Annie Leibovitz Exhibit

Going to the Annie Leibovitz exhibit at the Wexner Center was a truly interesting experience. This was the first time that I had experienced a gallery that was more than a single roomed shop with a few dozen pieces in it. It was a funny experience because I felt out of my element in the gallery. Even though it was on a college campus I thought the show had the feel of a New York gallery….or at least my best guess of what a New York gallery was like. At first I was overwhelmed by the amount of photographs that were on display, after I was able to get past the sheer volume of work I started to recognize some of the photographs, especially the photos of famous actors and athletes. For some reason I really liked the pictures of Arnold Shawrtzeneger, I found it interesting to see how he had transformed of the course of 15 to 20 years. I was shocked to see how long of a span of time the pictures in the gallery covered; the earliest I remembered seeing was 1968 or ’69 all the way through 2008. If I had to describe all of Annie Leibovitz photographs in one word it would be timeless, I say this because I really had trouble distinguishing when the pictures were taken. Most of them seemed like they could have been taken anytime in that 40 year span of her career. It is clear that Annie Leibovitiz has covered some of the biggest stories in the last half century.

On a side note after reading Nipple Jesus I was just as cued into the people at the exhibit as I was to the featured artwork. Unfortunately, I went on a weekday afternoon so most of the people viewing the pieces were other students such as myself sent to observe for some sort of assignment. I think it would be interesting to go back at a time when there would be more experienced gallery goers to observe.