Magnum Photos

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Magnum Photos
Type Cooperative
Industry Photography
Founded 1947
Founder(s) Robert Capa, David "Chim" Seymour, Henri Cartier-Bresson, George Rodger, William Vandivert, Rita Vandivert, Maria Eisner
Headquarters New York, Paris, London, Tokyo
Area served Worldwide
Products Photojournalism, stock photography
Website magnumphotos.com

Magnum Photos is an international photographic cooperative owned by its photographer-members, with offices located in New York, Paris, London and Tokyo. According to co-founder Henri Cartier-Bresson, "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."[1]

Founding of agency

Robert Capa, David "Chim" Seymour, Henri Cartier-Bresson, George Rodger and William Vandivert (all five of them photographers), Rita Vandivert and Maria Eisner were the founding members of Magnum in Paris in 1947, based on an idea of Capa's. Seymour, Cartier-Bresson and Rodger were all absent from the meeting at which it was founded.[2] (In response to a letter telling him that he was a member, Rodger wrote that Magnum seemed a good idea but, "It all sounded too halcyon to be true," when Capa had told him of it and, "I rather dismissed the whole thing from my mind".[3]) Rita Vandivert was the first President, and head of the New York office; Maria Eisner the head of the Paris office.[4] The plan was for Rodger to cover Africa and the Middle East; Cartier-Bresson to cover south and east Asia; Seymour and William Vandivert to cover Europe and the United States, respectively; and Capa to be free to follow his curiosity and events.[4]

Magnum is one of the first photographic cooperatives, owned and administered entirely by members. The staff serve a support role for the photographers, who retain all copyrights to their own work.

The Magnum cooperative has included photojournalists from across the world, who have covered many historical events of the 20th century. The cooperative's archive includes photographs depicting family life, drugs, religion, war, poverty, famine, crime, government and celebrities. Magnum In Motion is the multimedia offshoot of Magnum Photos and is based in New York City.

Although it has been asserted that the name "Magnum" was chosen because the founding members always drank a bottle of champagne during the first meetings,[5] Russell Miller writes:

It was . . . presumably agreed by those present [at the first meeting] that Magnum was a fine new name for such a bold new venture, indicative as it was of greatness in its literal Latin translation, toughness in its gun connotation and celebration in its champagne mode.[6]

Elections of new members

In the early years of Magnum, membership had generally come about by the personal invitation of Robert Capa. However, in 1955 a three-stage membership system was set up that continues to this day[7] and is described below. Until 1953 there were also a large number of stringers who used Magnum but were not members.[8]

Magnum's photographers meet once a year, during the last weekend in June, in New York, Paris or London, to discuss the cooperative's business. One day of the meeting is reserved to review potential new members' portfolios and vote on admitting individuals. An approved applicant is invited to become a 'Nominee Member' of Magnum, a category of membership that provides a chance for members and the individual to get to know each other, but that includes no binding commitments on either side.

After two years of Nominee membership, a photographer may present another portfolio if wanting to apply for 'Associate Membership'. If successful, the photographer is bound by the rules of the agency, and enjoys its facilities and worldwide representation. The difference between an Associate Member and a full Member is that an Associate is not a Director of the Company and does not have voting rights in the corporate decision-making. After two more years, an Associate wanting to be considered for full membership presents another portfolio of work for consideration by the members. Once elected as a full member, the individual is a member of Magnum for life or for as long as the photographer chooses.

No member photographer of Magnum has ever been asked to leave.[citation needed]

Photographic collection

In February 2010, Magnum announced that Michael Dell's venture capital firm MSD Capital had acquired a collection of nearly 200,000 original press prints of images taken by Magnum photographers. It had formed a partnership with the Harry Ransom Center at The University of Texas at Austin to preserve, catalog, and make photographs available to the general public.[9][10][11] In September 2013 it was announced MSD Capital donated the collection to the Ransom Center. [12] A Preliminary Inventory is available for researchers who wish to use the collection. (It includes Afghan Girl.)

