By the Book

Annie Leibovitz
November 20

For those of you who are not familiar with the name Annie Leibovitz, shame on you. She is possibly the most famous, not to mention talented, contemporary photographer in the United States. From 1973–83 she was the head photographer for Rolling Stone Magazine; her work—largely responsible for shaping the publication’s iconographic veneer—has graced the cover numerous times, and to great effect.

If the name Leibovitz still isn’t ringing any bells, she’s also the one who took the last professional photograph of John and Yoko hours before Lennon’s unfortunate death. And, more recently, you might recognize her work via Vanity Fair, for which she photographed Demi Moore’s controversial nudes that twice graced the cover. The Leibovitz canon is a staple of Americana, providing valuable insight into the dichotomy of public and private life in American culture. If you’d really like to experience the range of her talent then I would recommend picking up her newest collection, A Photographer’s Life 1990–2005, at your local bookstore. If a book isn’t enough to appease your intellectual desires, you will have the opportunity of attend a lecture at the Schnitzer Concert Hall, which will be presented by Portland Arts & Lectures, on November 20. Tickets can be purchased through the Portland Center for Performing Arts (pcpa.org) or Ticketmaster (224-4400, ticketmaster.com) for $12–28.