Annie Leibovitz: Celebrity Photographer

USA Today (Society for the Advancement of Education), Sept, 1997 by Robert S. Rothenberg

Historical eras once were chronicled by the written word. Today, though, the photographer/cameraman has taken over that role, with people more eager to consume a visual image of a celebrity or event than to read about it. Since she burst upon the scene in the 1970s, Annie Leibovitz's camera has become the defining depicter of the "in" scene, and her photos virtually have became the signature of first Rolling Stone, then the revived Vanity Fair.

Following Leibovitz on a series of photo shoots, including the well-publicized Vanity Fair cover of actress Demi Moore's nude body painted to look as if she were wearing a man's suit, viewing family home movies, and listening to subjects and colleagues describing her style, one gets an insider's look at what makes Annie click. Equally fascinating are her reminiscences of being the official photographer of the Rolling Stones' 1975 world tour, the drug habit that drove her to leave Rolling Stone, and the rebirth of her career with Vanity Fair.

As with any artist, though, it is the work that defines the person. Two of her photos are world-famous -- the shot of a nude John Lennon curled fetus-like around Yoko Ono, taken at the last photo session with the musician, hours before he was murdered, and the notorious Vanity Fair cover featuring a nude, eight-months-pregnant Demi Moore. Unfortunately for the viewer, the video fairly flies through dozens of other photos, offering but fleeting glimpses of Whoopie Goldberg, Clint Eastwood, John Belushi and Dan Aykroyd in "Blues Brothers" regalia, artists Keith Haring and Andy Warhol, ex-President Ronald Reagan, and a parade of rock stars. One of only two living photographers honored by a retrospective at the International Center of Photography -- the other being Irving Penn -- Leibovitz has become almost as much of a celebrity as her subjects.