Annie Leibovitz photography exhibition

Patti Smith with her Children, Jackson and Jesse, St. Clair Shores, Michigan 1996 Photograph © Annie Leibovitz

This summer, Sydneysiders will have a chance to see the work of one of my favourite photographers, the legendary Annie Leibovitz.

Leibovitz has been documenting American pop culture for over three decades. A lot of her work was done for popular magazines such as Rolling Stone, Vanity Fair and Vogue. She is extremely good in making her subjects feel comfortable and at ease, and has no trouble persuading them to do even the most awkward of things.

Featuring prominent personalities from diverse genres such as music, cinema, art, politics, etc., her photographs are always surprising and original. Perhaps the most recognizable one of them all, is the photograph of John Lennon and Yoko Ono, shot by Leibovitz for the cover of Rolling Stone magazine on the day of Lennon’s death.

The exhibition showcases over 200 photographs selected by the artist, ranging from commercial and documentary, to those which reveal the most intimate moments in the photographer’s life.

The entry to Annie Leibovitz: A Photographer’s Life 1990–2005 exhibition will set you back $15 (or $10 with consession). The exhibition is on now and runs until Sunday 27 March 2011. Don’t miss it! For more details check out the MCA website.

Big Day Out photo exhibition

Mart Gallery

Another really cool photo exhibition happening at the moment is the Tony Mott & Sophie Howarth. A Big Day Out Retrospective. Basically, it’s a collection of photographs from Australia’s favourite festival, Big Day Out, taken by two of Australia’s most renowned music photographers, Tony Mott and Sophie Howarth. The spectrum of musicians captured on camera is very impressive. From our own Magic Dirt, Silverchair, The Dirty Three to international superstars like The Ramones, Nirvana, Rage Against The Machine, Bjork, Iggy Pop, PJ Harvey and the list goes on and on.

The exhibition runs until Saturday 30 January and is free. Mart Gallery is at 156 Commonwealth Street in Surry Hills.

Rock loyalty snapshots land at Blender

Pattie Boyd and George Harrison

Blender Gallery in Paddington is hosting a photo exhibition by Patti Boyd, former wife of George Harrison and Eric Clapton. Labeled one of the original 1960’s ‘it girls’—or what we would now call a ‘celebrity’—Boyd was a model, a photographer and a columnist. Having lived in the most creative music period, she is believed to have been the inspiration of a number of classic songs, most notably Harrison’s Something, For You Blue, and Clapton’s Layla, Wonderful Tonight and Bell Bottom Blues.

She married Harrison in 1966 after meeting him on the set of A Hard Day’s Night movie. Many say it was her growing interest in Eastern philosophy, that ispired The Beatles’ subsequent exploration of transcendental meditation and the 1968 visit to the Indian guru Maharishi Mahesh Yogi. Harrison and Boyd divorced in 1977, and two years later, she married Eric Clapton, who had long been in love with Boyd—Layla the ultimate symbol to their unrewarded love. Boyd was with Clapton through his alcohol and heroin addiction, before they split at the end of the 1980’s. The two are still friends, and she also remained close to Harrison until his death in 2001.

Boyd has documented these happenings since the late 1960’s. Through The Eyes Of A Muse—Photographs By Pattie Boyd is an opportunity to take an intimate look at some epoch-making lives and times, seen through the eyes of an ultimate insider. The exhibition is on until Thursday 24 December at the Blender Gallery.

Sydney Festival freebies

Circa 1979: Signal to Noise -- Photo © Sydney Festival

There are quite a few free events to catch at Sydney Festival this January—think great little bands in the Famous Spiegeltent with Late at the Garden, Festival First Night starring the gospel legend Al Green, or something a little different like Symphony in The Domain—but my favourite is Circa 1979: Signal to Noise.

Circa 1979: Signal to Noise is a celebration of one of the most creative periods in Australia’s music history that spanned from 1979 to 1985. A period which saw avant garde, post-punk, new wave and early electronic styles of music become a thriving underground scene.

Presented by Sydney Festival and  Modular, this event consists of two parts. Signal to Noise Sessions is a day of free talks exploring early experimentation in music, film and video and the cultural influences surrounding this period, and is happening at the Seymour Centre on Saturday 16 January. Then there is Signal to Noise at the Sound Lounge, an exhibition of fanzines, photography and album artwork collected in an attempt to revive and recreate the Sydney underground music scene of 1979–1985. The exhibition will run over a couple of weeks in January at the Seymour Centre’s Sound Lounge. Coupled with unreleased music and a previously unseen video archive, this exhibition is the first of its kind. A must see for any music appreciator.

Were you ever able to solve a Rubik’s Cube?

Rubik’s Cube -- Photo © Marinco Kojdanovski

If you were, how long did it take you? Imagine solving it in 7.08 seconds! That’s the current world record, held by a 20-year-old Erik Akkersdijk from The Netherlands. Now there’s a piece of trivia for you. I don’t remember ever being able to solve it, but the Rubik’s Cube is such a fun toy, and so very 80s. Speaking of the good old 80s, if you’re a fan and would like to revisit all the good and the bad about the decade remembered for its over-the-top excess, head down to the Powerhouse Museum for a spectacular 80s exhibition. Evoke the nostalgia with the era’s toys and fads, video games and technology, nightclubs and music, architecture and design trends, current affairs and events. Packed with entertaining experiences, familiar personalities, great nostalgia, and perhaps just a few cringe-worthy moments, The 80s are back will remind you why the 80s was a decade not easily forgotten. Exhibition opens Saturday 12 December. Oh, and if you can solve the Rubik’s Cube fast, join team Rubiks and help the Powerhouse Museum align 1,176 individual Rubik’s Cubes spelling out The 80s are back along the entrance wall of the exhibition. Very impressive!