Annie Leibovitz Women : New Portraits exhibition

Annie Leibovitz is one of my favourite celebrity portrait photographers though I have never seen any of her work other than in books, articles etc. ..until last weekend...

I made my way to Wapping Hydraulic Power station to see her free exhibition:  Women: New Portraits; an exhibition that will visit  9 more cities over the coming year.

The exhibition is a continuation of the work that she and Susan Sonntag undertook and presented back in 1999 entitled 'Women' and actually shows work from both series. 
Placing it in a small old power-station is an interesting choice and I wonder why this was chosen. Did the idea to present many of the images in a rolling slideshow on two large screens in front of an area of seating  suggest the Wapping site or the site suggest that mode of presentation? I haven't yet been able to find this out...

Annie Leibovitz Women: New Portraits exhibition

Certainly the large screens presented the images powerfully despite apparently being made up of screens linked together almost as a grid ( one screen reminding me of the rule of thirds !). You had to sit or stand way back to take all the image in and I found the fact that the images moved on relatively quickly unhelpful as with some of then I felt I'd have liked more time to digest what I was seeing .There were some 'wall' mounted prints which I found more engaging...a real mix or juxta position of subjects..

Annie Leibovitz Women: New Portraits exhibition

 

Annie Leibovitz Women: New Portraits exhibition 2016

Annie Leibovitz Women: New Portraits exhibition 2016

Looking at them, I found myself wondering whether the images,rich and crisp as they were, said very much about the celebrity that stared out at me. Subjects include Taylor Swift, Aung San Suu Kyi, Adele, Gloris Steinem. The settings were often rich in detail and the subjects themselves dressed to match. Did Leibovitz suggest the venue etc. or was this what the celebrity suggested suited them? I felt the plainer the background the better as it left the viewer concentrating on the subject..

Annie Leibovitz Women: New Portraitsexhibition 2016

There are some interesting reviews of the exhibition...Culture Whisper concluded 'the sheer starriness of this Leibovitz' work, combined with her brilliance and the Wapping Project's industrial architecture, makes this a fun day down at the docks. Just don't expect to be provoked, or challenged.'   http://www.culturewhisper.com/event/view/id/5958

I think this comes from their view that the 'Part two' is not as inclusive in its choice of women to portray i.e. purely high powered celebrity rather than women from all walks of life,  and therefore the less interesting for this.

If I'm honest, the exhibition was more interesting and enjoyable for the choice of images included, their presentation and setting than many of the actual images.Certainly some of later celebrity ones revealed little of their subject, appearing stage-managed and showing more of the lifestyle ( whether chosen by either the subject or photographer) than the person.