Reading Magnum: a visual archive of the modern world

Abstract

The Magnum Photos archive, a collection of more than 200,000 photographs by some of the twentieth and early twenty-first centuries' greatest image makers, is the most comprehensive accumulation of prints made by the distinguished photo cooperative. Consistently and with striking artistry, Magnum's photographers have done more than simply document the far reaches of the globe; they have helped shape generations' understanding of the world around them. While many of its photographs have been widely published, until now no one has examined the Magnum archive itself. In Reading Magnum, experts from several fields investigate this visual archive, now residing at the Harry Ransom Center at the University of Texas at Austin, to discover how a select, influential group of visual authors has used the camera for an ambitious project of cultural interpretation and social commentary. (Exhibition: Ransom Center Galleries, Austin, USA, 10.09.2013-05.01.2014).

Contents

Decisive Moments and Caustic Comments: Reading the Magnum Archive / Steven Hoelscher -- On Becoming an Archive / Alison Nordström -- Notes from the Archive: Philip Jones Griffiths's Vietnam Inc. -- War and Conflict through Magnum's Eyes / Barbie Zelizer -- War and Conflict Portfolio -- Notes from the Archive: Eve Arnold's Black Muslims -- The Face Redrawn: Magnum Portraits / Frank H. Goodyear III -- Portraiture Portfolio -- Notes from the Archive: Alex Webb's Crossings: Photographs from the U.S.-Mexico Border -- Magnum's Geographies: Toward a Progressive Sense of Place / Steven Hoelscher -- Geography Portfolio -- Notes from the Archive: Susan Meiselas's Carnival Strippers -- Hollywood Stars, High-Paid Llamas, and Car Shows: Magnum's Cultural Project / Erika Doss -- Cultural Life Portfolio -- Notes from the Archive: Cornell Capa's Attica -- Seeing the Stranger in the Mirror: Everyday Life in Magnum's Public World / Robert Hariman -- Social Relations Portfolio -- Notes from the Archive: David "Chim" Seymour's Children of Europe -- Magnum's Global Enterprise / Liam Kennedy -- Globalization Portfolio.