Magnum Photos
Magnum Photos | |
---|---|
legal form | cooperative |
founding | 1947 |
Seat | New York , Paris , London , Tokyo |
Branch | Picture agency , photojournalism |
Website | magnumphotos.com |
Magnum Photos is an independent photo and photography agency . It was founded on April 27, 1947 in New York by the four photographers Robert Capa , Henri Cartier-Bresson , David "Chim" Seymour and George Rodger . The other original shareholders included Maria Eisner and Rita Vandivert . According to legend, a magnum bottle of champagne played a role in the naming , which is said to have been drunk on the occasion of the establishment. The trigger for founding the agency was the desire to be able to better secure the rights to one's own images against the large magazines and agencies.
History and Development
The prestige of war photographers acquired at the time of the establishment contributed to the fact that Magnum could be realized. On the one hand, there was an abundance of new photo-illustrated books in the 1930s (e.g. Life , Time ) that had a great need for new pictures and reported with preference from the crisis areas, on the other hand, large parts of the world were photographically undeveloped, so that as a reportage photographer , as George Rodger once put it, "... you could take pictures of everything and everyone, and the magazines tore over it ..." . In addition, technical developments such as smaller, more manageable cameras - especially the legendary Leica - and more sensitive film material made the photographers more flexible.
The agency was founded with the aim of being independently organized and independent in a cooperative of humanistically like-minded photographers.
Above all, independence meant not being subject to the arbitrariness of the photo editors and the constraints of the layout. So no photographer should z. B. have to report in a hurry about the Suez crisis if he would rather spend months with sheep farmers in New Zealand .
By humanism , they understood that the photographer's sense of responsibility and respect for the world and its people can result in images that have a world-improving, educational influence. In addition, they formulated requirements for dealing with the images they sold, which established what is known to us today as copyright law : the name of the photographer had to be given for each publication, images were not allowed to be cropped and the rights to the image and the negatives remained with the photographer , which improved the marketing opportunities, as images could be sold multiple times.
- "A journalist is nothing if he does not own the rights to his negatives." Robert Capa
- "We do not want to be made into the domestics of the press and choose our topics ourselves, which at that time amounted to a revolution." Henri Cartier-Bresson.
The original group of seven photographers, consisting of Robert Capa, Henri Cartier-Bresson, George Rodger, David Seymour, Bill Vandivert, Ernst Haas and Werner Bischof, first set up an office in New York, which was followed a few years later in Paris. Ten more photographers were added within a few days. The agency members “divided” the world among themselves: Capa and Seymour were responsible for Europe, Rodger for Africa and Cartier-Bresson, whose wife Ratna Mohini came from Java , for Asia. Fixed rules for accepting new members did not yet exist. A mere nod from Capa or Cartier-Bresson was enough at this point in time, in contrast to the present, where a two-thirds majority is required to become a full member. Otherwise, the different types of memberships and the conditions are rather confusing to outsiders. “It is true that women repeatedly apply, but for some inexplicable reason it has never been possible to achieve a balanced gender ratio,” wrote Brigitte Lardinois in her epilogue to Magnum Magnum.
To achieve their goals, each founding member brought in $ 400 to finance their first trips and projects. Robert Capa assumed the first presidency until his tragic death in Indochina in 1954 (he stepped on a mine during a photo report). As president, Capa always remained an equal among equals, because Magnum was organized democratically from the start . In 1956 David "Chim" Seymour died in Egypt while being reported by a gunshot.
40% of the revenue from images sold stays with Magnum . The use of the income is voted on jointly.
Current situation
The agency has not been able to finance itself from selling the pictures to magazines for a long time; now the sale of books, postcards and vintage prints is one of the main pillars.
For this reason, a cultural department was set up in 1988 to organize book and exhibition projects around the world.
Magnum currently has around 50 members and 16 correspondents with offices in Paris , London , New York and Tokyo . Despite the omnipresent presence of television teams and cameras that can immediately report on trouble spots and the most remote areas of our world, Magnum has retained a high status in reporting. The problem is rather the declining possibilities of the publication of photo reports.
Magnum photographers, such as Paul Fusco , do not have the reputation of briefly “capturing” a few sensational pictures and then disappearing again; it is not uncommon for them to persistently seek the trust of their "objects" for a long time.
In 2010 Magnum sold its archive with around 185,000 photographs to MS Capital LP, in which Michael Dell is also involved. The holdings are to be cataloged and made available to the public. The economic situation was decisive for the sale.
