American Photo

The impulse to doAMERICAN MUSIC, writes famed photographer Annie Leibovitz, “came from a desire to return to my original subject and look at it with a mature eye. Bring my experience to it…make it a real American tapestry.” Her ambitious idea becameAMERICAN MUSIC, a stunning collection of photographs of the musicians, places and people that enrich the landscape of American music. AsRolling Stone’schief photographer for over thirteen years, Leibovitz created a legendary body of work. Her portraits of some of the world’s most talented musicians capture more than the performer, they convey the art of making music. ForAMERICAN MUSIC, Leibovitz traveled across the country to juke joints in the Mississippi Delta, honkytonks in Texas, and jazz clubs in New Orleans “to take pictures in places that mean something.” In her signature style, she shares stunning portraits of American greats --B.B. King,Willie Nelson,Bonnie Raitt,Bruce Springsteen,Beck,Bob Dylan,Mary J. Blige,Jon Bon Jovi, Steve Earle,Ryan Adams,Miles Davis,Etta James,Pete Seeger,Emmylou Harris,Tom Waits,The Dixie Chicks,Dr. Dre, The Rootsand many more. AMERICAN MUSICincludes a commentary about the American Music project by Leibovitz, short essays by musiciansPatti Smith,Rosanne Cash,Steve Earle,Mos Def,Ryan Adams, andBeckas well as biographical sketches of all the musicians. From the Hardcover edition.

'Snapshot Chronicles' is a visual exploration of the creative outpouring made possible by the camera.

The editors of Life Magazine, a mass-produced picture magazine, composed picture narratives that entertained, informed, and influenced mid-twentieth-century American society. Photo-Essays about Asian American Women in Life Magazine 1936 to 1965: Hidden Narratives and Breaking Stereotypes is a rhetorical analysis of how Life Magazine’s photo-essays represented and shaped white American middle-class attitudes toward Asian American women. In the time period studied, 1936 to1965, most white Americans were exposed to Asian woman primarily through film or in illustrated drawings. Hollywood in particular created caricatures depicting Asian women as evil dragon ladies or sex slaves, both of which implied prostitution, which affected their legal and social standing in early and mid-twentieth-century America. The book illustrates the ways in which the Life editors utilized the photo-essay as a narrative art form to counter stereotypical and racist Hollywood depictions of Asian women as prostitutes and to envision them as part of the American middle class, thereby promoting a sense of national identity that included Asians as Americans. This book will be of interest to scholars in the fields of women’s studies, cultural studies, visual culture, Asian American studies, and history.