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Pilgrimage
Pilgrimage took Annie Leibovitz to places that she could explore with no agenda. She wasn’t on assignment. She chose the subjects simply because they meant something to her. The first place was Emily Dickinson’s house in Amherst, Massachusetts, which Leibovitz visited with a small digital camera. A few months later, she went with her three young children to Niagara Falls....more
Hardcover, 246 pages
Published
November 8th 2011
by Random House
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Let me start by saying I'm genuinely surprised to see such low rating reviews for this title, this did not reflect my experience at all. Largely the criticisms levelled concern the poor layout of the book and the sporadic focus throughout. While the layout was an issue I didn't find it anywhere near as detrimental to my engagement as others have mentioned. Nor did I take issue with the changing focus, I feel there was enough time spent on each subject and the crux of the text is really Leibovitz...more
I expected to love this. I am a great admirer of Annie Leibovitz and I gave 4 stars two other Leibovitz titles that I recently read, so there was no reason not to expect the same here. But no. I do not wish to ever see this book again.
The premise is great: Leibovitz goes on a self-guided pilgrimage to places that mean something personally to her, and takes only the photographs that she wants to take with no outside agenda or assignments. She travels to places like Walden Pond, Val-Kill, and Geor...more
The premise is great: Leibovitz goes on a self-guided pilgrimage to places that mean something personally to her, and takes only the photographs that she wants to take with no outside agenda or assignments. She travels to places like Walden Pond, Val-Kill, and Geor...more
I'm glad I got this from the library and didn't buy it. As a photography book it has some okay photos, but not all of them are sufficiently identified. The text is sort of interesting as to how she chose her subjects, but it's hard on the sentence continuity when there are often anywhere from 2 to 18 pages of photos in the middle of a sentence. Also the text & photos don't always coordinate.
I like her person or location subjects, but I sometimes wonder at her choice of a photo to occupy a do...more
I like her person or location subjects, but I sometimes wonder at her choice of a photo to occupy a do...more
The photos are beautiful. Some because of how well they are composed - truly artistic. Some simply because they are (at least initially) so ordinary-looking yet intriguing. There's a sense, in some of them, of "hey, that looks like a photo I would take.", and that relatable-ness is appealing.
The accompanying text is, also, appealing. It gives the reader a sense of why the photographer was drawn to the different subjects, and it provides a neat flow of information that, in a lot of cases, demonst...more
The accompanying text is, also, appealing. It gives the reader a sense of why the photographer was drawn to the different subjects, and it provides a neat flow of information that, in a lot of cases, demonst...more
I saw a picture in a magazine from this book of Sigmund Freud's couch and thought, "Cool, famed photographer takes pictures of iconic places and objects."
And that's what this book is. Sort of.
The photo range is narrower than I thought it would be with Leibovitz choosing places that meant something to her. She admitted she found subjects along the way to add to the collection, but mainly stuck to a list she and a friend came up with years earlier.
The photographs were beautiful, even the ones t...more
And that's what this book is. Sort of.
The photo range is narrower than I thought it would be with Leibovitz choosing places that meant something to her. She admitted she found subjects along the way to add to the collection, but mainly stuck to a list she and a friend came up with years earlier.
The photographs were beautiful, even the ones t...more
This is another book I picked up after seeing the author speak at City Arts & Lectures. Lately I've been really drawn to books about objects, or about people interacting with and discovering the stories behind objects. I think this is because my work is (in part, at least) also about objects- the objects that we are drawn to, that become sentimental to us, and ultimately that resonate with others as well. Leibovitz's book is not really about objects, it's about a journey she took that helped...more
This collection of photos very unusual and so much more than a coffee table book. The text ties it all together and is as important as the amazing photos because it turns the seemingly unrelated images into the pilgrimage of the title. Here, within one volume you spend an afternoon in Virginia Woolf's cluttered home, a few days in the western U.S., and take a brief tour of Elvis Presley's Graceland, to name just a few. Annie Oakley's trunk fills a page and is architectural, as are sweet potatoe...more
This is not your typical coffee table book. Annie Leibovitz narrates this collection by telling the reader she is in a state of flux with her life, searching for inspiration and wanting to be free of assignments and deadlines. And while the book starts off like most with the text describing the photograph(s) on the page, somewhere along the way it becomes a little erratic and random.