Quotes
“We were founded as an association of photojournalists who observe reality. We have never had a fashion photographer with us. We actually didn't have any advertising photographers, we grew up through the time of photojournalism, through the time of the big magazines like Life , Look or Stern . "
“Magnum is an elitist shop. But that also has its advantages. We really have a reputation for only having the best. The other question is whether it always works, but strangely enough this selection process works and in the end we really only have people who have proven themselves. "
List of members
Surname | nationality | status | Active years | comment |
---|---|---|---|---|
Abbas | Iran | Deceased | 1981-2018 | |
Christopher Anderson | United States | Active (Associate Member) | 2005– | |
Eve Arnold | United States | Deceased | 1951-2012 | First female member |
Olivia Arthur | United Kingdom | Active (nominated) | 2008– | |
Micha Bar-Am | Israel | Active (correspondent) | 1968– | |
Bruno Barbey | Morocco | Active (full member) | 1964– | |
Jonas Bendiksen | Norway | Active (full member) | 2004– | |
Ian Berry | United Kingdom | active | 1962– | |
Werner Bishop | Switzerland | Deceased | 1949-1954 | |
Brian Brake | New Zealand | Eliminated | -1967 | Deceased |
René Burri | Switzerland | Deceased | 1955-2014 | |
Cornell Capa | United States | Deceased | 1954-2008 | Brother of Robert Capa |
Robert Capa | United States | Deceased | 1947-1954 | Founding member |
Henri Cartier-Bresson | France | Deceased | 1947-2004 | Founding member |
Chien-Chi Chang | Taiwan | Active (full member) | 1995– | |
Antoine D'Agata | France | Active (full member) | 2004– | |
Bruce Davidson | United States | Active (full member) | 1959– | |
Carl De Keyzer | Belgium | Active (full member) | 1994– | |
Luc Delahaye | France | Eliminated | 1994-2004 | |
Raymond Depardon | France | Active (full member) | 1978– | |
Bieke Depoorter | Belgium | Active (Associate Member) | 2014– | |
Thomas Dworzak | Germany | Active (full member) | 2004– | |
Nikos Economopoulos | Greece | Active (full member) | 1990– | |
Elliott Erwitt | United States | Active (full member) | 1953– | |
Martine Franck | Belgium | Active (full member) | 1980– | |
Stuart Franklin | United Kingdom | Active (full member) | 1985– | |
Leonard Freed | United States | Deceased | 1956-2006 | |
Paul Fusco | United States | Active (full member) | 1974– | |
Cristina García Rodero | Spain | Active (Associate Member) | 2005– | |
Jean Gaumy | France | Active (full member) | 1977– | |
Bruce guilds | United States | Active (full member) | 2000– | |
Burt Glinn | United States | Deceased | 1951-2008 | |
Maya Goded | Mexico | Active (nominated) | 2002– | |
Jim Goldberg | United States | Active (full member) | 2002– | |
Philip Jones Griffiths | United Kingdom | Deceased | 1967-2008 | President 1980–1985 |
Harry Gruyaert | Belgium | Active (full member) | 1981– | |
Ara Guler | Turkey | Deceased | 1928-2018 | |
Ernst Haas | Austria | Deceased | 1947-1986 | 1958 Vice President 1958, 1960 President, 1966 Partner |
Philippe Halsman | United States | Deceased | 1951-1979 | |
Charles Harbutt | United States | Eliminated | -1981 | |
Erich Hartmann | United States | Deceased | 1951-1999 | |
David Alan Harvey | United States | Active (full member) | 1993– | |
Thomas Hoepker | Germany | Active (full member) | 1989– | President 2003-2007 |
David Hurn | United Kingdom | Active (full member) | 1967– | |
Richard Calvar | United States | Active (full member) | 1975– | |
Josef Koudelka | Czech Republic | Active (full member) | 1971– | |
Kent Klich | Sweden | Eliminated | 1998-2002 | |
Hiroji Kubota | Japan | Active (full member) | 1986– | |
Sergio Larrain | Chile | Deceased | 1959-2012 | Former full member |
Guy Le Querrec | France | Active (full member) | 1976– | |
Erich Lessing | Austria | Deceased | 1950-2018 | Former full member |
Herbert List | Germany | Deceased | 1951-1975 | |
Alex Majoli | Italy | Active (full member) | 1996– | |
Constantine Manos | United States | Active (full member) | 1965– | |
Peter Marlow | United Kingdom | Active (full member) | 1982– | |
Steve McCurry | United States | Active (full member) | 1986– | |
Susan Meiselas | United States | Active (full member) | 1976– | |
Wayne F. Miller | United States | Active (employee) | 1958– | |
Inge Morath | Austria | Deceased | 1957-2002 | |
John G. Morris | first picture editor | |||
James Nachtwey | United States | Eliminated | 1986-2001 | |
Trent Parke | Australia | Active (full member) | 2002– | |
Martin Parr | United Kingdom | Active (full member) | 1988– | |