Crowdsourcing tagging

Magnum is working with Tagasauris to crowdsource the tagging of Magnum's digital archive. The project allows volunteers to get early access to the (untagged) photo archive, and provide descriptive tags to the images.[13][14][15][16]

A notable accomplishment of this effort was the discovery of a set of "lost" photos in the Magnum archive, from the shooting of the movie American Graffiti.[17] This was achieved through a combination of human tagging and machine intelligence: the crowdsourcing identified individuals in separate photos (e.g., George Lucas, Ron Howard, Richard Dreyfuss, and Mackenzie Phillips), and the machine process reviewed data to reveal what was common among them. The film American Graffiti was one suggestion.[18] Tagasauris found nearly two dozen 'lost' photos taken on the film’s set that were available (but not discoverable) in the Magnum archive. "Computers couldn’t ID humans in the photo but humans couldn’t know the context."[19]

Member list

Name Nationality Status Active years Note
Abbas Attar Iran Active (full Member) 1981[20] Member from 1985[20]
Christopher Anderson United States Active (full Member) 2005 Nominee from 2005; Full Member from 2010[21]
Ansel Adams United States Deceased Nonmember correspondent 1956[22]
Eve Arnold United States Deceased 1951 Associate Member from 1951;[23] Member from 1957[24] First female Member.
Olivia Arthur United Kingdom Active (full Member) 2008 Nominee from 2008[25]
Micha Bar-Am Israel Active (Correspondent) 1968 Correspondent from 1968[26]
Bruno Barbey Morocco Active (full Member) 1964[27] Member from 1968.[27]
Jonas Bendiksen Norway Active (full Member) 2004 Nominee from 2004; Member from 2008[28]
Ian Berry United Kingdom Active (full Member) 1967[22]
Werner Bischof Switzerland Deceased 19491954 Member from 1949[29]
Brian Brake New Zealand Withdrawn 19571966[22] now deceased
Michael Christopher Brown United States Active (Nominee) 2013
René Burri Switzerland Active (full Member) 1955[22] Associate Member from 1955; Member from 1959[30]
Cornell Capa Hungary / United States Deceased 19542008 Member from 1954;[31] Brother of Robert
Robert Capa Hungary / United States Deceased 19471954 Founding member
Henri Cartier-Bresson France Deceased 19472004 Founding member; Contributor from 1966[22]
Chien-Chi Chang Taiwan Active (full Member) 1995[32] Member from 2001[32]
Antoine D'Agata France Active (full Member) 2004[33] Nominee from 2004; Member from 2008.[33]
Bruce Davidson United States Active (full Member) 1956[34] Member from 1959[34]
Carl De Keyzer Belgium Active (full Member) 1990[35] Member from 1994[35]
Luc Delahaye France Withdrawn 19942004
Raymond Depardon France Active (full Member) 1978 Associate Member from 1978; Member from 1979[36]
Bieke Depoorter Belgium Active (Nominee) 2012[37]
Thomas Dworzak Germany Active (full Member) 2004 Member from 2004[38]
Nikos Economopoulos Greece Active (full Member) 1990 Member from 1994[39]
Elliott Erwitt France / United States Active (full Member) 1953[40] Member from 1954[40]
Martine Franck Belgium Deceased 19802012[41] Member from 1983[41]
Stuart Franklin United Kingdom Active (full Member) 1985[42] Member from 1990.[42]
Leonard Freed United States Deceased 1956[43]2006 Member from 1972[43]
Cristina García Rodero Spain Active (full Member) 2005[44] Member from 2009[44]
Jean Gaumy France Active (full Member) 1977[45] Member from 1986[45]
Bruce Gilden United States Active (full Member) 1998[46] Member from 2002[46]
Burt Glinn United States Deceased 1951[47]2008 Associate Member from 1951;[23] Member from 1954[47]
Mark Godfrey Withdrawn 19741981[22]
Jim Goldberg United States Active (full Member) 2002[48] Member from 2006[48]
Philip Jones Griffiths United Kingdom Deceased 19662008 Associate Member from 1966; Member from 1971[49]
Harry Gruyaert Belgium Active (full Member) 1981[50] Member from 1986[50]
Ara Güler Turkey Withdrawn
Ernst Haas Austria Deceased 1950[22]1986 Contributor from 1966[22]
