Annie Leibovitz: Exclusive Interview

I recently spent several hours with photographer Annie Leibovitz as she gave me a personal tour of her latest exhibition: "A Photographer's Life: 1990-2005" at the High Museum of Art...

Two loves have greatly influenced Annie Leibovitz's work: her mother (a dance instructor) and writer/essayist Susan Sontag (her "lover"), who died of cancer in 2004.

It's obvious Leibovitz truly loved Sontag, as she gets a little choked up every time she talks about her. In fact, there are almost more photos of Sontag in the exhibition than there are of the celebrities Leibovitz is best known for shooting.

(Nicole Kidman, New York, 2003. Courtesy of "Vogue.")

Although Leibovitz's work mostly reflects life, she clearly doesn't like to take photos of people with smiles. In fact, you'll be hard pressed to find any of her subjects in the exhibition smiling.

"You have to understand, my family was the kind that always smiled for pictures. I just thought it was kind of... fake. In the portrait I took of my mother, she's not smiling. She thought she looked old and didn't like the photo. But at an exhibit once all these people were gathered around asking for her autograph, so she kind of liked that."

(Pondering photos of lover Susan Sontag undergoing chemotherapy.)

"I've recently started looking for a cemetery, which is sort of like looking for a good apartment in New York City. People are afraid to talk about death. So before my dad died, I made sure to talk to him about... those kinds of things. But I promise there's more to this exhibition than just death," she says with a laugh.

"The great thing about this photo is if you love George Bush, you love this photo. And if you hate Bush, you hate this photo. I only had 45 minutes to take it, which was a LONG time."

When asked why she thinks she's become such an icon, she says, "A lot of hard work. It's all about the work. Also I don't think of myself as a photographer. I think of myself as an artist who uses photography."

Leibovitz has been under contract as a landscape photographer with "Conde Nast Traveler" since 1993. Other contracts include "Vanity Fair," "Rolling Stone", and "Vogue."

And what about that famous "Vanity Fair" cover of Demi Moore nude and pregnant 1994? "I had worked with Demi a lot, and did her wedding pictures when she married Bruce Willis. I told her then that I was interested in photographing a pregnant woman, which I had never done before."

"I shot some close-ups of Demi Moore for the magazine, and I said, 'you know, we should do some nudes just for you.'"

"Demi called me when she was pregnant with her first child. Bruce was working on a film in Kentucky, so I stopped there on the way back to New York from Los Angeles. Then three years later, when Demi had a movie coming out, 'Vanity Fair' asked me to take a picture of her for the cover. As I was shooting I said, 'You know, this would be a great cover. 'Vanity Fair' decided to go with it -- I didn't quite understand the impact it would have on people."

"I photographed Robert DeNiro and Al Pacino standing next to each other in my studio, but I had to cut them into two separate photos because they couldn't be together."

In 1994 her most shocking photo at the High Museum was Whoopi Goldberg in a bathtub filled with milk. This time around she's got Chris Rock donning "whiteface" and Beyonce as Alice in Wonderland. Clearly some things haven't changed, but a lot has, like getting to finally photograph Queen Elizabeth II. Leibovitz is the first American honored with taking her portrait.

(Brad Pitt, Las Vegas, 1994. Courtesy of "Vanity Fair.")

"They gave me 30 minutes to photograph her. She said she remembered me asking if I could photograph her years ago, and she felt bad for turning me down. The photos were good, but they were more like a document. I did a lot of research; they sent me books of her clothes and jewelry I could choose from.

I wanted to include everything, so we did the shoot at Buckingham Palace. She was a little feisty because she had to wear the whole outfit and everything -- it was a bit like photographing your 80-year old aunt. But she was great. At the end I told her I had made a bit of a mistake and needed her to come back so I could do something else, and she did."

"I got rid of my studio. It was becoming a burden, so now I prefer to shoot in the great outdoors. I'm also using a lot of digital, which I love. If I want to make it look like film I can, and it gives me a lot of leeway with color. For instance I used to not be able to shoot a subject in front of a green tree, because green looks black on film. But now I can do that. I first started using digital when I shot Barack Obama, because I wanted it to look like 'now.' It looks sort of like television."

So what advice does Annie Leibovitz have for budding photographers? "The thing I tell artists now is to make sure they preserve their work. Put it into a book. It doesn't have to be published, but put it into something."

(Contact Any Celebrity President Jordan McAuley (far right) with Annie Leibovitz, friend Matt Burkhalter and a High Museum representative.)

- Annie Leibovitz's newest book is "A Photographer's Life: 1990-2005." Her exhibition by the same name runs through September 9th at the High Museum of Art.

(Story: Jordan McAuley, Photos: Matt Burkhalter)

Comments

[Don]

Thanks for an unusually candid in-depth interview. I have followed Annie's work for many years in RS, seen it at Brooklyn Museum and have worked with a colleague, Ebet Roberts photographing some Rappers during Hip Hop's fledgling beginnings. You can see some of Bob Gruen's great Punk photos as well on display at Club Manitobas (named after Handsome Dick Manitoba of The Dictators) in the East Village NYC.

[Francis Owobi Agila.]

Dear madam, its a pleasure to write you hopping that my letter reachs you well couple with joy and happiness, the main reason is to tell you i like every bit of the pictures, iam seeing, i am a Nigerian and i live in Nigeria, my dreams are one day i will get oppurnity to further education in the USA, by the special grace of GOD, can you please find it to invite to the USA to spent some weeks with so that i can see my dream country? thanks sincerely Francis Owobi Agila.

[arna]

woh...........well.....keep it up.........

[PHILIPPE ANOALITE]

I want to contact my celebrities but i dont know how to do.Please tell the procedure.I m D R CONGO,ORIENTAL PROVINCE,ITURI DISTRICT,at territor of ARU.I DONT KNOW TO SPEAK BUT THE FRENCH. My phone number +243815671956. Thanks for the answer.

[vikas]

thanks for ans i want to meet celebrities can u send my any contact adress

[sabby]

i would like to go for a change in acting

[DM Thornton]

I'd like to do a photoshoot with you...
I would also like to have a conversation about God with Nicole Kidman...I always liked 70's skirts.
I was interested in "what happened there" are they still working on it?
I would walk on stage with Al Pacino, in something modern though.
I have a sci-fi script with Willis in mind, does he produce to? There is place for everyone even Demi Moore.
In fact who's interested in co-producing?
I have something in common with Woopi Goldberg it's beyond everything.
One day I'll might have the chance to give Beyonce the moon, who knows.
Who's jealous of Brad Pitt? Would you take Brad Pitt's freedom? I wouldn't. I would wrather make movies.
Chris Rock knows what he's talking about.
I do have to do business with the Queen at least once in my life.
I havent sent my letter to the president yet.

It's not that I'm interested it's just that I always wanted to live...

DM Thornton
213-805-4279 or fax 213-365-9839
po box 25144
los angeles ca 90025

[esther]

how nice i think you did a good job

[Sandra McNary]

Hello Annie;
Thank you for the work you have produced and provided to us viewers. I am currently a returning student attending Hallmark Institute of Photography in Turner's Falls, Ma. I have an assignment that involves working with a photographer. I would love the opportunity to be an assistant of yours for a photo shoot. I am forty, mother of two and have an amazing partner, Stacy, and working with you for a day would be another blessing in my life.I look forward to hearing back from you. Thank you for your time.
Sandra McNary