Week 7 - Artist - Nan Goldin & Annie Leibovitz

 

Annie Leibovitz - She is an American portrait photographer. She is most recognized for her captivating pictures of celebrities, which frequently feature subjects in intimate settings and poses. Her passion for photography came because of her mom's passion for dance, music, and painting. Her first picture was in the Philippines during the Vietnam War. Her photos represent intimate or staged moments that expose the lively and expressive qualities of her sitters, and she is skilled at portraying their personalities and inner life.

“Everyone has a point of view. Some people call it style, but what we’re really talking about is the guts of a photograph. When you trust your point of view, that’s when you start taking pictures.” These are her words about her art, based on these and other things she's said, I think she believes that the photo is based on the photographer's point of view. What they think is worth capturing in the moment.

This is personally my favorite piece from her Disney Dream Series. As a kid, my favorite Disney princess has been Jasmine because her culture is the closest to mine, so seeing her made me happier in a sense. The way she captured the iconic carpet ride was probably the reason my eye caught on to this piece. The colors and details can be seen, such as the black patchwork on the carpet. Jasmine's house in the back along with the town, the adventure that awaits them in their eyes. Jennifer Lopez and Marc Anthony are captured in a moment as if they were in the movie making it feel so real. It feels as if I was standing in front of them trying to take a picture of the moment with the wind interrupting. 

Nan Goldin - is an American photographer who is noted for her honest and intensely personal photography. Goldin's personal photographs serve as a visual autobiography of herself and those closest to her, particularly in the LGBTQ community and the heroin-addicted subculture, moments of intimacy, and HIV crisis. Goldin utilized the camera and photography to cherish her relationships with those she photographed because she was coping with her sister's death.  She also saw the camera as a beneficial political instrument for informing the public about vital topics that are often ignored in the United States. Her work shows what real life includes and in real life nothing is planned so she captures what can be seen by any common eye would. 

 

Joey in my mirror, Berlin, 1992. 

This piece fascinated me the most out of her art. Most of her art is pretty explicit and I kind of felt uncomfortable looking at it but that my personal opinion others might love that type of art. As for this piece, it caught my eye because I felt that internally she might be comparing herself to someone. Society tends to promote beauty as being perfect, with a perfect face and a perfect body. But beauty on the outside isn't away beauty on the inside. Like for example, today's society thinks Kiley Jenner is perfect but the recent news saying that she doesn't pay her workers shows the type of person she is. I feel like I relate to the art piece because when I'm in front of a mirror I tend to notice my flaws a lot more. In a society that promotes being skinny with being successful, it's really hard sometimes. This piece to me shows that at the end of the day everyone is a mess and everyone compares themselves with someone. Even if they are the most perfect being inside and out. 

Annie's work is more staged so it perfect in every sense, but Nan's work is used to show the imperfections that everyone tries to cover up. Between the two, none is more honest because technically both pictures are of the moment, I think Nan's work is slightly more authentic because she shows more than a perfect person. But technically, none of this matters except for the person taking the picture and the person in the picture, people can find either perfect. 

If I had to choose between the two I would pick Anne, because if I ever to have my environment portrait I would want it to look perfect, especially if I'm paying for something like that. I would want to display the ones in a while beauty moment because I hate pictures.