The guestbook in Annie Leibovitz\'s \"Pilgrimage\"
exhibit was easy to miss. But some did stop to
write or draw something and she might have seen
their entries.
Part of Liebovitz's ''Pilgrimage'' exhibit. (WTOP/Heather Brady)
WTOP/Heather Brady
The guestbook in Annie Leibovitz's "Pilgrimage"
exhibit at the Smithsonian American Art Museum.
(WTOP/Heather Brady)
WTOP/Heather Brady
"Because of you, I can teach my 14-year-old
daughter about history and photography! (She has
cerebral palsy…but a genius' eye for design)"
(WTOP/Heather Brady)
WTOP/Heather Brady
"Annie - We fellow classmates are so very proud of
you!" (Class of '67 Northwood High School)
(WTOP/Heather Brady)
WTOP/Heather Brady
"Annie, you continue to inspire me - completely
different body of works by you - your former
intern from Gallaudet University." (WTOP/Heather
Brady)
There were messages and signatures in languages
other than English as well. (WTOP/Heather Brady)
WTOP/Heather Brady
"This exhibit is so evocative and moving. I see it
as a gift from Annie Leibovitz to us; and I thank
the Smithsonian Museum of Art for making it
possible. Thank you." (WTOP/Heather Brady)
WTOP/Heather Brady
"Carl & Jean (Shine) Foster. Son Ryan, too. Long
time family friends. Amazing work." (WTOP/Heather
Brady)
"Dear Annie, the last time I wrote a personal
message to an artist was in 1991 at the pop
shop, on the wall shortly before Keith Harring's
death. I have had the privilege of meeting some
of my heros & inspirations along the way, these
last 37 years. The idea that you might read
this, fills me with great joy. Thank you for
constantly changing the landscape of
photography." (WTOP/Heather Brady)
WTOP/Heather Brady
"Annie spoke at the F.I.T. graduation in 2008. She
was 100% great." (WTOP/Heather Brady)
WTOP/Heather Brady
The sign over the entrance to Liebovitz's
"Pilgrimage" exhibit. (WTOP/Heather Brady)
WASHINGTON – The guestbook in Annie Leibovitz’s “Pilgrimage” exhibit was easy to miss.
Tucked into a corner of the exhibit’s third and final room in the Smithsonian American Art Museum, it played last fiddle in an orchestra of photography showcasing what inspires Leibovitz as an American artist.
But some did stop to write or draw something – and Leibovitz might have seen their entries.
Andy Grundberg, associate provost and dean of undergraduate studies at the Corcoran College of Art and Design, curated Leibovitz’s exhibit, which was displayed in D.C. from January to May. It then began traveling to other museums.
“When I was there with her several weeks after the show opened, she looked at it,” he said. “I think she’s pretty fascinated to know how people are responding, as nature would indicate. I ended up looking at it whenever I went.”
Grundberg said he went back to the show around a dozen times. After giving a tour, he would gravitate back to the guestbook to read what people were writing. He was curious if the notes were influenced by each other.
“It’s an ongoing thing because from one week to the next, there would be all these additions,” Grundberg said. “The question I always have is whether people who are about to write in it go back and look and see what everybody else has written.”
Leibovitz is a celebrity in her own right as someone who’s photographed celebrities, Grundberg said. He thinks the entries in Leibovitz’s guestbook speak to the degree of intimacy that people feel with well-known celebs.
