Chris Anderson Interview

 Vice magazine is currently running a series of interviews with magnum photographers. Here are some exerpts from an interview done with magnum photographer chris Anderson, which I found very interesting and down to earth. The full interview can be found on the vice website, at http://www.vice.com/en_uk/read/christopher-anderson-interview .

“Unlike most agencies, Magnum's members are selected by the other photographers on the agency, which, given they're the greatest photo agency in the world, means becoming a member is a pretty gruelling process”.  (Bayley,B. 2013)

 Magnum is more of a community of renowned photographers, rather than having some distinct aim. This is a healthy way of considering magnum, rather than struggling to understand how they work, and what they’re mission is.

 Here are two questions and answers which I have highlighted from the interview. The bold is spoken by Bruno Bayley, and the answer is by Christopher Anderson

RUSSIA. Novosibirsk. 2006 © Christopher Anderson/Magnum Photo

“Hello Christopher. You've vocally distanced yourself from "photojournalism" in the past. Why is that?”

“There are photojournalists in Magnum, but I don't see it as a photojournalist agency. It's more founded in documentary photography. If I were to use a term for myself, I feel I'd fit more closely in the bracket of documentary photography than photojournalism. The term "photojournalist" tends to be loaded with meaning: specifically that one reports the news. I don’t see that as my function. Even when I was photographing things that were news topics, like conflicts, my function was not that of a news reporter, my function was to comment on what I saw happen that day and to offer a subjective point of view. In my role I was commenting on what was happening, but also trying to communicate what it felt like to be there when it was happening.”

Wow, this guy is great, and so is the interview. He recognizes that his work isn’t photojournalistic, and he is see’s himself more of a documentary photographer, despite being quite subjective. The argument of objectivity vs subjectivity is quite large in documentary, but with my recent readings, it feels like can ever be objective.

KUWAIT. 2002. Soliders from the 2nd Brigade Combat Team 3rd Infantry Division take a snapshot of the battlefield during excercises in the Kuwaiti desert. © Christopher Anderson/Magnum Photo

“Have people ever reacted negatively to your work because you champion subjectivity in a field which many argue should be entirely objective?”
“Yeah, especially with the blogosphere there is a lot of criticism. I can't pay attention to all that; I don't mean that in an arrogant way, it's just a waste of my energy and time. My photographs are a reflection of the experience I have, I can't really be ashamed or embarrassed about the photograph that results from those experiences, any more than I could be uncomfortable about the experiences themselves.”

 The key thing is that he says his images are a result of an experience, and thats how they should be read. He’s not trying to profile some exotic culture, or dramatise a situation. He’s simple commenting on an experience. What a wonderful way of working, which has reignited my passion to create similar works!

 This interview has made me realise many things about the photographers of magnum, and their place in the documentary world. magnum is simply a community of like minded photographers, but not too like minded. They all have their own distinct ways of working, and their work showcases experiences of humanity. I shouldn’t worry about making works which are accurate and valid to a specific group of people, I should just go and experience the people and places, and my pictures should voice that experience.

References

• Bruno Bayley. (2013). The Way Chris Anderson See's The World Is Amazine. Available: http://www.vice.com/en_uk/read/christopher-anderson-interview. Last accessed 28th March 2013.

pictures

Chris Anderson/Magnum Photos, (2006), RUSSIA. Novosibirsk. 2006 [ONLINE]. Available at: http://mediastore.magnumphotos.com/CoreXDoc/MAG/Media/TR2/7/0/d/8/NYC70198.jpg [Accessed 02 April 13].

Chris Anderson/Magnum Photos, (2002), KUWAIT. 2002. Soliders from the 2nd Brigade Combat Team 3rd Infantry Division take a snapshot of the battlefield during excercises in the Kuwaiti desert. [ONLINE]. Available at: http://mediastore3.magnumphotos.com/CoreXDoc/MAG/Media/TR2/5/3/5/f/NYC52276.jpg [Accessed 02 April 13]