Photographing the human condition
“Chim picked up his camera the way a doctor takes his stethoscope out of his bag, applying his diagnosis to the condition of the heart.” — Henri Cartier-Bresson
The quote is what inspired the prestigious agency, Magnum Photos, to dig into its vast archives to showcase the all-important connection in documentary photography between photographers and their subjects. The images in the collection illustrate how the best photojournalists work from the heart, guided by their compassion and empathy. A print sale of these well known images and others from the archive takes place till November 4, 2016, in honor of the upcoming 70th anniversary of the agency founded in 1947.
This photo taken on the road to Cuzco in the Sacred Valley of Peru along the Urubamba river in May 1954 was the last photo taken by Werner Bischof before his tragic death in the Andes.
“His deep compassion for the humble people of the world, as revealed in his photos, will leave its permanent imprint on the work of other photographers.” — Marco Bischof, Director of the Werner Biscof Estate
Teenagers on the Seine
French Teenagers on a boat on the Seine river, Paris, 1988
“I was to cover a piece of France for a NatGeo special issue on France. I decided I did not want to do historic France but rather modern young France. French teenagers. So I did what I always do: reduce the scope. I chose one group of Parisian teenagers who formed a sort of gang. A nice gang; friends. I became one of their group for several weeks. I went to school with them, hung out everywhere with them, saw them succeed, saw them fail. Judith pictured here with the cigarette was the leader. There is always a leader. I was especially happy with this shot taken on their graduation day directly on the Seine in front of Henri Cartier-Bresson’s house. I was always referential to Henri even in color during this era. Clearly I bonded with these young French. We were like family when I had to hug them goodbye, and for them it meant goodbye to their childhood.”
— David Alan Harvey
Robert Kennedy funeral train
Robert Kennedy funeral train, USA, 1968
“I took this photograph from the train that brought Robert F. Kennedy’s remains from New York to Washington, D.C. The train tracks were lined with up to two million people who came to witness the passage. The crowd represented all kinds of Americans; Bobby Kennedy’s fight for racial reconciliation made him, to many, ‘the most trusted white man in black America’. The people in this photograph had a meaningful connection with Kennedy and an appreciable reason to build a sign, stand in the heat and say goodbye to the man who had once offered them hope.”
– Paul Fusco
Audrey Hepburn
Actress Audrey Hepburn, Paris,1956
“David Seymour (Chim), one of Magnum Photos’ four founders, was a legendary photojournalist who produced some of the most memorable images of the 20th century. He was especially skilled at building a close enough connection with his subjects to elicit their participation and empathy. His Children of War project, commissioned by UNESCO in 1948, brought to light World War II orphans who struggled to cope with their injuries and limited resources. They are powerful images that remain vivid reminders of our need to help refugees and others who have suffered in natural or human-made crisis’. Chim’s capacity to connect with people, and indeed humanize them, also translated to Hollywood superstars such as Sophia Loren, Kirk Douglas, Gina Lollobrigida, Ingrid Bergman and Audrey Hepburn. This tranquil moment shows Audrey Hepburn in deep concentration at a ballet studio. Chim captured her quiet intensity, self-confidence and graceful composure.”
– Ben Shneiderman, nephew of David Seymour
Fireworks
Fourth of July fireworks, Coney Island, New York City, 1962
“Sometimes they don’t tell stories, they simply speak as images. They express feeling, increase knowledge. Photographs can draw passion, beauty and understanding. And then there is love.”
– Bruce Davidson
Child at play
Orinda, California, 1956 -
“My brother David was always building things. Here he is off to the school bus wearing his latest creation, a robot, made of cardboard, silver paint and tubing. Once inside the costume it took considerable family effort to attach working arms. He showed off his costume that day at the school’s Halloween Day parade. It was quite normal for Dad to follow David to school with a camera around his neck. He shadowed his four children frequently for three years as part of his photo project that appeared in his 1958 book, “The World is Young.” Dad thought the life of children was quite different from the life of adults—he hoped to share what it looked like through photographs.”
– Jeanette Miller, daughter of Wayne Mille
Injured survivors
Injured survivors of an Iraqi Air Force helicopter crash, Sinjar Mountains, Iraq, 2014
“The drama inside the helicopter unfolded in front of my eyes, silently and in slow motion, and the last thing on my mind was to photograph it.
About two hours before taking this photograph, an eternity in my mind, we had survived an helicopter crash in Mount Sinjar that killed four passengers, including one of the two pilots. We were now aboard a second helicopter, an even older-looking replica of the one that had just gone down, being flown across Isis territory to the safety of Kurdistan.
In the past, especially when working in areas of conflict, I had adhered to a false sense of distance from my subject, one that allowed for the pursuit of a sort of superficial creativity over genuine empathy. I was just trying too hard.
I don’t particularly remember the moment I took this photograph, I suppose I took it almost unconsciously. We, the survivors inside that helicopter, all shared the same experience, an almost inexplicable feeling of being alive.”
— Moises Saman
Dog lover
Ireland, 1968
“The ability to understand and share the feelings of another is the reason everyone should have a dog.”
— Elliott Erwitt
The sale of 6x6’ inch signed, museum quality prints for $100 continues through November 4, 2016.
Star Wars lightsabers
Raymond plays with Star Wars lightsabers with his sons Brady and Riley, Wisconsin, 2007
“I met Raymond Hubbard in the fall of 2007, in Washington D.C. At the time, he was recovering at Walter Reed Army Medical Center, after having lost his left leg in Iraq the previous summer. I had been covering Iraq and Afghanistan intensely for nearly two years and needed a break. I was attracted to Raymond’s intelligence and charisma, and we began hanging out. I was a bit shy of photographing him at first. After a while, he snorted, rolled his eyes at my transparent hesitation and invited me to photograph what I wanted, how I wanted. We began spending a lot of time together. A few months after we met, he was discharged from the hospital and moved back to his small hometown of Darien, Wisconsin. I joined him out there a few weeks later. We partied together, smoked too many cigarettes and talked intimately. One day he asked for a family portrait. He loved Star Wars and wanted to pose with his sons and lightsabers. We went to a nearby cornfield at dusk and took a few photos. I wish I had taken more. Sometimes I mark time through this photograph.”
— Peter van Agtmael
Orphan, Italy
Park of the Palazzo Orsini, Bomarzo, Italy, 1952 - Herbert List
“It is speculative for anyone but the ones involved to talk about empathy or emotional connection in a photograph. Once an artist is dead we rely on stories that surround certain images. In some rare occasions we hear from the person in the picture, who might tell us how the picture came about. This image of a shepherd in Bomarzo is such an example. After the book, “Italy,” was published with this image on the cover, we found out that the 12-year-old in the image was an orphan boy from Southern Italy. By then he had lived in Germany for the past 40 years and remembered Herbert List very well. He said List had been the first adult to listen to the sad and adventurous stories of his childhood life. The day after this image was taken, List brought him his first bag of candies.”
– Peer-Olaf Richter, Herbert List Estate