Annie Leibovitz: Photographs Portfolio 1970-1990 (Stern Portfolio) [Paperback]

Annie Leibovitz (Author)

Book Description

Series: Stern Portfolio | Publication Date: June 1999

This collection of work spans Annie Leibovitz's career, beginning with early shots of John Lennon for "Rolling Stone Magazine" and moving onto recent shots of Jodie Foster. The photographs range from a relaxed shot of Keith Richards to Susan Sontag modelling beachwear and from David Lynch posing with Isabella Rosellinin in black to Roseanne Barr wallowing in mud with Tom Arnold.

--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Product Details

• Paperback: 112 pages
• Publisher: Te Neues Pub Group (June 1999)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 3570123006
• ISBN-13: 978-3570123003
• Product Dimensions: 14 x 10.4 x 0.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.5 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (12 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #4,138,323 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

47 of 49 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Don't waste your money!, October 16, 1999

By 

Neondon (Honolulu, Hawaii) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Annie Leibovitz: Photographs Portfolio 1970-1990 (Stern Portfolio) (Paperback)

While I love Annie Leibovitz's photographic talents, I was disappointed with this soft-cover magazine. Many of the pictures are in her other better books, and others are uninteresting. Let someone else buy this magazine, and you go to their place a read it once. I'm refunding this book back to Amazon.com.

21 of 22 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Layers of Meaning Like the Brush Strokes of Old Masters, January 16, 2001

By 

Donald Mitchell "Jesus Loves You!" (Thanks for Providing My Reviews over 109,000 Helpful Votes Globally) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (HALL OF FAME REVIEWER)    (TOP 100 REVIEWER)   

This review is from: Photographs Annie Leibovitz 1970-1990 (Paperback)

Seeing so many celebrity photographs from the beginning of Ms. Leibovitz's career unveils many of the most effective methods that she uses to create her deep insights into the subject of the portrait. Although you may feel the subtlety of her work viscerally, these comparisons make it easier to appreciate the purposefulness of how the effects are brilliantly captured. If you are like me, this book will enhance your already deep appreciation of her work.

Before going into all the reasons I like this book, let me mention that the book contains tasteful nudity and sexual situations that would probably cause an R rating for a motion picture (or possibly something a bit stronger, like an R plus). Many parents would be uncomfortable with some of their children seeing these images. So judge the appropriateness of this wonderful book for your own family.

First, Ms. Leibovitz is looking for the soul of the person. Who are they at the core? This is captured by establishing a composition that overtly expresses this inner kernel of truth. For Roseanne Barr and Tom Arnold, this is captured by mud wrestling. For Muhammad Ali, you see a fully confident, capable man fully comfortable with himself and the world.

Second, she captures the subject's personality with posing and expression within the composition. Whoopi Goldberg's playfulness is captured by a composition that has little bits of her beautiful blackness emerging from a milk bath, with a characteristicly wry, happy smile.

Third, she shows the social mask that the subject uses. Lily Tomlin's face poses behind a television set image. Diane Keaton is shown wandering around with her face averted from the camera to capture her preference for privacy and appearance of shyness. Keith Haring appears wearing nothing but his painted on designs.

Fourth, she connects her subject to another person where that helps to establish part of the person's reality. John Lennon appears in foetal position with Yoko Ono, in that famous image from this book's cover. The Rolling Stones are literally flying through the air at the same time while performing. The Grateful Dead are asleep on each other's shoulders. Interestingly, she is usually able to do this with a humorous, light touch that dispells some of the celebrity power of the person.

Fifth, she lets a little slip in composure or a little blemish show where that adds to the underlying reality. Louis Armstrong looks scared in one classic portrait pose, while totally relaxed and in control in a less formal setting. Mick Jagger's partially healed scar is shown in another image. Jodie Foster puts on an intelligent expression that shows the Yale graduate rather than the young female star.

Sixth, she captures motion in ways that give the kinesthetics of the person and situation wonderfully. For example, a group of prisoners and family members hug at Soledad Prison in California at Christmas in 1971. You see many different relationships in this one image. It's like a microcosm of all humanity.

Here are my favorite images:

John Lennon, New York City, 1970

Louis Armstrong, Queens, New York, 1971

Christmas, 1971, Soledad Prison, California

The Grateful Dead, San Rafael, California, 1971

Ray Charles, San Francisco, 1972

Lily Tomlin, Los Angeles, 1973

Richard Pryor, Los Angeles, 1974

Andy Warhol, New York City, 1976

Tennessee Williams, Key West, Florida, 1974

Ron Kovic, Santa Monica, California, 1973

The Rolling Stones, Philadelphia, 1975

Brian Wilson, Malibu, California, 1976

Muhammad Ali, Chicago, 1978

Robert Penn Warren, Fairfield, Connecticut, 1980

John Lennon and Yoko Ono, New York City, December 8, 1981

Greg Louganis, Los Angeles, 1984

Bruce Springsteen, Asbury Park, New Jersey, 1987

Whoopi Goldberg, Berkeley, California, 1984

Twyla Tharp, New York City, 1989

Michael Jackson, Los Angeles, 1989

Mikhail Baryshnikov, New York City, 1989

After you have enjoyed the book, I suggest that you make a drawing that does a similar unveiling of someone you know well. You might even consider a self-portrait. Ms. Leibovitz says those are the hardest to do.

Look deeply into those all around you and see the truth . . . as well as the fictions.

14 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars I love her work!, December 16, 1999

By 

"may-tal" - See all my reviews

This review is from: Photographs Annie Leibovitz 1970-1990 (Paperback)

A must have book for all photography fans and amateur photographers. Annie has her own unique style - she knows exactly how to seize the moment. Her early photographs describe her family, Rock stars and their fans and even simple people - in that special moment that will never return, that moment that Annie so creatively captured. Annie's Photographs, are semi-journalistic, and describe a given situation - no excess face powder and bright lights. Besides these, the book contains her most famous "staged" photographs, in which Annie took pictures of famous people from her own perspective. I must say, that the scenarios and poses chosen for most celebrities fit them like a glove. My favorite photographs are the one in which Woopie Goldberg is soaking in a bath full of milk, and the beautiful photo of Sting, standing covered in mud, in the middle of the desert (of course, there is also the famous photograph of John and Yoko).