Annie Leibovitz A Photographer’s Life 1990-2005: An awe-inspiring journey

PUBLISHED April 29th, 2014 02:00 am | UPDATED January 20th, 2016 02:45 pm

The amazing Annie Leibovitz A Photographer’s Life 1990-2005 exhibition, showcases close to 200 photographs by celebrated photographer Annie Leibovitz, one of America’s best-known artists. The collective portrait of contemporary life and display of her dazzling talent in photography, this show is not to be missed. Being one of only two cities in Asia to host the exhibition following its appearance in Seoul, there is no doubt this is one of Singapore’s blockbuster exhibitions for 2014. Here’s a preview of what you can expect to see in this retrospective:

Celebrity Portraits

These striking and powerful portraits have appeared on established magazine covers like Rolling Stone and Vogue, and in campaigns for big brands, stemming from Annie’s editorial assignments. Be prepared to view photos of Leonardo diCaprio clutching a swan in his arms and a heavily pregnant Demi Moore in the nude. There are also shots of Patty Smith, Quentin Tarantino, Jack Nicholson, among the large body of portraits of actors, directors, writers, musicians, athletes, politicians, and business figures.

Personal Photos

This is the personal memoir of Annie Leibovitz, documenting a particular timeframe within her life, outlining the loss of close relations, birth and childhood of her three daughters, family vacations, reunions, and close friends. What hit us the most was a series of photos of Susan Sontag (close friend and famous writer) lying in a bathtub, with her right hand over where her left breast should be – now a battlefield depicting her fight with breast cancer. This collection offers viewers a close peek at the unified narrative of Annie Leibovitz’s private life against the backdrop of her public image, and can be both heart breaking and heart warming at times.

Landscape Shots

Though these are not the ‘highlight’ of the exhibition, Annie Leibovitz’s landscape photos are not to be missed either. With some of the snapshots blown up to huge proportions, they left us in awe at her composition and framing of the sceneries. There are misty woods and magnificent canyons, landscapes taken in Monument Valley in the American West and in the Jordanian desert’s Wadi Rum – awe-inspiring to say the least.

Annie Leibovitz A Photographer’s Life 1990-2005 is on show at the ArtScience Museum at Marina Bay Sands from 18 April to 19 October 2014. Admission fees apply. For more information on the exhibition, see the ArtScience Museum website here.