover takes VF from 800K to over 1M in circulation. Number never recedes. -AL finds most of her work at VF to be "commercial" -re-defines her shooting again and again -becomes a budget buster with ever more elaborate sets, but keeps originality -earns the ire of co-workers over budgets and lack of professional discipline (late, rental cars abandoned hither and yonder [that might have been in the RS phase, not sure)] -her "companion" Susan Sontag pushes her to take a more analytical/intellectual approach to art (implications that AL felt a bit put down by SS). -drug rehab (successful, no looking back) -Sontag cancer, death -AL father, old age, death -1 child naturally, 2 by surrogate (father?) Equipment -various during her teenage years/college; photo of her with a LF camera (at school) -Nikon? during her RS days -Mamiya 67's of various sorts -I think I saw an H1 a couple times -Canon DSLR's (one that fails during the docu) -Leica (M6 looking) -strobes: just about all of the set shooting had strobe sets fired via PW's. Photography: she is one immersed photographer. Very intensely the owner of what each session will result in. She's da boss. Critiquing the docu: -The docu was made by the subjects sister, so objectivity is questioned. -Some "negative" moments are glossed over and probably many are not even hinted at. Me? I loved it, I'll watch it again. I'm not an AL "fan" but a lot of her photography is striking and some of it wonderfully subtle. Cheers, Alan -- -- r.p.e.35mm user resource: http://www.aliasimages.com/rpe35mmur.htm -- r.p.d.slr-systems: http://www.aliasimages.com/rpdslrsysur.htm -- [SI] gallery & rulz: http://www.pbase.com/shootin -- e-meil: Remove FreeLunch. |
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PBS "American Masters" - Annie Leibovitz
"Alan Browne" wrote in message
.. . I watched this the other night after Summer Wind posted a "heads up", so thank you Summer Wind. A very worthwhile 80 minutes or so on the life and career (to date) of Annie Leivbovitz. I recorded it on my DVR and will certainly watch it again soon. Some of the text below is a bit of a plot spoiler, so if you're waiting to see the program at some point in the future, better not read! (Points below not necc. in perfect order; I've likely missed some notable points). Immediate impressions: -Army (Air Force) brat -mildly priviledged -indulgent parents -naive. Really, really naive. (... " I had this camera and if I put the needle in the middle, then the exposure would be right " -Annie Leibovitz...) Obviously could have used this NG way back when. I'm sure she knows more about exposure than most of us. Rolling Stone -University: paraphrasing her words "to teach art, one needs to be an artist first... oops!" (not clear to me if she graduated, not that that matters) -became a photographer to back up the editorial, not becasue RS needed a photographer to make statements -fell quickly in league with bad-boy Hunter Thompson -developed as an "environmental portraitist", the environment being 60's counter culture scene -learned to be a photographer long after becoming a photographer. Luckily for her, the editors at Rolling Stone apparently didn't know what a photographer was supposed to be either in the early days. She did what came naturally and intuitively during her formative years without a bunch of know-it-all editors telling how to approach an assignment. She started with simple cameras and Tri-X and grew into the job. I'd like to see some of those early Rolling Stones issues from the San Francisco days. If anyone knows of an online archive, please let me know. -toured with the Rolling Stones. RS staff very worried. Nothing implied that she, er, indulged in the excesses as much as she was strongly exposed to it... (later in the show however...) -Style: at some point the staff of the RS decided that henceforth all covers of people (music artists) would be posed against a plain white background. AL was the principal cover photog and went with it... -... during some protest with many music artists, she gathered the artists against a white BG for the cover shot... which was published that way.... -... AL gets lambasted by _____ an influential editor for not doing what was needed with that story. Became a "re-look" point in her career. -due to above, enhances the symbols surrounding the subject. More lyrical and creative. Gets the subjects to do her bidding, often against their own wishes. That's the point when she moved from documentary style of portraiture, photographing the subject in a natural setting, to creating the setting and manipulating the subjects. She started doing setups with sets, wardrobe, complex lighting, hair & makeup. She now has big budgets and