Annie Leibovitz prior to the installation of her
show at the Pace Gallery, 29 November 2011
I was so happy to receive Annie Leibovitz’s book Pilgrimage
for Christmas this year. I have been a devoted fan and follower of Leibovitz’s
career since I first became interested in photography many, many years ago and
have two of her other books (A Photographer's Life: 1990-2005, and Women with
Susan Songtag).
Niagra Falls, the cover of the book Pilgrimage
Leibovitz is famous for her portrait photographs of
celebrities, royalty etc. many of which have come under fire as controversial.
Her style is raw, sometimes grainy and always captures more than the eye can
really see. Throughout her long career (she started studying painting at the
Academy of Art here in SF), Leibovitz has had ups and downs in her personal,
work and financial life and Pilgrimage provided that personal release from the
past and a rejuvenation of life for her. “I needed to save myself,” Leibovitz
states in an interview with the NY Times about the book Pilgrimage. “I needed
to remind myself of what I like to do, what I can do.”
The images in Pilgrimage are hauntingly beautiful and
although the focus is totally on the objects of and their importance in history
and not people, they are in pure Leibovitz style.
Sigmund Freud’s couch in his study at 20 Maresfield Gardens
in London
Annie Oakley’s heart target
A collection of handmade pastels in the O’Keefe Research
Center in Santa Fe
All images via WSJ
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