Tag: Annie Leibovitz

Annie Leibovitz

georginie

Annie Leibovitz

Pilgrimages aren’t always a religious journey. Many artists have used the premise for exploring their spiritual journey. One such artist, is Annie Leibovitz, with her series entitled Pilgrimage. Leibovitz created this series by photographing places with meaning to her, it allowed her travel without an agenda; it also became her first primarily digital series. None of her images in this series contain people, but they do contains traces of life. She explored places such as Niagara Falls (see fig. 1) and Georgia O’Keeffe’s house (see fig. 2). She also photographed objects like Sigmund Freud’s couch (see fig. 3). The results are a truly personal project which show portraits of the past, without featuring people. I found her images interesting especially the museum pieces, as the light she utilises was very atmospheric. But I did find some of the images more like snapshots that any one could take, for example her image of Niagara Falls; it was as if no thought had gone into the image process. The series doesn’t feel complete, it doesn’t feel like there is a consistent narrative. Whilst I understand it document her journey, I think it would be beneficial to have more consistency. I found a copy of the book, the major problem is that the images and text don’t often match up, which makes it difficult to fully engage with the project.

(Fig. 1. Niagra Falls (2009))
(Fig. 2. Door in abode wall at Georgia O’Keeffe’s home (2011))
(Fig. 3. Sigmund Freud’s Couch (2009))

Bibliography

Hamilton’s Gallery. Annie Leibovitz. At: www.hamiltonsgallery.com/artists/Annie-Leibovitz/series/pilgrimage/(Accessed on 6th of July 2019).

Wood, G. (2011). Pilgrimage by Annie Leibovitz: review. At: www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/books/bookreviews/8928816/pilgrimage-by-Annie-Leibovitz-review.html/(Accessed on 6th of July 2019).

Figures

Fig. 1. Leibovitz, A. (2009). Niagra Falls. [Photograph – Online]. At: https://www.theguardian.com/theobserver/gallery/2012/jun/03/annie-leibovitz-pilgrimage-photographs-gallery(Accessed on 6th of July 2019). 

Fig. 2. Leibovitz, A. (2011). Door in abode wall at Georgia O’Keeffe’s home. [Photograph – Online]. At: https://www.theguardian.com/theobserver/gallery/2012/jun/03/annie-leibovitz-pilgrimage-photographs-gallery(Accessed on 6th of July 2019).

Fig. 3. Leibovitz, A. (2009). Sigmund Freud’s Couch. [Photography Online]. At: https://www.theguardian.com/theobserver/gallery/2012/jun/03/annie-leibovitz-pilgrimage-photographs-gallery(Accessed on 6th of July 2019).