Magnum 62 : 1970s - 1990s, the mutation

The emergence of photojournalism always depended hugely upon technological development of the camera. With the introduction of the 35 mm Leica camera in the 1930s, it was made possible for photographers to move with action, taking shots of events as they were unfolding. The years from the 1930s until the 50s have often been described as the ‘golden age of photojournalism’. The Vietnam War has often been described as the last ‘photographer’s war’, and since the 1970s the influence of photojournalism has gradually declined – the sense in an image could improve current living conditions was questioned and the belief that the camera does not lie and present a completely transparent view has gradually declined. This directly affected picture magazines such as Life, Picture Post and Paris Match and photographers were faced with fewer opportunities to disseminate their work through these avenues.+

One of the Magnum members whose work was still published widely in the 70s was Meiselas. Meiselas, born in 1948, is featured in this exhibition with one of her early photographs,Lena in the Motel. She joined Magnum in 1976 and her well-known photographic essay of the Sandinista revolution in Nicaragua has been published in numerous magazines across the globe.a member of Magnum Photos in 1979 and served as its president from 1997 until 1999. His work has been published in numerous books. The photograph featured in this show (Brothers, Red Deer, Croydon, London, 1976), appeared in his first book The Tedsand has become one of his best-known images. Photographer Alex Webb, featured with Bar, Gouyave, Grenada, 1979, also chose to disseminate his work in book form and up until the present day has published seven books. His work has been exhibited widely in the United States and Europe, in museums including the Museum of Contemporary Art in San Diego, the Whitney Museum of Contemporary Art and the International Center of Photography in New York. Webb is also a good example of illustrating the way that the photographic language itself was changing and evolving as well – he is known for his style, characterized by intense colour and light (how is he a good example?). Through the usage of warm and saturated tones his photographs – often of places characterized by cultural tension and rawness – Webb’s images convey a strong sense of enigma, irony and humour. These images often reveal more about the observer rather than an attempt to illustrate society’s underpinn

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LINKS

http://www.chrisbeetlesfinephotographs.com