Annie Leibovitz and James Nachtwey

Searching for our best performance as visual anthropologists, our teacher Dr. Steven Fedorowicz presented to us two of the most famous photographers in recent times, Annie Leibovitz and James Nachtwey. Indeed, they have a strong sense of esthetic and an astonishing technique but their photograph is also dynamic and intense, a mixture that makes them a reference in human being representation. This post is about these photographers and what we can learn about them to improve our skills as students.

Born in 1949, Annie Leibovitz enrolled in the San Francisco Art Institute intent on studying painting. It was not until she traveled to Japan with her mother the summer after her sophomore year that she discovered her interest in taking photographs. When she returned to San Francisco that fall, she began taking night classes in photography. Since then her photographs gave her a chance to go out in the world and become one of the most famous photographers known today.

In 1970, impressed with her portfolio, Jann Wenner, founding editor of Rolling Stone gave Leibovitz her first assignment: photograph John Lennon. Two years later she was named Rolling Stone chief photographer and then she began to work in Vanity Fair where she became known for her provocative portraits of celebrities. Later, in her book Women (1999), she included images of famous people along with those not well known revealing that Annie Leibovitz is not only a “celebrity photographer”. In her words: ”I’ve always been more interested in what people do than who they are, and I hope that my photographs reflect that. I have the opportunity to work with people who are the best actors, and writers, and athletes, and dancers—a broad spectrum. I feel like I’m photographing people who matter, in one way or another.” (LEIBOVITZ, Annie)

As expected, her work brings up what life is supposed to be or what we wish it would have been: beauty, wealth, poetry and why not, fantasy. In contrast, “people who matter” in James Nachtwey’s perspective, are those who keep struggling to survive in the world rather than enjoying cheerful moments. James Nachtwey is a determined witness of the human condition in its dramatic circumstances, catching our eyes’ attention with distinct technique. His work, which appears frequently in Time and The New York Times magazine, won him the Overseas Press Club’s Robert Capa Gold Medal an unprecedented five times.

He shows us what is happening in private behind closed doors. Through photography, James Nachtwey thinks about the “first impact and, by far, the most powerful impact, to be about an emotional, intellectual and moral reaction to what is happening to these people”, he told Salon magazine. It is not about esthetic appreciation. It is about creating a profound human communication and through this creating public awareness and, finally, consciousness. Furthermore, Nachtwey intends to provoke a sense of the same compassion that has been moving him through the world.

Thus, Annie Leibovitz and James Nachtwey diverge in their perspectives and intentions. While Leibovitz generally enhances beauty and imagination of lifetimes, bringing up virtues and skills of her people, and creating the most accurate ambience as possible; Nachtwey, on the other hand, denies the artistic impulse. His photographs approach numerous inhuman occurrences to get into public conscience. His job is solitary, working alone in the core of action and exposing himself in a risky environment. In addition, Leibovitz is “in the spot”, while Nachtwey needs to be invisible in his core of action. She “photo-graphs” her time whereas he photographs other peoples’ time.

However, they converge in harmony considering their powerful ability to connect people by image consumption. Both of these mass media and magazine photographers have strong beliefs and intentions, which they try to convey through their works. Their determination makes their pictures go beyond the sight. They also dive inside their sense of humanity though their styles differ in focus. Annie Leibovitz and James Nachtwey have a wide sense of respect and commitment for the person or the group of people being photographed.

So, how can these photographers improve our visual anthropology research? First, considering the photograph registers as an essential part of an anthropological field work, being familiar with its potential is being well versed with its subject of study--people. Then, a fieldwork practice is a mixture of intellectual, emotional and practical concerns that can be constructed depending on your intentions as a visual anthropologist.

In this sense, I believe that Annie Leibovitz and James Nachtwey, despite all their eloquent techniques, inspire us to make efforts in terms of perception, approach, as well as respect. We should threat our subject of study with care and be sincerely moved by it, says James Nachtwey: "It's all about emotions. The emotions are the source of the image. You can't make a picture which moves somebody else unless you yourself have been moved." (NACHTWEY, James)

http://www.literalmagazine.com/pdf/L15_annie_leibovitz.pdf

http://www.biography.com/articles/Annie-Leibovitz-9542372

http://www.parisvoice.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=529&Itemid=33

http://www.americanwaymag.com/annie-leibovitz

http://www.jamesnachtwey.com/

http://www.independent.co.uk/opinion/commentators/andreas-whittam-smith/photojournalism-can-become--a-form-of-art-615064.html

http://ted.streamguys.net/ted_nachtwey_j_2007.mp4

Japanese Portrait

Though my Japanese is really poor, my interest in music and dance is huge and that became one more reason for motivating my research in Japan. One day I saw this group of young girls and boys performing amazing skills for nobody at very late at night in Hirakatashi and it really intrigued me*. Having decided to come back and spend more time with them, I took advantage of the visual anthropology assignments making the first contact after a week - with my embarrassing super basic introduction “watashi no namae wa” - for my surprise they could understand me as long as I tried to show my interest on them. And for sure that was such a relief considering my lack of out-going mood!

Yoshiaki was one of these guys dancing, jumping and falling (on purpose as a part of the performance) frenziedly and he was one of the four guys that I felt more comfortable with to talk and to take pictures of him and concentrating on the environmental portraiture as well. For about two hours I stayed with him he had stopped few times, what shows up a person who prizes concentration, insistence and strength. Furthermore, in his words, presence and poetry is also important in his specially when you are dealing with street dancing style. He had chosen it because he believes on it as a way to communicate his wishes and complains by body and it is energy for the world outside. “What about Japanese hip hop, break dance influences?” At this point I could understand that I have to expected that American urban style was the “coolest” and the “majority” considering the first generation. However, Japan as any other country needs either to seek for free individual expressions thus he practices it as his way of life - at least four times a week in Hirakatashi station.

As expected I made some shots of Yoshiaki performing in what he does his best but above all the poses, falls, slips, jumps and spins we had such interesting exchanges. On that night we switched email address and since then he had suggested me some “classic” japanese hip hop singers as for example King Giddra and Dabo and particularly even though not being my favorite kind of music I am widely glad for having this contact.

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