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AliB

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I had the undoubted luxury of a day in London on Monday. I chose to spend my time with a trip to the National Galleries and, in particular the national portrait gallery.

WOW!

I went to see the Annie Liebowitz exhibition and there was some stunning stuff there. The portraits of the Queen that greet the paying punter are simply unbelievable. They are almost 3D in their depth and everything from the darkest shadow to the most specular highlight are just sublime. Absolutely stunning in their execution, I could stare at them for hours and not find fault. Which is just as well because some of the rest of the exhibition would probably get a less than enthusiastic response from the membership here. A couple that, being polite, are a bit soft (read out of blooming focus folks!)

Overall it's a great piece of work though, from the big magazine covers with a cast of one and an entourage of hundreds right through to her father's death, it's all a mix of professional and deeply personal that makes it all the more engaging.

If you are in London before it ends I'd recommend splashing the £11 for the entrance. It's certainly worth it just for the Queen pics alone!
 
I must go and see this. I tried to book for a Saturday a few weeks ago and they'd sold out. If you can find it there was an A.L. documentary on the BBC a few weeks ago which was great viewing and included some of the shoot of the Queen. I saw it on BBCi but I doubt it's on there anymore.
 
I saw it and replayed it on BBCi and it was a brilliant intro to the exhibition.

Stunning stuff, honestly.
 
My feeling on the show was different.

Yes, the Queen pictures, together with the other professional ones (such as Demi Moore) were excellent, but they were in a minority and put in, I felt, to draw us in. The main exhibition was really a giant photo album of family and Susan Sontag snapshots; some of them of them mediocre and of questionable photographic quality.

It seemed to me to be a self-indulgent exhibition and whilst the pictures surely mean a great deal to Annie L, I was mainly unmoved and disappointed.

But go and see what you think...

Anthony.
 
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