The voyeuristic joys of photography

THEN by Alexander Liberman

Photographs from 925-1995

Alexander Liberman is a phenomenal artist. He is a sculptor, photographer, writer, art director, painter, etc. etc. He has photographed Picasso, Matisse, Braque, and Bancusi among many others. Unlike most artists, Alexander Liberman didn't consider photography an art or art itself as some kind of success. One of the lessons that Alex learned from his documentation of artists at work and play is that most of the great artists lead fairly miserable lives. Success came with a bargain, either a good life and lousy work or a good work and a lousy life. I think that's what most people (me, included) like about him and his work. I sort of feel he subconsciously called out the whole art scene on its bullshit. He worked and created. He was both unpretentious and unapologetic. He just chose to be happy and be productive, at the same time. He said, "There is no success in art. I always felt that life was more important, and that if I had to make the choice, I would drop art to save Tatiana (his wife) any day. I have absolutely no regrets of any kind."

THEN is the record of his remarkable life and the people with whom it was lived. Spies, fashion designers, aristocrats, dancers, editors, publishers, and Nobel laureates come and go in this photographic chronicle of half a century. The cast of characters includes Baryshnikov, Chanel, Picasso, Dior, Truman Capote and many other talented friends and family members. Alexander Liberman began taking photographs as a boy in revolutionary Moscow, and he has kept his camera with him throughout his life. He is a distinguished sculptor and painter, bu has also spent much of his life making magazines. His vision is unplanned and unpremeditated, most of his own photographs were, in that they were taken to document a moment, but they reveal a life full of charm and valor and creative energy and a time that shaped the world we know now.

In this book, Liberman writes about the voyeuristic joys of photography and the way he views these photographs, what they are in this life, and of course, shares little anecdotes about his subjects. I really liked this part:

He writes, "Many of these pictures were taken at random and are only memories, moments caught and then forgotten until they are unearthed, and brought to life. I like the variety I see in them, the change of scenes, the different cultures. I bless photography for allowing me to participate in the lives of others. And in this book, as the panorama of the years unfolds, I am suddenly able to look upon forgotten parts of my own life.

In each picture there is a reflection of a state of mind. Photography does not tolerate a fixed vision of the beings we photograph. In many pictures, we want to please. We say, "Smile." These are photos de politesse, or courtesy shots. But try as one might, the mystery that photography confers on the simplest situations prevails. There is something intangible there, an aura of the unseeable, life beyond the visible. You may call this chance, or randomness, but it is the ability of the film and the lens to capture something beyond the obvious that is, in the end, the glory of the most humble snapshot.

So here is a record of a life and a time, in pictures. The mystery that photographs impose on this record is perhaps why I took them."

Some of my favorite pictures below:

A gondolier in Venice, 1959.

Annette Giacometti, wife of sculptor Alberto Giacometti, in their one-room kitchen/bedroom living quarters. "He considered almost everything an unnecessary luxury and never bought her a present."

Picasso in his restored Hispanico-Suiza from the 1920s. He used it to travel to bullfights in the 1950's.

Coco Chanel, in 1951 and on a stroll in the Tuileries, a few steps from the rue Cambon where she lived and had an atelier. They say Coco Chanel had some gypsy blood in her, so with her deep, dark eyes, dark hair and prominent nose, she evoked mystery. Of Chanel, Liberman writes, "I had a great admiration for Coco. I would sit for hours and listen as she rested on a sofa, speaking about her adventures, the philosophy of her clothes, and of life in general. She was a perfectionist and I learned a lot about craft from her."

Of Anna Wintour, "Anna wants her models in Vogue to have a modern elegance as well as charm and sex appeal. The true feminine seductiveness of the woman has to come through. In the multiplicity of photo contacts, Anna immediately picks the one that has modern allure. There is a girlish shyness about Anna. The big dark glasses she hides behind bring a charming mystery to her image. I love her and admire her."

Then by Alexander Liberman showcases half a century of a wonderful world--one that is full of great masters, interesting personas, glamor, bohemia, charm, life and creativity. This book is wonderful. :)