assistants. -John Lennon/Yoko Oh-no! cover just before he was shot (Sidebar: to RS' great credit they ran that cover with no other print on the cover (headlines)). There's a paragraph about the taking of that picture at the American Masters Website. http://www.pbs.org/wnet/americanmasters/database/leibovitz_a.html In 1981 ROLLING STONE sent Leibovitz to photograph John Lennon and Yoko Ono, who had recently released their album DOUBLE FANTASY. For the portrait Leibovitz imagined that the two would pose together nude. Lennon disrobed, but Ono refused to take off her pants. Leibovitz "was kinda disappointed," according to ROLLING STONE, and so she told Ono to leave her clothes on. "We took one Polaroid," said Leibovitz, "and the three of us knew it was profound right away." The resulting portrait shows Lennon nude and curled around a fully clothed Ono. Several hours later, Lennon was shot dead in front of his apartment. The photograph ran on the cover of the ROLLING STONE Lennon commemorative issue. In 2005 the American Society of Magazine Editors named it the best magazine cover from the past 40 years. -party time. It was implied that AL partied quite heavilly and used various pharmaceuticals (esp. pot and coke) -RS moves to NYC. AL meets Ricahrd Avedon... she's nervous and floored. Vanity Fair -re-establishing the magazine, getting Annie was buying a degree of respect -covers including the (in)famous Demi Moore nudes. (To me the pregnant DM was just a great cover, but I knew several people who were offended. Know idea why.) I wasn't offended, but indifferent. Demi Moore does nothing for me, clothed or nude, pregnant or not. -The pregnant DM cover takes VF from 800K to over 1M in circulation. Number never recedes. -AL finds most of her work at VF to be "commercial" -re-defines her shooting again and again The times changed and she changed with them. The hippie age was over and glitz was in again. -becomes a budget buster with ever more elaborate sets, but keeps originality -earns the ire of co-workers over budgets and lack of professional discipline (late, rental cars abandoned hither and yonder [that might have been in the RS phase, not sure)] -her "companion" Susan Sontag pushes her to take a more analytical/intellectual approach to art (implications that AL felt a bit put down by SS). .... and the result was Annie's trip to Sarajevo. -drug rehab (successful, no looking back) Excellent. -Sontag cancer, death -AL father, old age, death -1 child naturally, 2 by surrogate (father?) It's wonderful that she's a parent at her age and that she has the resources to give her children and good upbringing. Equipment -various during her teenage years/college; photo of her with a LF camera (at school) -Nikon? during her RS days -Mamiya 67's of various sorts -I think I saw an H1 a couple times -Canon DSLR's (one that fails during the docu) -Leica (M6 looking) -strobes: just about all of the set shooting had strobe sets fired via PW's. This is from the American Masters essay regarding her recent personal photos: "Leibovitz composed these personal photographs with materials that she used when she was first starting out in the '70s: a 35-millimeter camera, black-and-white Tri X film." Photography: she is one immersed photographer. Very intensely the owner of what each session will result in. She's da boss. People who find their calling early in life and stick with it are fascinating to me, as I'm just the opposite. I've had several "careers" in different fields and just recently took the plunge into retail business ownership, another first. Critiquing the docu: -The docu was made by the subjects sister, so objectivity is questioned. -Some "negative" moments are glossed over and probably many are not even hinted at. Me? I loved it, I'll watch it again. I'm not an AL "fan" but a lot of her photography is striking and some of it wonderfully subtle. Cheers, Alan Thanks for the summary. SW -- -- r.p.e.35mm user resource: http://www.aliasimages.com/rpe35mmur.htm -- r.p.d.slr-systems: http://www.aliasimages.com/rpdslrsysur.htm -- [SI] gallery & rulz: http://www.pbase.com/shootin -- e-meil: Remove FreeLunch. |
#3
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PBS "American Masters" - Annie Leibovitz
In article ,
"Summer Wind" wrote: "Alan Browne" wrote in message .. . I watched this the other night after Summer Wind posted a "heads up", so thank you Summer Wind. A very worthwhile 80 minutes or so on the life and career (to date) of Annie Leivbovitz. I recorded it on my DVR and will certainly watch it again soon. Some of the text below is a bit of a plot spoiler, so if you're waiting to see the program at some point in the future, better not read! (Points below not necc. in perfect order; I've likely missed some notable points). Immediate impressions: -Army (Air Force) brat -mildly priviledged -indulgent parents -naive. Really, really naive. I saw that special after having seen her photo exhibit at the Brooklyn Museum of Art two weeks ago. If anyone is going to be in the NYC area, check out that exhibit; its very good. |
