What?!?!

I'm a little slow on finding out about this. Geez, I don't even know what to think. At what point do your posessions own you, instead of you owning them? I guess Annie Leibovitz found out. I can't imagine signing away the rights to the art that made you practically a household name. Well, she's not actually signing away the rights to her work; she used her artwork as collateral to secure massive loans to cover some extensive debt. How sad, she not only "pawned" the rights to previous photographs, negatives, and intellectual property, but to FUTURE work as well. This is an eye-opening business lesson as to what all goes into producing work on that kind of level and just how much and how many people are involved. This story links to other stories which delve a little deeper into her Miss Leibovitz's situation.

From The New York Times via Photo District News :

NYTimes: Leibovitz Dealing With "Financial Stresses"

The New York Times has a story today about Art Capital, a company that makes art-related loans. The story leads with some new information about Annie Leibovitz's financial troubles (which PDN covered in December):

"Last fall, Annie Leibovitz, the photographer, borrowed $5 million from a company called Art Capital Group. In December, she borrowed $10.5 million more from the same firm. ... according to loan documents filed with the city, one of the world’s most successful photographers essentially pawned every snap of the shutter she had made or will make until the loans are paid off. Those who know Ms. Leibovitz said she used the money to pay off mortgages and deal with other financial stresses."