Art Streiber has been photographing the Academy Awards for six years, with his rare all-access pass positioning him as close to the event as the celebrities themselves. But instead of focusing on designer dresses, diamond-studded jewellery and gushing acceptance speeches, the Los Angeles-based photographer strives to capture the emotion inherent in Hollywood's biggest self-love fest: the overwhelmed stars whose names are called; the A-listers waiting their turn to present; the quirky moments that prove even stars who command US$20 million a film are human.
A carefully culled selection of Streiber's photographs are the basis for an exhibition that is drawing rave reviews for its unique insight into the biggest night in Hollywood. Titled All Access at the Academy Awards: Photographs by Art Streiber, the show was made possible only after Streiber and his team searched through more than 1,000 shots taken over the past six years for Premiere and InStyle magazines. From this enormous portfolio of work, only 120 photographs were chosen for display. 'It was brutal,' says Streiber, describing the task.
The exhibition, which is on display until April 16 at the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences in Beverly Hills, draws on the range of activity and emotion generated by the Oscar ceremony, the set-up operation and rehearsals.
'Over the years, I've definitely been given more access [to the event],' says Streiber. 'I work side
by side with an assistant who carries around a light source, but we go out of our way to be unobtrusive; to pop out, grab an image and recede. My approach has changed a little bit. I'm not as reticent as I was to go after photos, but I'm still very cautious and respectful of the process.'
Streiber - who has been a freelance photographer since 1993, working for magazines such as Vanity Fair, W, Oprah and Town & Country - has succeeded in capturing the kind of candid shots paparazzi would give their right arms for. One picture shows Cate Blanchett, after winning the 2005 best supporting actress award for her role in The Aviator, looking casually into a press room as if she is peering into her children's nursery. Another catches Mike Myers, dressed casually in a Puma shirt, rehearsing the day before the show. An ecstatic Tom Cruise congratulates a bewildered-looking Cameron Crowe, who had just won an Oscar for best original screenplay for Almost Famous in 2001, while veteran Oscar ceremony producer Gil Cates looks bemused at Bjork's now-infamous swan dress and matching egg handbag. Julia Roberts has a serious moment after receiving her award for Erin Brockovich and host Steve Martin is dwarfed by a huge Oscar statue behind him. Some shots - like that of Cameron Diaz holding a fake Oscar between her legs as she rehearses - are priceless.
'Mostly, it's a matter of being in the right place, ready to go,' says Streiber of his ability to reproduce the spontaneity of the moment.