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Magnum Manifesto PDF
Magnum Manifesto PDF
“I read his philosophy and I saw some of his “I’d taken pictures before, but I didn’t know
pictures in a magazine. He doesn’t allow crop- anything about good photography. Reading
ping and I learned about his concept of the about Cartier-Bresson changed my life.” After this encounter Constantine did some
decisive moment. I thought, wow, this is for smaller jobs for Magnum, but the project that
me. This is what I want to do.” And so when Constantine was 18, he took got him invited to join the agency was his
the Greyhound bus from Colombia to New Greek Portfolio. His parents, who had emigrat-
Constantine got himself a Leica and some York to visit the Magnum office and show his ed from Greece to the US, always referenced
Ilford film (as used by his new hero Henri), pictures. a village they came from. So Constantine
and set out for an island off the coast of South decided to visit their home country and shoot
Carolina, called Daufuskie. It had been a plan- “I met Cornell Capa there, and Cornell said, daily life there.
tation, and was still inhabited by descendants ‘Come let’s have a drink.’ I had never been
of slaves. in a bar before in my life, I had never had “I realised the best villages were the ones
a drink. So I said, ‘I’ll have whatever you’re that had no electricity. They were very prim-
“I did a little essay about a ten-year-old boy, having,’ and he was having scotch. So that was itive and beautiful and simple. It was the old
who lived with an old couple – he was an my first drink, and I’ve been drinking scotch Greece. It was like nothing had changed in
orphan.” This would turn into Constantine’s ever since.” 200 years,” Constantine says.
first series of pictures, now showcased in the
Magnum Manifesto. He left a box of prints with the Magnum when
traveling through Paris. Back in Athens, he
was pleasantly surprised by a letter from the
DENNIS STOCK.
ON THE SET OF THE
PLANET OF THE APES.
CALIFORNIA, USA.
“I’d taken pictures before,
but I didn’t know anything about good
RENE BURRI. LEONARD FREED.
photography. Reading about MARC RIBOUD. ERNESTO GUEVARE MARTIN LUTHER KING.
PHOTOGRAPHER’S RALLY. (CHE), ARGENTINIAN BALTIMORE,
Cartier-Bresson changed my life.” KARUIZAWA, JAPAN. POLITICIAN, MINISTER MARYLAND, USA
OF INDUSTRY (1961-1965)
DURING AN EXCLUSIVE
INTERVIEW IN HIS
OFFICE.
WeTransfer presents: Magnum Manifesto – 02/05 HAVANA, CUBA.
ON THIS PAGE:
RICHARD KALVAR.
OKLAHOMA SENATOR FRED HARRIS
CAMPAIGNING FOR THE DEMOCRATIC
PRESIDENTIAL NOMINATION, SHAKING
HANDS WITH PEOPLE ENTERING THE
SUBWAY.
BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS, USA (1976).
famous agency. “It said, ‘Dear Constantine, He became a Magnum member in 1977, after a
we have just had our annual meeting and you slight misunderstanding in which he thought
are invited to become an associate member.’ “I think the best pictures are like poems, he was in, only to find there was a final hurdle
Of course I was thrilled to death.” they’re things in your head, in your memory to clear. No matter, he was approved and even
bank, in your brain. went on to serve as the agency’s president for
Constantine is a traditional photographer in a time.
the sense that he truly believes in the voice of “I think the decisive moment is very important
the person taking the picture. He says though, in a picture; a successful photograph is a His work in the Magnum Manifesto is a series
with the overabundance of cameras nowa- surprise. They should exist for their own sake. of pictures taken in a Boston subway station
days, everyone thinks they are a photographer. They should be something that give people during Fred Harris’ unsuccessful 1976 elec-
pleasure and enriches their lives.” toral campaign. “People would come by and
“They are photographers, of course, but it is shake his hand, and then another person
very difficult to be an exceptional one. There RICHARD KALVAR (BORN 1944) and another person. There was a certain
are a lot of people looking for a gimmick, Richard Kalvar can be best described as a ridiculousness to the situation which
making a picture different for its own sake.” street photographer. Whether he’s shooting became interesting.”
He finds this problematic because, “you’re in Rome, Paris or New York, his photos show
tampering with the truth. And you’re tamper- a mix of ordinary life and ambiguous story-
ing with believability, which is one of the great telling – at first glance they seem to depict a
qualities of photography. normal scene, but at closer inspection there’s
an extra layer hidden in the pictures.
BRUNO BARBEY
GULF WAR. BURGAN OIL FIELDS. U.S. MARINES
POSE FOR A PHOTO IN FRONT OF A BURNED
“It's kind of playing with this idea VEHICLE CONTAINING A CHARRED CORPSE.
KUWAIT .
of what reality is. I'm working on
STEVE MCCURRY. MARTIN PARR
the edge of reality.” MAN IN WHEELCHAIR JURMALA.
READS TO BOY. LATVIA.
PESHAWAR, PAKISTAN.