#4
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PBS "American Masters" - Annie Leibovitz
Summer Wind wrote:
"Alan Browne" wrote in message .. . I watched this the other night after Summer Wind posted a "heads up", so thank you Summer Wind. A very worthwhile 80 minutes or so on the life and career (to date) of Annie Leivbovitz. I recorded it on my DVR and will certainly watch it again soon. Some of the text below is a bit of a plot spoiler, so if you're waiting to see the program at some point in the future, better not read! (Points below not necc. in perfect order; I've likely missed some notable points). Immediate impressions: -Army (Air Force) brat -mildly priviledged -indulgent parents -naive. Really, really naive. (... " I had this camera and if I put the needle in the middle, then the exposure would be right " -Annie Leibovitz...) Obviously could have used this NG way back when. I'm sure she knows more about exposure than most of us. Rolling Stone -University: paraphrasing her words "to teach art, one needs to be an artist first... oops!" (not clear to me if she graduated, not that that matters) -became a photographer to back up the editorial, not becasue RS needed a photographer to make statements -fell quickly in league with bad-boy Hunter Thompson -developed as an "environmental portraitist", the environment being 60's counter culture scene -learned to be a photographer long after becoming a photographer. Luckily for her, the editors at Rolling Stone apparently didn't know what a photographer was supposed to be either in the early days. She did what came naturally and intuitively during her formative years without a bunch of know-it-all editors telling how to approach an assignment. She started with simple cameras and Tri-X and grew into the job. I'd like to see some of those early Rolling Stones issues from the San Francisco days. If anyone knows of an online archive, please let me know. -toured with the Rolling Stones. RS staff very worried. Nothing implied that she, er, indulged in the excesses as much as she was strongly exposed to it... (later in the show however...) -Style: at some point the staff of the RS decided that henceforth all covers of people (music artists) would be posed against a plain white background. AL was the principal cover photog and went with it... -... during some protest with many music artists, she gathered the artists against a white BG for the cover shot... which was published that way.... -... AL gets lambasted by _____ an influential editor for not doing what was needed with that story. Became a "re-look" point in her career. -due to above, enhances the symbols surrounding the subject. More lyrical and creative. Gets the subjects to do her bidding, often against their own wishes. That's the point when she moved from documentary style of portraiture, photographing the subject in a natural setting, to creating the setting and manipulating the subjects. She started doing setups with sets, wardrobe, complex lighting, hair & makeup. She now has big budgets and assistants. -John Lennon/Yoko Oh-no! cover just before he was shot (Sidebar: to RS' great credit they ran that cover with no other print on the cover (headlines)). There's a paragraph about the taking of that picture at the American Masters Website. http://www.pbs.org/wnet/americanmasters/database/leibovitz_a.html In 1981 ROLLING STONE sent Leibovitz to photograph John Lennon and Yoko Ono, who had recently released their album DOUBLE FANTASY. For the portrait Leibovitz imagined that the two would pose together nude. Lennon disrobed, but Ono refused to take off her pants. Leibovitz "was kinda disappointed," according to ROLLING STONE, and so she told Ono to leave her clothes on. "We took one Polaroid," said Leibovitz, "and the three of us knew it was profound right away." The resulting portrait shows Lennon nude and curled around a fully clothed Ono. Several hours later, Lennon was shot dead in front of his apartment. The photograph ran on the cover of the ROLLING STONE Lennon commemorative issue. In 2005 the American Society of Magazine Editors named it the best magazine cover from the past 40 years. -party time. It was implied that AL partied quite heavilly and used various pharmaceuticals (esp. pot and coke) -RS moves to NYC. AL meets Ricahrd Avedon... she's nervous and floored. Vanity Fair -re-establishing the