Annie Leibovitz: Portraits 2005-2016 is the photographer’s follow-up to her two landmark books, Annie Leibovitz: Photographs, 1970-1990 and A Photographer’s Life, 1990-2005. (neither of which do I own) In this new collection, Leibovitz has captured the most influential and compelling figures of the last decade in the style that has made her one of the most beloved talents of our time. Each of the photographs documents contemporary culture with an artist’s eye, wit, and an uncanny ability to personalize even the most recognizable and distinguished figures. (Synopsis: Alexandra Fuller)
Annie Leibovitz is a controversial but brilliant photographer who has faced a barrage of criticism for both her work (portrait of Miley Cyrus) and her stormy personal life (drug addiction. Moreover, as one of the most successful photographers of all time she has also had her fair share of financial issues, despite earning a seven-figure salary from Vanity Fair, whilst also commanding tens of thousands of dollars a day from commercial clients like Louis Vuitton.
Learning about periods of Annie losing herself in financial quagmire and facing bankruptcy, but being able to bounce back, makes her even more remarkable in my opinion.
Personally, I don’t think all of her photographs that I have seen are memorable, but I really wanted to explore Annie Leibovitz book: Portraits 2005-2016. Without a doubt Annie Leibovitz is the creator of some of the most famous photographs of modern times. In this book Portraits 2005-2016, Leibovitz has some interesting portraiture of lesser-known subjects, but who are important in their field of art or dance. If you are looking for a technical insight into Annie Leibovitz’s work you won’t find it in this book, but what you will find are some examples of incredible portrait photography. There are two brief written portions in the book. The first by Alexandra Fuller The second by Leibovitz herself, which provides some insights into her thinking as she developed this collection of photographs. When I look at a photography book such as this, I wonder how Leibovitz selected the pictures and decided on the order in which they should be shown.
I’ve known of Leibovitz as a photographer, but never studied her work before; I really enjoyed looking through the images within this book, the composition, windows, rooms, reflections, the inside and outside, which for me raised engaging questions about who is where, what does placement mean for the portrait sitter, for the artist, for the viewer? This is an amazing book of portraits capturing a moment, making the photos real and deep which has made me appreciate her work more and also inspired me. This is without a doubt the most expensive book I have ever purchased, but it’s value to me personally is validated every time I pick it up and look inside.