Annie Leibovitz, Ansel Adams’s darkroom, Carmel, California, 2010, © Annie Leibovitz. From “Pilgrimage” (Random House, 2011)
you did to leave us these pictures.’ These photos [of mine] were an homage to Adams.” The darkroom photo has another meaning for Annie, which dates back to her first days behind the lens. “I was totally seduced into photography by the darkroom,” she says. “To see the pictures come up in the chemistry—it was just magic every single time. It was powerful.” A long way from the darkroom days, Leibovitz welcomes Pilgrimage as her first all-digital series. “This project really showed me the latitude in digital,” she says. “In the beginning, we disliked images being so sharp. Now, we can see everything and it’s very exciting.” Though she welcomes new picture-developing technology, she admits it’s far different from the darkroom days that originally seduced her. “It’s scaring me a little bit having to sit so much at the computer,” she says. “But when it works, it works. I’m a student again.” One thing that hasn’t changed with this new exhibit: her storytelling. Famous for her photos, she’s equally known for publishing her behind-the-scenes fervor and inspiration in books. In Pilgrimage, the artist reveals tales of when she first started in the biz. “When I started [at Rolling Stone], I lied and said I could shoot color. But I just did black and white,” she says. “I learned and grew up at Rolling Stone.”
In earlier books such as A Photographer’s Life, Leibovitz talks in detail about specific shots with pop culture subjects. She admits it’s her favorite medium. “The books are my freedom high,” she says. “The books are the place where I can edit the work I’ve done from these magazines and bring forth my own ideas for what I did.” “One of the great things about getting older is you do know what you’re doing. There’s so much going on that you’re tripping over it all the time. I think if you survive a Rolling Stones tour in your 20s, then you go into some other kind of status,” she says jokingly. “Then you get to be in your late 60s and you just have to hang in there.” “From the beginning, when I was watching my children stand mesmerized over Niagara Falls, this project was an exercise in renewal. It taught me to see again,” Leibovitz says. “What’s great about doing this show in San Jose, is you can see everything.”
Annie Leibovitz: Pilgrimage is on exhibit June 6–September 8, 2013
San Jose Museum of Art 110 S. Market Street San Jose, CA 95113 408.271.6840
sanjosemuseumofart.org