magazine, getting Annie was buying a degree of respect -covers including the (in)famous Demi Moore nudes. (To me the pregnant DM was just a great cover, but I knew several people who were offended. Know idea why.) I wasn't offended, but indifferent. Demi Moore does nothing for me, clothed or nude, pregnant or not. I'm not a great DM fan either, however, to me that, is a great image. The one where she has a painted on suit is useless to me; the one where DM is posing with her children is magnificent. Funny thing about stars. People hate them or love them and then they either can't do right at all, or can't do wrong at all. I've always tried to see the best in all of them when it appears. For example Jullianne Moore's portrayal of a well-to-do 1950's suburbanite housewife in Far from Heaven was GREAT. Otherwise she makes me barf 9 times in 10. -The pregnant DM cover takes VF from 800K to over 1M in circulation. Number never recedes. -AL finds most of her work at VF to be "commercial" -re-defines her shooting again and again The times changed and she changed with them. The hippie age was over and glitz was in again. -becomes a budget buster with ever more elaborate sets, but keeps originality -earns the ire of co-workers over budgets and lack of professional discipline (late, rental cars abandoned hither and yonder [that might have been in the RS phase, not sure)] -her "companion" Susan Sontag pushes her to take a more analytical/intellectual approach to art (implications that AL felt a bit put down by SS). ... and the result was Annie's trip to Sarajevo. -drug rehab (successful, no looking back) Excellent. -Sontag cancer, death -AL father, old age, death -1 child naturally, 2 by surrogate (father?) It's wonderful that she's a parent at her age and that she has the resources to give her children and good upbringing. cynical Money does wonders. /cynical Equipment -various during her teenage years/college; photo of her with a LF camera (at school) -Nikon? during her RS days -Mamiya 67's of various sorts -I think I saw an H1 a couple times -Canon DSLR's (one that fails during the docu) -Leica (M6 looking) -strobes: just about all of the set shooting had strobe sets fired via PW's. This is from the American Masters essay regarding her recent personal photos: "Leibovitz composed these personal photographs with materials that she used when she was first starting out in the '70s: a 35-millimeter camera, black-and-white Tri X film." Photography: she is one immersed photographer. Very intensely the owner of what each session will result in. She's da boss. People who find their calling early in life and stick with it are fascinating to me, as I'm just the opposite. I've had several "careers" in different fields and just recently took the plunge into retail business ownership, another first. Congrats or commiserations as may apply! Cheers, Alan. -- -- r.p.e.35mm user resource: http://www.aliasimages.com/rpe35mmur.htm -- r.p.d.slr-systems: http://www.aliasimages.com/rpdslrsysur.htm -- [SI] gallery & rulz: http://www.pbase.com/shootin -- e-meil: Remove FreeLunch. |
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PBS "American Masters" - Annie Leibovitz
Alan Browne wrote: a very nice summary I watched the documentary as well and found it very interesting. AL is a gifted photographer, but I wonder how much of her fame comes as a result of who she is photographing? Probably around 99.9%, I'd say. |
#6
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PBS "American Masters" - Annie Leibovitz
Annika1980 wrote:
Alan Browne wrote: a very nice summary I watched the documentary as well and found it very interesting. AL is a gifted photographer, but I wonder how much of her fame comes as a result of who she is photographing? Probably around 99.9%, I'd say. Well, once you have that "access" thing going you're __way__ ahead of the pack. Had RS not happened to her when it happened to her then her career might not have ever started. Or she may have found another avenue to a different success in photography. Since the 80's she's been in the mode where a subject accepts to be photographed or not becasue it is Annie or not. (As was mentioned in the program). Cheers, Alan -- -- r.p.e.35mm user resource: http://www.aliasimages.com/rpe35mmur.htm -- r.p.d.slr-systems: http://www.aliasimages.com/rpdslrsysur.htm -- [SI] gallery & rulz: http://www.pbase.com/shootin -- e-meil: Remove FreeLunch. |
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PBS "American Masters" - Annie Leibovitz
