Eve Arnold
Bruno Barbey
Werner Bischof
Rene Burri
Robert Capa
Henri Cartier-Bresson
Bruce Davidson
Raymond Depardon
Elliott Erwitt
Ernst Haas
Josef Koudelka
Hiroji Kubota
Erich Lessing
Constantine Manos
Mary Ellen Mark
Susan Meiselas
Inge Morath
Gilles Peress
Marc Riboud
George Rodger
Sebastiao Salgado
David (Chim) Seymour
Magnum 1947 - 1987. The exhibition opens a time window to the first 40 years of Magnum with photographs of the five initiators and fifty other members. The images present strong contrasts, ranging from classic black and white reportage to abstract plays of colour that became icons of collective visual memory.
Until today Magnum stands for documentary photography of the highest standard. Robert Capa, Henri Cartier-Bresson, George Rodger and David Seymour (Chim) founded the legendary photo agency in 1947, with the aim to work independently in a motivated cooperative of likeminded photographers - as reporters, commentators and poets with a camera. The decisive moment and Human Interest became the central paradigms of this group.
The exhibition IN OUR TIME opens a time window to the first forty years of Magnum with photographs of the five initiators and fifty other members, such as Werner Bischof, Ernst Haas, Erich Lessing, Eve Arnold, Marc Riboud, Elliott Erwitt, Inge Morath, René Burri, Bruce Davidson, Constantine Manos, Burk Uzzle, Hiroji Kubota, Bruno Barbey, Josef Koudelka, Gilles Peress, Mary Ellen Mark, Susan Meiselas, Raymond Depardon and Sebastião Salgado.
The photographs present strong contrasts, ranging from classic black and white reportage to abstract plays of colour that became icons of collective visual memory.
The show illustrates a retrospect view of events in world affairs and the different approaches of photographers. Moreover the images also show a change of meaning in the medium of photography itself, manifest in the varying circumstances of publication: From the great magazines of the first years, such as Life and Paris Match to monographic or thematic books to the exhibition hall.
The 145 large format prints were produced during the late 1980s for an exhibition carrying the same name and later got into private ownership. WestLicht managed to acquire this spectacular convolute and present it for the first time in Austria.
IN OUR TIME
IN OUR TIME. THE WORLD AS SEEN BY MAGNUM PHOTOGRAPHERS was curated by Fred Ritchin and Robert Delpire. The exhibition was organised by the American Federation of Arts in cooperation with the Minneapolis Institute of Arts. Sponsored by the Eastman Kodak Company it toured from 1989 simultaneously through the USA, Japan and Europe. The accompanying catalogue IN OUR TIME.
THE WORLD AS SEEN BY MAGNUM PHOTOGRAPHERS was published by André Deutsch Limited and edited by William Manchester, Jean Lacouture and Fred Ritchin.
Image: Bruce Davidson, Subway, New York City 1979
Press contact:
Stefan Musil +43 (0)1 5226636 -49 musil@westlicht.com
Assistant Carla Benzing +43 (0)1 5226636 -65 benzing@westlicht.com
Fotomuseum WestLicht
Westbahnstr. 40 . 1070 Wien Austria
Hours:
Tue, Wed, Fri 2-7pm, Thu 2-9pm
Sat, Sun 11am-7pm
Admission
Adults: € 6,50
Students (until 27 years) and senior citizens: € 4,00
Children from 6 to 16 years € 2,00
Children under the age of 6 free