I think that by now many of my FB friends and followers of this blog may well know that I spent a week in Palm Beach this January. I was very glad to get to know the work of the Norton Museum of Art and to deliver a lecture there as part of an exhibition exploring some of the aspects of the Second World War.
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As part of their wonderful hospitality I was invited to the launch of an exhibition of photographs by Annie Leibovitz. It was a wonderful privilege to meet with her and to reflect a little on her extraordinary to talent.
This exhibition features 39 iconic photographs the Museum acquired from the internationally-renowned photographer, and focuses on work that is direct, straightforward, and relies on an essential element of all great portraits–a vital connection between artist and subject. Exhibition curator Charles Stainback has long admired Leibovitz’s work, but believes too much emphasis has been put on a select few images from the artist’s overall oeuvre —Whoopee Goldberg, Steve Martin, “John and Yoko”—that have become as famous as the people they portray.
While the images in this exhibition are also of celebrities, they are quieter, more subtle, and in some ways, more provocative and interesting than the images that made Leibovitz a household name.
John and Yoko: A New York Love Story contains a collection of photographs by photographer Allan Tannenbaum of the long lasting romance between John Lennon and Yoko Ono. Many of the photos may have been seen by the public, and several have not been published before. Tannenbaum shows John and Yoko in their most intimate moments, which were shot at New York’s Sperone Westwater Gallery and Central Park; the concluding photographs do not need too much description and show fans paying tribute to John as well Yoko posing in the same spot where John and she had walked days before. And by looking at the photographs, one can see it was yet another end to an era.The most interesting part about the book is its beautiful layout. With the turn of the first page one can see what they are in store for. The pages are comprised of a variety of size photos from proofs to blown-up portraits of John and Yoko in glorious b/w and color, which capture their candidness as a couple and individually; Tannenbaum and book designer Barbara Genetin do a great job displaying the images.Overall, this is a highly recommended book for John and Yoko fans or photography aficionados. With its over-sized coffee table book format, this may make a nice addition to anyone’s book collection.