Rita Ä Berkowitz wrote: Annika1980 wrote: I watched the documentary as well and found it very interesting. AL is a gifted photographer, but I wonder how much of her fame comes as a result of who she is photographing? Probably around 99.9%, I'd say. I think you have nailed it since most of her work looks like general snaps. Plus, the circle of friends you associate can elevate your career to god status even if you forget to remove the lens cap when snapping. She's not getting by with using her "eye" for that great shot alone. Rita Liebowitz' "circle of friends" has no bearing on her artistry. She achieved the pinnacle of her career on talent, passion and perseverance. Who she knew had little to do with her success. Saying that she's successful because of who she know rather than what she knows smells like sour grapes. -- Gator Bait |
#8
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PBS "American Masters" - Annie Leibovitz
Rita Ä Berkowitz wrote:
Bill K wrote: Liebowitz' "circle of friends" has no bearing on her artistry. She achieved the pinnacle of her career on talent, passion and perseverance. Who she knew had little to do with her success. Saying that she's successful because of who she know rather than what she knows smells like sour grapes. Absolutely no sour grapes on my end. In fact, I wish her or any other artist/photographers the most successful career possible. After first looking at these shots you can't tell me they jump out and knock you on your ass with awe inspiring impact. And the $5,500 price tag isn't being paid for their artisic qualities alone. http://www.oswaldgallery.com/s.nl/it.A/id.3217/.f http://www.oswaldgallery.com/s.nl/it.A/id.3230/.f Well, they do seem to follow the rule of thirds.... -- john mcwilliams |
#9
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PBS "American Masters" - Annie Leibovitz
"Rita Ä Berkowitz" ritaberk2O04 @aol.com wrote in message
... Bill K wrote: Liebowitz' "circle of friends" has no bearing on her artistry. She achieved the pinnacle of her career on talent, passion and perseverance. Who she knew had little to do with her success. Saying that she's successful because of who she know rather than what she knows smells like sour grapes. Absolutely no sour grapes on my end. In fact, I wish her or any other artist/photographers the most successful career possible. After first looking at these shots you can't tell me they jump out and knock you on your ass with awe inspiring impact. And the $5,500 price tag isn't being paid for their artisic qualities alone. http://www.oswaldgallery.com/s.nl/it.A/id.3217/.f http://www.oswaldgallery.com/s.nl/it.A/id.3230/.f Granted, she does have some awesome shots, but some of the more"artsey" ones are a bit over the edge. LOL - I'm with "Rita" on this one. Five thou for a snapshot of a turntable, with a cluttered background? No thanks. I'm a great admirer of impressionist art. Gauguin is one of my favorite artists, and I honestly have to say I would be able to pick some of his images out from the crowd: about half the Gauguins I would not pay 50 dollars for at a garage sale, if I thought they were by some anonymous artist. Yet, hanging in the museum, I'll give them a minute or so of my time, as I would any great painting. It's as much about us as an audience as it is about the artists. So, I'd probably spend some time looking at the turntable picture, were it hanging in a museum. -- Mike Russell www.curvemeister.com/forum/ |
#10
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PBS "American Masters" - Annie Leibovitz
Bill K wrote:
Liebowitz' "circle of friends" has no bearing on her artistry. She achieved the pinnacle of her career on talent, passion and perseverance. I'll agree with this although you've got your post in the wrong order. Who she knew had little to do with her success. Totally false. She entered "photojournalism" at RS with no formal photojournalism training or background. The connections and access she made there are the foundations of her career and the desires of Vanity Fair to aquire her (developed at RS) talents. Saying that she's successful because of who she know rather than what she knows smells like sour grapes. It's reality. Had she not had the RS break there is no telling where her career may have led (or not). Publishing in the counter culture Rolling Stone allowed her to develop. RS today wouldn't even look at the portfolio of a photog who was at the state that AL was at when she broke in there. I like a lot of her work and think she's a great and creative photog. But the facts are that she (like many "greats" in many endeavours) got a huge break at RS. Cheers, Alan -- -- r.p.e.35mm user resource: http://www.aliasimages.com/rpe35mmur.htm -- r.p.d.slr-systems: http://www.aliasimages.com/rpdslrsysur.htm -- [SI] gallery & rulz: http://www.pbase.com/shootin -- e-meil: Remove FreeLunch. |
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