A Non-Subjective Moment: Pause in Appreciation of Annie Leibovitz

"Even in the Darkest times, it can be the most interesting times..."


































WATCH THIS: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZEjho8I8XBY&feature=related

On April 29th, things started to make sense again. I have been wondering a lot about my creative life path lately, unsure of most of the steps I've been taking and questioning what it even means to have impact as a journalist.

After a long day of classes and running on about three hours of sleep, Susy and I headed into Hendrick's Chapel with 1,000 others to witness a lecture given by world-famous photographer Annie Leibovitz, formerly of Rolling Stone Magazine, Vogue, and Vanity Fair. Her photographs are both iconic and legendary, but what struck me most was her focus on family.

Leibovitz cautioned us as students to not always try to go to the ends of the earth for a subject, because while that may be fun, exciting, and important to do, our best subjects are right in front of us: our family and friends.

She began with a story. Last summer, in the midst of some financial trouble, Leibovitz intended to take her two young daughters to Niagara Falls for a weekend trip, and to stay in a hotel with a view of the falls. After her credit card was declined, she was forced to relocate to a motel with a view of a wall.

She schleped around for the rest of the day, attempting to hide her embarrassment and saddness, and then took some stunning photographs of the falls and her girls looking on, mesmerized. It was then that she decided to put together her latest book, "At Work," which encapsulates her resounding career from a more personal perspective. This was a low point for her, but she reiterated how you never know when you will take your best photograph, or capture a a touching moment.

She cited Dorothea Lange's picture of the depression era migrant mother to emphasize this point. Lange was headed out of town and felt compelled to stop once more, even though she had thousands of photographs already.

Leibovitz showed us many of her famous photographs: Mikhail Baryshnikov leaping through the waves, Dme Moore's pregnant belly, Nicole Kidman, the Roosevelt Manor at Val-kill, and the Queen Mother at Buckingham Palace. She briefly mentioned photographing Nixon right after his resignation, John and Yoko on the very day Lennon was shot, and on her award winning magazine covers.
But she said that her favorite photograph, if asked to choose, was of her mother. This is about where I lost it. The face was honest, nervous, but direct. Leibovitz said that it was as if the camera had melted away; this was the way that her mother looked at her always in honest moments.
I appreciated this woman's raw and intimate portrait of her life- she is a REAL woman who has had untold adventures and stories to tell, yet still values her mother's image above the rest.

Not to make a plug, but I'm going to make a plug:order your copy now of "At Work." I'll include a link. The photographs made me cry happy, sad, and hopeful tears. You might too, or I could just be ridiculously emotional right now. Nonetheless, their beautiful. www.amazon.com/Annie-Leibovitz-at-Work/dp/0375505105

A Non-Subjective Moment: Logos I Love

FROM ONE MONTH AGO

This is a particularly effective logo design for the South by Southwest Conferences and Festivals media event going on right now in Austin, Texas. Media professionals worldwide converge for this conference to watch independent films, listen to original music, and discover the newest advances in media technologies.

The logo plays off of the concept of “see no evil, hear no evil, and speak no evil.” The color scheme they used is a really popular combination right now: placid green, fluorescent orange, teal, and neutral gray. The text is blocky but readable, and modern, yet sophisticated. My only qualm with the design is that you would have to know what the SXSW conference was to understand the logo fully, but among the right audience, it’s passable. I really wish I could be there right now! Check it out: http://sxsw.com/home

Art: Real or Imagined?

FROM TWO MONTHS AGO

This is a photo taken by Michael Snow in 1979 called “Flight Stop.” It’s a pic of an exhibit in the Eaton Centre in Ontario, Canada. I think it most accurately depicts a stage in life that most people go through, but for many, it is a stage that lasts a lifetime.

Birds represent freedom, flight, adventure, and a promise to return. These birds are flying straight up to a glass ceiling. They can see what they assume to be the sky through the paned glass. A select few of them may even be aware of the glass’ presence, but choose to persevere nonetheless. Most have no idea what’s coming until….well, you know.

I have a revelation akin to crashing into a class ceiling at least quarterly. From the bleak, ‘half-full’ perspective, these birds have a gray today ahead of them. Most realizations aren’t the nice kind. But there’s always a bird here and there that crashes through the glass and “makes it,” whatever that means, right? Righhht? Please tell me I’m right. Every man just hopes that he can be that one bird. So, bottom line: what’s the contradiction behind flying freely into glass? Opportunity shrouded in naivety? At what point does this translate to experiential wisdom?