Paolo Pellegrin | Italy | Active (full member) | 2001– | |
Gilles Peress | France | Active (employee) | 1972– | |
Gueorgui Pinkhassov | Russia | Active (full member) | 1988– | |
Mark Power | United Kingdom | Active (full member) | 2002– | |
Raghu Rai | India | Active (correspondent) | 1977– | |
Eli Reed | United States | Active (full member) | 1983– | |
Marc Riboud | France | Deceased | 1952-2016 | |
Miguel Rio Branco | Brazil | Active (correspondent) | 1978– | |
George Rodger | United Kingdom | Deceased | 1947-1995 | Founding member |
Sebastião Salgado | Brazil | Eliminated | 1979-1994 | |
Alessandra Sanguinetti | United States | Active (nominated) | 2007– | |
Lise Sarfati | France | Active (full member) | 1997– | |
Ferdinando Scianna | Italy | Active (full member) | 1982– | |
Ernst Scheidegger | Switzerland | Eliminated | 1952-1954 | correspondent |
David Seymour | United States | Deceased | 1947-1956 | Founding member |
Marilyn Silverstone | United Kingdom | Deceased | 1964-1999 | former full member |
W. Eugene Smith | United States | Deceased | 1955-1958 | |
Jacob Aue Sobol | Denmark | Active (nominated) | 2007– | |
Alec Soth | United States | Active (full member) | 2004– | |
Chris Steele-Perkins | United States | Active (full member) | 1979– | |
Dennis Stock | United States | Deceased | 1951-2010 | |
Mikhael Subotzky | South Africa | Active (full member) | 2011– | |
Nicolas Tikhomiroff | Russia | active | 1959– | |
Larry Towell | Canada | Active (full member) | 1988– | |
Ilkka Uimonen | Finland | Eliminated | 2002-2009 | |
Peter van Agtmael | United States | Active (nominated) | 2008– | |
John Vink | Belgium | Active (full member) | 1993– | |
Alex Webb | United States | Active (full member) | 1976– | |
Simon Wheatley | Singapore | Active (nominated) | 2005– | |
Donovan Wylie | United Kingdom | Active (full member) | 1992– | |
Patrick Zachmann | France | Active (full member) | 1985– |
Awards (selection)
- James Nachtwey (USA) won the World Press Photo Award in 1992 and 1994
- Larry Towell (Canada) won the World Press Photo Award in 1993
Publications
- Matthias Christen, Anton Holzer: The Magnum Myth. The story of a legendary photo agency , in: Anton Holzer (Ed.): Zeitschrift Fotogeschichte , Issue 142, 2016, Jonas Verlag
- Kirsten Lubben (Ed.): Magnum Contact Sheets . Schirmer / Mosel, Munich 2011, ISBN 978-3-8296-0550-2
- Marie-Christine Biebuyck (Ed.): Magic of Images. The Magnum Archive, Prestel, Munich 2010 ISBN 978-3-7913-4436-2
- Peter Coeln, Achim Heine, Andrea Holzherr (eds.): Magnum's First . Hatje Cantz, Ostfildern 2008, ISBN 978-3-7757-2215-5
- Magnum Magnum . With a foreword by Stuart Franklin and an afterword by Brigitte Lardinois. Schirmer Mosel, Munich 2007, ISBN 978-3-8296-0323-2 . (Photo book with short biographies and one text each by a colleague)
- Magnum football . Phaidon, Berlin 2006, ISBN 0-7148-5797-1
- Magnum Landscape . Phaidon, Berlin 2005, ISBN 0-7148-4522-1
- Chris Boot: Magnum Stories . Phaidon, Berlin 2004, ISBN 0-7148-4245-1
- Michael Ignatieff (Ed.): Magnum ° . Phaidon, Berlin 2000, ISBN 0-7148-9077-4
- Alain Bergala (Ed.): Magnum Cinema . Phaidon, Berlin 1998, ISBN 0-7148-3772-5
- William Manchester, Jean Lacouture, Fred Ritchin: Time Blend. Five decades of MAGNUM photography . Schirmer Mosel, Munich 1989, ISBN 3-88814-347-0
Individual evidence
- ^ On and In New York: Fine Prints from the Magnum Archive . Retrieved October 16, 2018.
- ↑ Werner Loewe: Negative on Forward ( Memento from September 28, 2007 in the Internet Archive )
- ↑ Magnum is selling its story , accessed June 10, 2012
- ↑ Berliner Zeitung : Edler Bund der loner , accessed on June 10, 2012
- ^ Henri Cartier-Bresson: Scrapbook
- ↑ a b “The Magnum Photo Agency takes the world's most famous photos” ( Memento from January 29, 2008 in the Internet Archive ), ttt - title, theses, temperaments
- ↑ World Press Photo of the Year: 1992
- ↑ World Press Photo of the Year: 1994
- ↑ World Press Photo of the Year: 1993
Web links
- Magnum Photos
- 60 years of the Magnum photo agency. You should get an idea. Süddeutsche Zeitung of February 16, 2007 and an interview with Höpker: "We are a strange bunch"
- April 27, 1947: Henri Cartier-Bresson and Robert Capa found the “Magnum” photo agency. SWR2- Zeitwort from April 27, 2007, downloadable RTF file
- Magic of the moment. on one day / Spiegel Online ( Memento from November 2, 2007 in the Internet Archive )
- Photo exhibition in the NRW Forum - comparison of historical photos with current photos by Magnum photographers
- Magnum Photography - The World in the Seeker Time Online from May 7, 2014