Magnum Photo Agency

"Magnum is a community of thought, a shared human quality, a curiosity about what is going on in the world, a respect for what is going on and a desire to transcribe it visually." – Henri Cartier-Bresson (Magnum, 2012)

 Magnum photos is a leading photographic agency made up of mostly photo journalists and photographers who cover human interest stories all over the world. It was founded by several photographers, notably Robert Capa and Henri Cartier-Bresson, in 1947. It was founded after the Second World War, which was described as an apocalyptic event to which the founders were relieved to have finished, and had sparked a curiosity to see what the world still had to offer (Magnum, 2012).

 Since then, it has gathered members and become quite prestigious. There is a lot of interesting work in the archives created by magnum photographers, but is the work dwindling in recent years?

“Most of the major world events and personalities from the Spanish Civil War to the present day are covered. There are constantly updated profiles on most countries of the world, covering industry, society and people, places of interest, politics and news events, disasters and conflict. The Magnum Photos library reflects all aspects of life throughout the world and the unparalleled sense of vision, imagination and brilliance of the greatest collective of documentary photographers” (Magnum 2012)

Magnum prides itself on being a prestigious establishment, and a leading source of top photographers. However, I am not completely sure on what its aim is.

I have identified three main styles of photographers in magnum:

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LEBANON. Beirut . August 2006. Moments after an Israeli air strike destroyed several buildings in Dahia, Paolo Pellegrin

  There are many cases of simple reportage, such as the work of Tim Hethrington and Paolo Pellegrin. They cover quite interesting stories and conflicts, but it fits into the category of reportage, and it isn’t quite different to other agencies (AP, Getty). 

GREECE. Athens. 2003. Muzaffar "Alex" Jafari writes about his journey on foot from Afghanistan to Greece via Iran. Now Alex is in school and supports himself by working in a call center. Jim Goldberg

   Magnum also contains some leading practitioners of documentary photography. These photographers create works which as well as being very interesting, actually discuss and challenge the genre of documentary photography. The work of Susan Meiselas and Jim Goldberg are two leading examples of this.      

Thailand. Bangkok. The Grand Palace. 1993. Martin Parr

                                                 

  

And then we have an amount of people who seem to be making photographs that are quite self driven. They don’t have briefs or conflicts to cover. Sure, they take up commissions, but they seem to be photographic artists rather than photojournalists. They seem to follow their own agendas, and their work is so much more than simple photojournalism/reportage. Examples of this are Martin Parr and Alec Soth.

 Perhaps Magnum is more about the community of photographers rather than having strict rules and goals. The broad term of documenting human stories in the world is aptly met by a broad selection of styles of documenting.

 Or perhaps I have lived with a misunderstanding of what magnum stood for. And I still don’t fully understand them. I understand aspects of their work, but I could explain how they decide who gets in and who doesn’t. Why isn’t William Egglestone a part of magnum? Or Garry Winogrand?

References

• Magnum. (2012). About Magnum. Available: http://www.magnumphotos.com/C.aspx?VP3=CMS3&VF=MAX_2&FRM=Frame:MAX_3#/CMS3&VF=MAX_2&FRM=Frame:MAX_3. Last accessed 12th March 2013.
• Magnum. (2012). History of Magnum. Available: http://www.magnumphotos.com/C.aspx?VP3=CMS3&VF=MAX_2&FRM=Frame:MAX_3#/CMS3&VF=MAX_2&FRM=Frame:MAX_5. Last accessed 12th March 2013.