Spring Break
Leibovitz photos document a rockin' era
Jessica Carreras
Issue date: 9/11/07 Section: Features
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The history of American music is filled with rich stories behind the artists and the songs people around the world have loved; stories of love come and gone, the making of lifelong musical partnerships and the development of such prominent areas of music as jazz, blues, rock and hip hop. Documented through several series of photographs, renowned photographer Annie Liebovitz has captured the essence of American music in a new exhibition of the same name.
Organized by the Experience Music Project (EMP) of Seattle, WA, Annie Leibovitz: American Music, is now at the Detroit Institute of Arts for a limited time. The all-encompassing exhibition includes 70 portraits of some of this century's most prolific and influential artists - and some who are not so well known.
"The car was my first camera," said Leibovitz of her photo of Highway 61, a road famous for the blues musicians who played in clubs and bars alongside it. The full-color picture, which was taken while driving, is one of only a few in the exhibit that has no people in it. The large photo is showcased in the first room of the exhibition, which is called "American Roots Music and the Folk Tradition/ The Mississippi Delta and the Blues Tradition in America."
The rest of the room features mostly black and white photos of such artists as Eddie Cotton, R.L. Burnside and Willie Foster, who played with Muddy Waters. There is also a close-up stage shot of legendary artist B.B. King.
One of the photos in the first room is a large color picture of folk artist Pete Seeger. Seeger, who is famous not only for his music but also his social activism, is standing on the edge of the Hudson River in New York where he lives, wearing a pair of neon orange waders and looking off into the distance. According to Leibovitz, when the picture was taken Seeger was looking at a place in the Hudson River where he used to swim as a child.
The majority of the pictures were taken in the Mississippi Delta, where blues music is an integral part of the area.
"It seemed like a good idea to start in the Mississippi Delta," said Leibovitz, "since that's where the music that meant so much to me started."
Leibovitz, who celebrated her 57th birthday yesterday, comes from Westport, CT. She is mostly known as a photographer for Rolling Stone Magazine, where she worked from 1970 to 1983. She photographed cover shots featuring the Blues Brothers, the Rolling Stones and Fleetwood Mac. Most famous is her cover shot of a nude John Lennon hugging a fully clothed Yoko Ono-a picture that was taken just hours before Lennon was shot and killed in 1980.
Leibovitz has since worked as a portrait photographer for Vanity Fair, and has published five books of photos: "Photographs," "Photographs 1970-1990," "American Olympians," "Women" and her most recent offering on which the DIA exhibit is based, "American Music."
The rest of the exhibition is comprised of five more rooms. The second room has pictures based on country and western music, and includes portraits of Lyle Lovett, Porter Wagoner, the Dixie Chicks, Emmylou Harris and Dolly Parton. A black and white portrait of Willie Nelson in this room is recognizable to most visitors.
One of the most stunning portraits is of Johnny Cash and June Carter, which is known to be one of the last pictures taken of the two before Carter's death in 2003 and Cash's death shortly after. Next to it is a photograph of Cash playing guitar with his daughter on her front porch while his grandchildren stand nearby. Both photographs are highly personal and full of emotion.
The third room is called "An American Tapestry: Jazz, Gospel, Rhythm and Blues and Soul." Many of the photos in this room look like family snapshots, such as the ones of the Ardoin and Neville families. Other photos are of jazz pianist and singer Norah Jones, Tony Bennett, rapper Nas with his father, and trumpeter Olu Dara.
The fourth room focuses on contemporary music and features pictures of artists like Brian Wilson, Bruce Springsteen, Lucinda Williams, Bonnie Raitt and Red Hot Chili Peppers guitarist John Frusciante. Wilson's portrait photograph stands out as it juxtaposes the "fun in the sun" image of the Beach Boys with a dark sky and impending storm in the background of the picture, which features a somber Wilson.
The fifth room features contemporary hip-hop and alternative artists like Sean "P. Diddy" Combs, Mos Def, The Roots, Ryan Adams and Beck.
The last room honors Detroit-bred artists like John Lee Hooker, Eminem, Aretha Franklin, The White Stripes and a shirtless Iggy Pop. Leibovitz called Iggy Pop's shirtless chest and back a "road map of rock and roll."
"I wanted to photograph him as if he was under a microscope," she said.
Most of the photographs are recent, although some bring visitors back in time to Leibovitz's earlier work. There's a mixture of group shots and close ups; black and white and color shots. All but a few are taken away from a stage setting.
"It seemed to me that a concert was the least interesting place to photograph a musician," said Leibovitz. "I like rehearsals, back rooms, hotel rooms…almost any place but the stage."
Leibovitz strove to capture artists in their element and often did research on the artist to find out where they came from, incorporating their roots into the portraits. She visited homes and hometowns, studios and bars, always looking for that perfect shot.
Annie Leibovitz: American Music will be at the Detroit Institute of Arts until January 7, 2007. Tickets cost $10 and include admission to the museum. For ticket information, call the DIA Box Office at (313) 833-4005.
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