Charity or Exploitation?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8niql0q3i6c

FROM TWO MONTHS AGO

We got into a long discussion today in my COM 200 class about this documentary that we screened. It has received a lot of praise and criticism- some feel that Zana Briski exploited the children in her production of the piece, and even further ruined their chances of escaping brothel life or at the very least provided them with false hope. I have mixed feelings about the purposes of art, work, philanthropy, aid, and the like on an international level. So often we allow our western opinions about lifestyle influence whom we choose to help and how we go about it. What do you think constitutes “exploitation?” If you were Briski, would you have done anything differently or would you have flirted with an exploitative line at all? Where do go intentions ethically toe the line with journalistic responsibility?

I had originally started this blog a few months ago on Tumblr, but I recently decided to change over to Blogger for logistical reasons. So, I decided to post some older things so I can see what you guys think.

Blogging: My Interests

Sometimes this feels like writing on a chalk board in a big empty classroom- but maybe someday it'll be worth it. The blogosphere isn't necessarily new to me, I'm just not used to heavily contributing to it. There is so much content out there to take in and absorb that it can be very overwhelming! I'm looking forward to furthering this new hobby of mine. I just want to make sure that I am still DOING things in my life to write about, and not just sitting in front of a screen commenting on other people's experiences all the time!

You could say that I'm going through one of those "pre-quarter-life-crisis." WHAT, you say? Is it possible to be so young and so seemingly burned out? Yes. I'm hear to tell you that it is, folks. I'm not proud to admit that, but I worry about the ability to make meaning in my life on a daily basis. I just want to make enough money to pay off my college debt, live a simple life, and travel the world. Well doesn't that sound familiar? Another naive and overly-optimistic college student. My goal is to NOT end up in an office cubicle until I'm 37. Is that so much to ask? Doesn't everyone long to be apart of something greater?

There's only three things that you can really find out about a person: who they are, what they are, and who they want to be. I'm still trying to figure out who I am, thank goodness, so I'll have to get back to you on that one. But as far as WHAT I am...

I am a second-year student at the S.I. Newhouse School of Public Communications at Syracuse University. I'm a public relations major and an anthropology minor. Doesn't that sound blase on paper. I'm hoping that there will be some more to it than that! Either way, I am so very lucky to be receiving this education. I do love to learn, and can't get enough.

I am also a Bruce Springsteen enthusiast, a fan of trees both real and decorative, a Christian, an only child, a drawer of stick figures, a dreamer, and a whirlwind conversationalist(perhaps I do this a little too often). I could spin you a decent yarn. The best thing about my stories are that I have the original content right at my finger tips. I plan on writing an excellent book someday, because my life narrated aloud often sounds fictitious. Perhaps occasionally they are filled with a few colorful illustrations; shading, if you will, but a bulk of the stuff is cold hard fact. Oh, and I have no filter. This is sometimes problematic.

As far as who I want to be: let's talk dreams here for a minute. When I was about ten, I wanted to be a teacher, or a writer, or a journalist, but I would have settled for Oprah Winfrey. We all know that that is quite impossible in oh-so-many ways. I grew up a bit and decided that I could just work for her. Or at least be her new Gayle King. That notion evolved into the aspiration of magazine editor, so I wrote for and then assumed the role of editor-in-chief of my high school's newspaper. College overwhelmed me and forced me to realize that I needed to be realistic: I just want to do it all. I want to make documentary films, be a freelance writer and produce scathing articles, an event planner for major non-profit fundraisers that haul in millions of bucks to save lives, plan weddings for celebrities and/or the gal just down the block, a photographer, a graphic designer,an ethnographer, a philanthropist, a linguist, a disc jockey, and most importantly, an advocate for change. And I suppose someday, a good mommy, too. But when will I eat and sleep and use the toilet?!

So, why not do it all, right? For now, I'll settle for convincing the dominant coalition of some corporate giant that they should really listen to the little guy, and to all of their 'publics' for that matter. That's where the blogging comes in, as a beginning. It's time to get going! Phew, I'm exhausted already. The best part is, I don't have to wait until tomorrow, or for the next exciting milestone. Today is as good a time as any to start making these dreams come true. I don't just want it to be about me though. It's about people. All about the web of people that make up this subjective world in which we live. There's the story. That's the intro. Will you help me get going on the body of my text? Thanks!