The Brat Reviews Annie Leibovitz’s A Photographer’s Life 1990-2005 Exhibition

Personally, I prefer to go to museums on a weekday. On weekends there are usually too many people and I will feel rushed. On a weekday, you get peace and quiet, and all the time in the world to enjoy the photographs on display. So take a day off and go to the ArtScience Museum to see Annie Leibovitz’s A Photographer’s Life 1990-2005 Exhibition before it finishes in October. But if you want to go for the guided tour, then you’ll have to go for the exhibition on Sunday at 11.30am. Either way, if you’re into photography or celebrities, you should drop by Annie Leibovitz’s exhibition.

Though they weren’t displayed at the exhibition, these are some of her works that made me sit up and notice Annie Leibovitz’s work. (Source: annieleibovitz.tumblr.com)

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Who is Annie Leibovitz? She is an American portrait photographer who has photographed celebrities and well known personalities such as Demi Moore, Leonardo Di Caprio, John Lennon & Yoko Ono, Nicole Kidman, Al Pacino, Brad Pitt and President Bill Clinton. You’ll get to see some of those portraits at the exhibition. But besides those, you also get a glimpse of her life through personal photographs of her family, her close friends, and her children.

My personal favourites beside her portraits are the landscapes she took of Monument Valley in the American West and of Wadi Rum in the Jordanian desert. I wish I could show them to you however, photography is not allowed in the exhibition.

When I first realised that we weren’t allowed to take any photographs in the exhibition, I was a little bummed. Then Clarabelle, a friend and a artist (click on her name to check out her portfolio), took out a small sketchbook and offered it to me. “Wanna play” she asked. I looked at her confused. I guess I should have understood there and then but I didn’t. She explained that she would look at the image before her and try to capture the essence of the photograph. Then she would play and have fun in her sketchbook. Basically, it’s one artist’s interpretation (Annie Leibovitz) reflected in another artist’s work (Clarabelle Chong). It doesn’t have to be an exact drawing of the image, just your interpretation of the image. Cool right? Well I thought so. Her sketchbook is her playground and her camera. I was hopeless at drawing so I just watched her draw and enjoyed the wonderful photographs at the exhibit.

She drew quite a number of portraits and with her permission I snapped some photographs of her works after we left the exhibit.

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We didn’t manage our time properly and didn’t get the chance to finish the exhibit, but we hope to go back there again together and check out the Dinosaurs: Dawn to Extinction exhibit as well.

Even though the staff there said that we would be able to finish Annie Leibovitz’s exhibition in 45 minutes, we spent nearly 2 hours there and still didn’t manage to finish the exhibit. So take a day off, that way you can take your time and look at the detail in each photograph.

Here’s a tip:

Singapore residents get special rates so bring your NRIC or Driver’s License to enjoy a discount.

Also, if you have a full day at the museum, ask for the Dinosaurs: Dawn to Extinction + Annie Leibovitz A Photographer’s Life 1990-2005 combo deal. If you’re a resident, it’ll cost you $24. But if you purchase the exhibits individually, it’ll set you back $33. So effectively, you’ll save $9! Not a resident? It’s okay, you save $11 on the 2 exhibit combo!

According to the ArtScience Museum, you’ll save $2 for every ticket you book in advance online. However, bear in mind that when you book from Sistic, you have to pay booking fees of $3.

There are other discounts too so do check out the ArtScience Museum website for more details and promotions.

And if you’re not sure where to buy tickets on the day itself, here are the locations of Marina Bay Sands’ Box Offices:

ArtScience Museum Lobby
Concierge Desk, Hotel Lobby Tower 1
Retail Concierge, The Shoppes L1
SkyPark Ticketing Counter, Tower 3 B1
Theatre, The Shoppes B1

Oh and do note that Dinosaurs: Dawn to Extinction is here until 28 July 2014 and Annie Leibovitz A Photographer’s Life 1990-2005 is here until 19 October 2014. So go before 28 July to enjoy the combo packages.