Wednesday, October 11, 2006

Annie Leibovitz.

MY newest Vanity Fair is here, huzzah! and after feverish flicking through it at speed a photo of Annie Leibovitz stopped me dead in my tracks. I love Annie's pictures and she can even make Tom Cruise look like a nice misunderstood family man and not the raving loony I really think he is.
But she's always on the other side of the lens, so I was astounded to see Annie photographed -naked, defiant, pregnant, pendulous veiny breasts and stretch marked backside- in my most favourite magazine.
I know Demi Moore did it, I know Britney did it. But those pictures were photo-shopped and backlit and altered to show nothing but perfection. This photo of Annie is in black and white, it's simple it's stark, it's real and glorious.
Oh how my eldest sister would have loved this photo back in the days of her first pregnancy instead of glossily lit Demi Moore to remind her of how unhollywood her own body was.
Sontag wrote-according to the article that accompanies the photo- 'To photograph people is to violate them...'
Well all I can say is, not in ths case. Annie looks magnificent.

7 Comments:

Blogger Boliath said...

Oh scan it will you? Please? Magazines aren't in my budget, especially not $10 Vanity Fairs but I'd love to see this pic.

Direct your sister to http://shapeofamother.blogspot.com/ it's a wonderful blog project showing womens bodies after they've had a child or two.

2:33 p.m.  
Blogger fatmammycat said...

My eldest has three sproglets now so she's sort of over the whole 'oh no' ness of it all. These days she says she couln't care less if her waist is a little thicker or her boobs a little lower.
I don't have a scanner, sorry. Trust me though, it's a beautiful slightly edgy photo.

2:45 p.m.  
Blogger Sam, Problem-Child-Bride said...

That's a great link Boliath.

My husband damn nearly ran from the room the day he noticed my belly-button had popped out when I was pregnant with the twins. He didn't much like the lina-nigra either (that dark line you get from your belly-button down to your bikini line.) After the initial bleurgh he didn't mention it again and got used to it, i think, but it's kind of hard to think of yourself as a goddess of nurturing or a human cornucopia bursting gloriously with new life when even the man who loves you has a hard time with your belly-button!

One thing they never told me about was moles. I got tiny wee moles and freckles all over my body but especially my breasts that didn't disappear until about a year after giving birth. It was like the night sky across my chest for a while there. I'm sure that was Capricorn near my left armpit.

7:15 p.m.  
Blogger Sam, Problem-Child-Bride said...

And yeah, I did tell him to bugger off when he said that. Righteous was my indignation and rage, rage, raging were my hormones. I was terrible to behold, belly button and all.

7:26 p.m.  
Blogger fatmammycat said...

hahahah, my sister's husband was exactly the same and once-just once mind- he made some comment about her 'veiny boobs' and 'why are you ankles all puffy like that?'
I won't even tell you what she said to him...something to do with his penis and some razor, but he never asked her a goddamned thing again and his only response for each 'how do I look?' during pregnancy was 'you're beautiful really glowing.' Even on the days when she most certainly wasn't.
OH, amd I also remember ringing me in a rage, sobbing, because she had bought some really cute dress for some party or other and when she put it on she just lost it.
She said 'It doesn't matter what I wear, I'm just pregnant aren't i? I just look fucking pregnant! What the fucking point in wearing ANYTHING!I might as well go wearing the fucking table cloth, boo hoo hoo.'
'But your eight and a half months pregnant.' I replied most helpfully, 'what way are you supposed to look?'
To which she replied, 'Oh, you just wait, you'll see.' And hung up on me.

7:45 p.m.  
Blogger Boliath said...

Glad you liked it Sam, it is amazing what pregnancy does to a body. The celebrities who slim down to waif like proportions 2 weeks after giving birth don't help us normal sisters out at all. Witches* the lot of them.

* I'm trying not to swear so much now that the little man is old enough to repeat, he said "chit"the other day, my heart stopped and I realised I really have to watch what I say for the next few years, at least until he gets to school and I can blame the other children for his foul language.

11:05 p.m.  
Blogger Unknown said...

tory burch outlet
birkenstock shoes
michael kors outlet
oakley sunglasses
birkenstock sandals
canada goose outlet
canada goose outlet
michael kors outlet clearance
moncler jackets
canada goose outlet
mt0320

9:11 a.m.  

Post a Comment

<< Home