There have been some negative reviews regarding the format and even the quality of the photographs considering the...more
There have been some negative reviews regarding the format and even the quality of the photographs considering the...more
Annie Liebovitz is in my opinion the greatest living and working photographer of our time, and while the book is filled with images that at times go straight to my heart it is really not a photography book - no f-stops or shutter speed or lighting talk. Rather she visits the homes and studios of 18th, 19th and 20th century artists, writers and cultural icons and the images she took away are intimate and personal and her writing just enhances them. The subjects range from Georgia O'Keeffe - stunn...more
Annie Leibovitz wanted to go to places that meant something to her and explore and photograph with no agenda or assignment. She made a list of places and people that interested her and then visited many of them. The book shows the pictures she took trying to capture what she saw and felt plus what it was like when the person that lived there was there. The book is a quick read because there are lots of photos. She tells what she saw and what she photographed and tells about the curators and muse...more
First and foremost, Annie Leibovitz is a photographer, not a writer. So don't expect artful prose or full-bodied descriptive passages. What you have here is a collection of photographs of iconic places and artifacts belonging to well-known historical figures. Think Dickinson, Lincoln, John Muir, E. Roosevelt, Ansel Adams, Virgina Woolf to name a few. There is also a narrative weaved through of Leibovitz' experiences creating this book. I felt it could be better organized and found it slightly an...more
One of the worst photography books I've ever seen. It would seem Ms. Liebovitz financial troubles send her on a quest to explore different types of photographs than where she made her bread and butter. It's almost refreshing to see how bad these pictures are. They are woefully underexposed (and not in an arty way). The whole book is disjointed. I have read some of her books before and her text is adequate but the way this particular book was put together is just terrible. There doesn't seem to b...more
Exactly what a pilgrimage is: a spiritual journey. Many of her subjects and places I would have chosen myself: Emily Dickinson, Concord, Walden Pond, Niagra Falls, The Spiral in the Salt Flats, but it's interesting how for a world renowned photographer, I was disappointed in many of her pictures and thought of how I would have done things differently--especially given that she had heliocopters and curators at her beck and call to supply her with these images, versus say the average Jane or Joe....more
I really adored this book, which moves away from Leibovitz's portraits. It's a collection of photos and facts from her trip to see various places she was curious about. Niagra Falls. Graceland. Walden's Pond. Virginia Wolf's home. The spare writing style had a lot to say about how objects tell one's story, and how very little we control in the telling. One of the places she visited inspired this post: http://www.magpie-girl.com/20120527/c...
Like everyone else in the world I admire Leibovitz' photography. This book, though, does not impress me with her photos, but with her text. Leibovitz travelled to several historic sites (Lincoln's cabin, Walden Pond, Dickinson's home, Darwin's home) and tells interesting, succinct stories about the people who lived there. She also talks a lot about being financially desperate -- and hence, the book? The photos are not what you'll want to book for, though. It's the stories.
This complication of photographs is supposed to codify her personal journey through sentimental places, but it really just made me want to go to a museum. He photos were interesting because of the places and objects she chose to engage, not because of her epic photography skills. The reviews criticising the layout are spot on. I was flipping through pages most of the time.
In other words, visit your local library and check it out. Then, go to a museum.
In other words, visit your local library and check it out. Then, go to a museum.
I really enjoyed this book, though I would have liked it a bit better if I didn't have to flip back and forth so much between the photos and the text that went with them (or I would have liked notations of where to see the photos.) I liked the narrative of the journey and how one thing can sometimes lead to another. There was a lot of historical details that I didn't know (or if I did at one time, I've forgotten!) and it entices me to go visit some of the historic places in my own state that I h...more
A beautiful coffee table book, and especially interesting to me because for this short personal project, the great Annie Leibovitz was doing something very much like my job - visiting and taking pictures of mostly historical and literary sites. I read it almost all the way through the day I got it. The accompanying text is well done and worth reading, although I was a bit disappointed to find that Annie didn't write it herself.
This is a deeply personal book, with lovely photos and histories, but, considering what a visual person Annie is, the layout is terrible, with inappropriate juxtapositioning of photos and text, the most jarring being Elvis Presley's shot up television sandwiched in the description of Abraham Lincoln. Maybe it was intentional, that nod to our violent nature? In any case, I didn't like it.
