Last fall, in a wonderful book shop in Washington, D.C., I had a chance to look through a copy of Annie Liebovitz's gigantic photo-memoir-retrospective, A Photographer's Life: 1990-2005. It's huge and it's odd, juxtaposing famous photos of celebrities--John and Yoko curled up together, Demi Moore naked and pregnant on the cover of Vanity Fair--with grainy family photos, including photos of Ms. Liebovitz's dying father. It was mesmerizing, although I couldn't decide if the mesmerizarion came from the artistry and the celebrity angle, or from Ms. Liebovitz's decision to share some very personal aspects of her life and the lives of those near and dear to her, some of whom aren't around to give a thumbs up or thumbs down on the idea.
What does this sort of organization, or lack of it, say about the photographer/author and the message she wants to send? It's an interesting question.
Powells reprints a New Republic review of the book, its contents and the thinking behind it, touching on the nature of celebrity and access to celebrity.