Mikhail Baryshnikov and Rob Besserer, Cumberland Island, Georgia, 1990. chromogenic print. Photograph © Annie Leibovitz.
Annie Leibovitz Gets Personal at the Corcoran; Amateur Hour at the National Gallery
If anything can steal the thunder of Ansel Adams’s iconic American landscapes, it might be Annie Leibovitz’s portraits. Leave it to the Corcoran to stage a photo frenzy, opening Annie Leibovitz: A Photographer’s Life, 1990-2005 within days of debuting an Adams retrospective.
The Leibovitz feature is two shows in one, combining her personal snapshots and professional portraits. Or three, if you count the super-size nature shots that compete for your gaze in the finale-gallery.
Black and white, color; formal commissions and family snapshots; pleasure, power and pain ... the disparate works harmonize in the context of this exhibition. One reason: the unfussy wall choreography directed by Corcoran curator Paul Roth, which earned praise from the artist herself. (The traveling exhibition opened at the Brooklyn Museum last year.)
Also harmonizing the portraits are Leibovitz’s supreme ability to capture simultaneously the person and personality, stripping away the veneer of celebrity and dispersing the smog of self-consciousness, freeing the subjects to express their individuality. “This is how I want you to know me.” And perhaps “This is how I want to be remembered.” That is what went through my mind as I became acquainted through via photos with the artist’s father and her companion Susan Sontag, both of whom recently joined the departed.
Throughout the exhibition, eyes anticipate and seek out the viewer. Called them staged, but the portraits engage so fully that sometimes it’s a struggle to withdraw your attention do you can move on to the next print.
Arts writers had the pleasure of a tour guided by Leibovitz herself. She is a professional who found her calling early in life and wasted no time in embracing it. Her work for Rolling Stone, Vanity Fair, Vogue and other forums reflects a sensitive eye, keen mind and rock-solid work ethnic; patience, foresight and assertiveness culminate in unforgettable shots. From Queen to cleaning lady to Sarajevo casualty’s grounded bicycle and blood stains, each shot compels you to stop, look and virtually make acquaintance with the subject.
The show also offers a rare glimpse of the photographer’s family – we see her young children romping and her mother – to whom Leibovitz credits the intimacy of her work – frollicking at the beach. Leibovitz, who grew up in Silver Spring, reveals some of herself as she illuminates her subjects..
Leibovitz recalled early dance training, memories and moves that manifest themselves in the motion pent up in so many of her pictures.
Three March 2007 portraits of the Queen, seamlessly shoehorned into the Corcoran stop on the show’s circuit, include one that will probably displace any previous images you had of Queen Elizabeth II.
Same goes for an ecstasy-inducing glimpse of Mikhail Baryshnikov held aloft by Rob Besserer.
Meanwhile, the National Gallery of Art entertains with The Art of the American Snapshot 1888-1978. If you’re trying to convince someone that photography is art, don’t use this show as an example. That’s not to say that the dozens of anonymous snaps collected by Robert E. Jackson don’t rate a viewing. Fun shots from the early decades of the 20th century include crazy stunts such as a man hanging upside-down from a telephone pole, wacky experiments with perspective, and all manner of mugging for the camera. Un-self-conscious subjects snooze, slouch, pout, skinny dip, disrobe, vogue, clown around, and express themselves in ways inspired by the presence of a camera lens.
With its wealth of exhibitions and powerhouse status, the National Gallery can let its hair down once in awhile. It’s amusing to ponder how these unknown snapsters would react to the news that their casual clicks ended up not in the trash but in a national repository for fine art just steps from world masters and under the watchful eye of security guards.
These artifacts offer a stark contrast to the art of Annie Leibovitz. But both collections affirm the power of photography in immortalizing men, women and moments. With this assist from the National Gallery, the folks populating collector Jackson’s found treasures will be goofing off for eternity. For my piece on the American Snapshot in the Examiner, go to http://dcpaper.examiner.com/content/e-edition/2007/10/29/2/27.pdf .
Annie Leibovitz: A Photographer’s Life, 1990-2005
Through Jan 13
Corcoran Gallery of Art
500 17th St., NW
202-639-1700
corcoran.org
Admission fee varies
The Art of the American Snapshot 1888-1978
Through December 31
National Gallery of Art, West Building
202-737-4215
nga.gov
Free
Ansel Adams exhibiton review – use this link: http://dcpaper.examiner.com/content/e-edition/2007/09/17/2/27.pdf
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