Annie Leibovitz explaining her works at the ArtScience Museum in Marina Bay Sands Singapore on 16 April 2014. The strap slung around Leibovitz is for her Canon G16. Around 200 photographs are on display for: “Annie Leibovitz: A Photographer’s Life 1990 to 2005” exhibition which began on 18 April 2014 and will end on 19 October 2014. Photo: © TANG Portfoli0
You may have at least seen and / or remember that famous 1991 image of the very nude and pregnant Demi Moore on the cover of Vanity Fair (which inspired many others to follow that pose), but have you seen the 1988 photo of her pregnant with her first child Rumer together with her then husband Bruce Willis?
That highly artistic black-and-white nude photo of Moore with her first child was taken by Annie Leibovitz at the request of the actress. (Rumer was born in August 1988). It may perhaps also be considered a “bonus” as it was taken in 1988 and not between 1990 and 2005.
“I worked with Demi Moore quite a lot, and I did her wedding pictures when she married Bruce Willis [in 1987]. I said to her that I was interested in photographing a pregnant woman which I had never done before, and she called me [in 1988] when she was going to have her first child,” says Leibovitz.
The colour photo of the pregnant Moore with her second child (Scout, born in 1991) that became iconic was taken while on assignment for Vanity Fair.
Have you also seen Leibovitz’s powerful imagery of war, notably those taken by her in 1993 during the Siege of Sarajevo for Vanity Fair?
Such photos taken by Leibovitz are just more reasons to visit the “Annie Leibovitz: A Photographer’s Life 1990 – 2005” exhibition held at the ArtScience Musuem in Marina Bay Sands Singapore which began on 18 April 2014 and will run till 19 October 2014, especially if you happen to be in this Southeast Asian city during this period.
The exhibition first opened in 2006 at the Brooklyn Museum in New York and has since toured the United States, Europe, Australia (Sydney), Moscow and St. Petersburg and South Korea (Seoul).
Singapore is one of the two cities in Asia (the other being Seoul) that will have the “Annie Leibovitz: A Photographer’s Life 1990 – 2005” exhibition.
A young lady enjoying the photo of Mikhail Baryshnikov and Bob Besserer taken by Annie Leibovitz on Cumberland Island, Georgia in 1990. Photo: © TANG Portfolio
“The striking power of Annie’s photographs capture the essence of the subject in a unique and visceral fashion,” notes Honor Harger, executive director, ArtScience Museum.
The exhibition “provides a unified narrative of Annie Leibovitz’s private life against the backdrop of her public image,” as it highlights her personal memoirs which includes the birth and childhood of her three daughters, her family, close friends and even death.
Indeed, while most will know Leibovitz for her incredible portraits of celebrities like Scarlett Johansson, Jamie Foxx, Nicole Kidman, Brad Pitt and Leonardo di Caprio, few would have had the opportunity to view the images of her private life, family and friends.
For photography enthusiasts, Leibovitz, who was at the exhibition in Singapore for a brief visit, recommends looking back at one’s photos and editing them.
She also likes having smaller photos framed on a wall because these are typically “personal and you must get up close to them” for viewing. “Larger pictures are for assignments,” says Leibovitz.
“Stay home and take as many pictures of family, friends and loved ones,” she recommends.