Well, the photos are Annie Liebovitz, only good things to say there. But the book seems disjointed, with the text and photographs poorly connected. As Forster said, "Only connect the prose and the passion, and both will be exalted," and let's paraphrase that: connect the photographs and the passion... the photographs are wonderful, but the clunky text destroys the passion for me. Better formatting, connecting the photos to the writing, could have made this book so much better.
A combined written and photo journal of locations visited by the author/photographer for her own pleasure. Text is good, photos are wonderful but the entire item could have been so much better if the images matched the text. I really don't want to read about Eleanor Roosevelt while viewing photos associated with Lincoln just to find the Lincoln text 10-15 pages beyond the photos. Layout editors needed!!
Hated this book - I am a photographer and teach History of Photography. I always show Ms. Leibovitz' work but the images in this book feel like images that first year photo students take - dark, out of focus, poor composition. Also, the layout of this book is terrible - images from one location interspersed with text about something else.
This book includes a collection of photographs that were done as a part of the photographer's journeys to places important to people she admired (Georgia O'Keefe, Emily Dickinson, John Muir, Pete Seeger, and many others.) Interesting to see what she chose from these peoples' homes/museums, and then her eye in capturing the images.
The photos: lovely as always. Text: interesting. Layout of book: extremely annoying and the reason I only gave it 2-3 stars. Linear-thinking people like myself will have a terrible time getting through the book because it jumps around so much. If it were separated into chapters with a single subject each, I would have rated it much higher; I wouldn't have been so stressed out reading it!
Pilgrimage is a journal of a personal journey with close up observations of a number of historical and natural wonders. Renowned photographer, Annie Leibovitz takes us with her, starting at Emily Dickinson's house in Amherst, Massachusetts and continuing on to Niagara Falls with her children. She's not on assignment, just taking pictures of places and things that interest her. She visits Thoreau's cabin at Walden Pond, Ralph Waldo Emerson's home and Orchard House as well as the Isle of Wight. Tw...more
If you like Annie Leibovitz and grew up with her as she started her career as a Rolling Stones photographer you will like this book the photos are beautiful and she writes about how she chose the places and people she wanted to photograph. There is a photo of a white dress worn by Emily Dickinsen that is beautiful.
Interesting to read/admire, loved the authors she visited and the photographs she took of them, especially of Alcott's Orchard House and Emily Dickinson's house. The text got a bit tiresome at times, and for some reason it bugged me when the text and photographs were out of sync in many places. But overall an interesting book to read and admire.
Very different photographs from the usual Liebovitz photos found in "Vanity Fair" and her very famous Disney fairy tale series. The collection represents images Liebovitz captured by choice and inspiration, rather than those taken as part of an assignment.
The book is a companion book to the "Annie Liebovitz: Pilgrimage" exhibit at the American Art Museum of the Smithsonian.
The book is a companion book to the "Annie Liebovitz: Pilgrimage" exhibit at the American Art Museum of the Smithsonian.
This didn't bowl me over, but I like the idea of a famous photographer following her interests, rather than working on assignment. History buffs will appreciate glimpses into little-seen corners and objects relating to Dickinson, Thoreau, Lincoln, Elvis Presley, and more.
Great idea--Leibovitz takes you along as she visits and photographs the places and things that belonged to people that mean something to her. The list includes Emily Dickenson, Emerson, O'Keefe, Muir, and the list goes on. I only wish there were more photos included!
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Anna-Lou "Annie" Leibovitz is an American portrait photographer whose style is marked by a close collaboration between the photographer and the subject.
Born in Waterbury, Connecticut, Leibovitz is the third of six children in a Jewish family. Her mother was a modern dance instructor, while her father was a lieutenant colonel in the United States Air Force. The family moved frequently with her fath...more
More about Annie Leibovitz...
Born in Waterbury, Connecticut, Leibovitz is the third of six children in a Jewish family. Her mother was a modern dance instructor, while her father was a lieutenant colonel in the United States Air Force. The family moved frequently with her fath...more
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“Abraham helped build their cabin and split rails for a fence, but he soon left home for good. The log cabin near Decatur was, I learned, the one that went on tour after the assassination. It was dismantled by John Hanks, Lincoln's second cousin, and taken to Chicago and then to Boston. The last sighting of it, as least as far as we can ascertain, was at P.T. Barnum's museum in New York. It was apparently lost at sea while being shipped to England.”
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