Annie Leibovitz. The early years, 1970 – 1983

Beginning 14 February, Hauser & Wirth will present ‘Annie Leibovitz. The early years, 1970 – 1983,’ an extension of the 2017 survey of the same title presented by the LUMA Foundation at the festival Rencontres d’Arles, France. The first comprehensive exhibition in Los Angeles devoted to the earliest work of this renowned American, ‘The early years’ features more than 5,000 photographs taken between 1970 – 1983. Works on view trace Leibovitz’s development as a young talent capturing the dramatic cultural and political shifts of the Seventies. Arranged chronologically and thematically, the exhibition begins with her work for Rolling Stone magazine and advances through her visual chronicles of defining moments and key protagonists of the decade. In the course of her work, Leibovitz became an avatar of the changing cultural role of photography as an artistic medium. Pinned to walls gridded with string, the images on view reveal her singular ability to merge the tactics of portraiture and photojournalism with profound humanism and sly wit. The exhibition also includes Leibovitz’s photographs of artists who became personal heroes through their use of the camera – Andy Warhol, Richard Avedon, Ansel Adams, and Henri Cartier-Bresson, among others.