There are images we remember for generations, if we're lucky, we pause to remember the creative lens behind the camera. Annie Leibovitz: A Photographer's Life is on view at my favorite museum in San Francisco, The Legion of Honor. Thanks to Leibovitz and the Brooklyn Museum, this stunning portrait captures the Leibovitz Lens 1990 - 2005. Don't miss this exhibition now through May 25, 2008, it's the last U.S. stop before heading overseas. For many of us, we'll always remember her Rolling Stone covers and a prolific period at Vanity Fair in the 90's where editor Tina Brown and Annie Leibovitz always pushed the envelope. The GAP and The Sopranos recent advertising campaigns are stamped with the Leibovitz signature.
Last year, as Leibovitz made the rounds launching her new book, including a 30 minute interview with Josh Kornbluth on his now defunct local KQED show, a wonderful documentary produced by her sister also gave fans a rare glimpse of Leibovitz behind-the-scenes. An American Masters program can be seen on PBS beginning about March 19.
When walking into the last room at the Legion, I suddenly felt tears brimming over, distorting my own lens for a moment. While an array of family portraits can be seen throughout the exhibition, this room Leibovitz dedicates exclusively to joy and death in life. The walls depict personal images of her family-- her dying Father, Mother, and Susan Sontag--her siblings and their children, and the birth of her beautiful children.
