Annie Leibovitz's Personless Photography At The Smithsonian (PHOTOS, VIDEO)

Photographer Annie Leibovitz is known for her captivating photographs of people, mostly celebrities. Her portraits, through spectacle, evoke the essence of her subjects' inner self. Ranging from the Obama family in the White House to Angelina Jolie in the bathtub, her portraits often capture high-profile people in intimate spaces. But in her new exhibition at the Smithsonian Museum, though still an exhibition of portraiture, there is not a person to be found.

The show is called 'Pilgrimage', referring to a journey with great moral and spiritual weight, often to a sort of shrine. Of the show Leibovitz told the 'New York Times': "I needed to save myself." In the past years Leibovitz had lost her partner, writer Susan Sontag, as well as faced financial troubles which put her ownership over her photographs in jeopardy. She said: "I needed to remind myself of what I like to do, what I can do."

Annie Oakley's bullet hole

Sontag and Leibovitz had always planned on making a photography book full of places they cared about, and even after Sontag's passing Leibovitz decided to make the dream come to fruition. She travelled to Niagara Falls, New Mexico and Yellowstone Park, with many stops in between. She photographed objects who belonged to historical figures, conjuring their presence even without their physical form.

She captured Sigmund Freud's couch, Emily Dickinson's dress and the water where Virginia Woolf drowned herself. She saw Charles Darwin's specimen collection and Abraham Lincoln's top hat. Her subjects ranged from the universally symbolic to the vastly under acknowledged. Perhaps most meaningful to Leibovitz was her visit to Georgia O'Keeffe's studio, whom Leibovitz referred to as "the real thing."

Leibovitz's exhibition still captures a human presence with its soulful history. Journeying through the past paves the way for future healing. The holiness of the sites Leibovitz captures is apparent in their careful representation. The mastery Leibovitz displays in capturing the essence of a human being translates fully onto this collection, even without the presence of humans. Leibovitz's journey is a call to examine the past to protect the future, to do what you love and follow wherever it takes you.

'Pilgrimage' will display at the Smithsonian until May 20.

Comments

[LMPE]

08:22 PM on 02/05/2012

Annie Leibovitz has always been one of the greats.

I remember going to the Georgia O'Keefe museum when I went to New Mexico.

[shutterbabe]

12:33 PM on 02/05/2012

There are many multi-faceted artists who are able to take their gifts and crossover to other mediums with ease and excellence. I have not seen evidence that Annie Leibovitz is one of them. Annie started her career as a staff photographer at Rolling Stone, during a magical period in history.  Her portraits of celebrities were intimate, edgy and beautifully execute. They had a certain soul and  will live on historically and in memory.

When Leibovitz turned her eye into larger scale commerical ventures, all those high-profile advertising campaigns, she flourished but in a different way.  She was obviously the Creative behind each image but every composition included a huge production crew who assisted with every nuance of lighting, styling- all the elements that yield the spectactular images that sprawled across thick, glossy magazines. She was no longer a one woman band. 

Her venture into fine art photography is unimpressive here. I find her style uninspiring and somewhat common. I appreciate that Leibovitz is trying to express herself in a more individual way but it seems more suited for her own edification rather than public viewing. I salute her presence in the arts but will remember her early works as her best and most genuine offerings.

[ckimble]

01:07 PM on 02/04/2012

Leibovitz, Ritts & La Chappelle (and the like) are amazing photographers. But they are not artists. Art is about concepts and meaning. Their photography is, well, just photography. Beautiful, but empty.

It seems that any amount of "fame" offers the "famous" a free pass to market their current whims. Actors want to be rock stars, comedians want to be writers. There's nothing wrong with exploring your interests but let's not confuse marketing with value.

It's clear that Leibovitz doesn't have any artistic talent for photography outside of the commercial. If I were her, I'd be embarrassed.

Just because you can, doesn't mean you should...

[Dan Slander]

06:52 AM on 02/04/2012

Leibovitz really exposes her meager talent without the major celebrity in front of her lens. E's motorcycle, Niagra Falls photographed the same way about a zillion times. O'Keefes door done many times as well. Didn't one of the Weston's do the exact same photo in B&W in the 50s? Of course you get Annie's insight to breathe life into each photo. Must say courageous of AL to expose her shortcomings and lack of imagination as an artist.

[NER2]

04:12 PM on 02/03/2012

One of the most over-rated people of our time. I will steer clear of DC for awhile.
ps. The dude in the video looks very weird.

[playflute2]

11:05 AM on 02/06/2012

Why not just the gallery in the Smithsonian where her exhibit is hanging? :)

[chesscub]

12:52 PM on 02/03/2012

One of the greatest artists of our time. I need to make a trip down to DC to see this exhibit.

[Dan Slander]

06:54 AM on 02/04/2012

Ever hear of Robert Frank, Lee Friedlander, Diane Arbus, Gary Winogrand or Henri Cartier Bresson? Doesn't sound like it.