Philippe Halsman Russia (Latvia) / United States Deceased 1951[51] Contributing member from 1956[51]
Charles Harbutt United States Withdrawn 19641981[22]
Erich Hartmann Germany / United States Deceased 1951[22][52]1999 Member from 1954[52]
David Alan Harvey United States Active (full Member) 1993[22][53] Member from 1997[53]
Bob Henriques United States 1957-1961 (circa)
Tim Hetherington United Kingdom Deceased 2011; Posthumus Acception
Abigail Heyman United States Deceased 1970s;
Thomas Hoepker Germany Active (full Member) 1964[54] Member from 1989[54]
David Hurn United Kingdom Active (full Member) 1965[55] Associate Member from 1965;[56] Member from 1967[55]
Richard Kalvar United States Active (full Member) 1975[22] Associate Member from 1975; Member from 1977.[57]
Josef Koudelka Czech Republic Active (full Member) 1971[22] Associate Member from 1971; Member from 1974.[58]
Kent Klich Sweden Withdrawn 19982002
Hiroji Kubota Japan Active (full Member) 1971 Associate Member from 1971;[59] Member from 1989.[60]
Dorothea Lange United States Deceased Nonmember correspondent 1956[22]
Sergio Larraín Chile Deceased 19592012 Associate Member from 1959; Member from 1961; Contributor from 1970[61]
Russell Lee United States Deceased Nonmember correspondent 1956[22]
Guy Le Querrec France Active (full Member) 1976[62] Member from 1977.[62]
Erich Lessing Austria Active (full Member) 1950[63] Member from 1955;[64] later Contributor[63]
Herbert List Germany Deceased Contributor 19511975[65]
Paul Lowe United Kingdom Withdrawn
Danny Lyon United States Withdrawn 19661968[22]
Alex Majoli Italy Active (full Member) 1996[66] Member from 2001.[66]
Constantine Manos United States Active (full Member) 1963[22][67] Member from 1965.[67]
Mary Ellen Mark United States Withdrawn 19771981[22]
Peter Marlow United Kingdom Active (full Member) 1982 Member from 1986[68]
Fred Mayer Switzerland Withdrawn 1967[69] - 2009
Don McCullin United Kingdom Withdrawn 19681969[22]
Steve McCurry United States Active (full Member) 1986 Member from 1986.[70]
Susan Meiselas United States Active (full Member) 1976[71] Member from 1980.[71]
Wayne F. Miller United States Deceased Nonmember correspondent 1956[22]1958; member 1958[22]2013 Member from 1958, later a contributor.[72]
Inge Morath Austria Deceased 1953[73]2002 Member from 1955.[73]
Dominic Nahr Switzerland Active (Nominee) 2010
Trent Parke Australia Active (full Member) 2002[74] Member from 2007.[74]
Suzy Parker United States Deceased According to John G. Morris, "Capa showed model Suzy Parker how to take pictures, and for a while she was listed as a Magnum photographer".[75]
Martin Parr United Kingdom Active (full Member) 1988[76] Member from 1994.[76]
Paolo Pellegrin Italy Active (full Member) 2001[77] Nominee from 2001; Member from 2005.[77]
Gilles Peress France Active (Contributor) 1970[78] As of 2010, a Contributor.[78]
Gueorgui Pinkhassov Russia Active (full Member) 1986[79] Member from 1994.[79]
Mark Power United Kingdom Active (full Member) 2002[80] Member from 2007.[80]
Raghu Rai India Active (Correspondent) 1977
Eli Reed United States Active (full Member) 1983
Marc Riboud France Active (Contributor) 1955[22]
Eugene Richards United States Withdrawn 1983
Miguel Rio Branco Brazil Active (Correspondent) 1978 Associate Member from 1980[81]
George Rodger United Kingdom Deceased 19471995 Founding member; Contributor from 1970[22]
Sebastião Salgado Brazil Withdrawn 19791994
Moises Saman Spain Active (Associate) 2010
Alessandra Sanguinetti United States / Argentina Active (full Member) 2007
Lise Sarfati France Withdrawn 1997
Ferdinando Scianna Italy Active (full Member) 1982 Member from 1989[82]
Jérôme Sessini France Active (Nominee) 2012[37]
David Seymour Poland, France, United States Deceased 19471956 Founding member
Marilyn Silverstone United States / Nepal Deceased (Contributor) 1964 Associate Member from 1964, Full Member from 1967, Contributor from 1975[83]
W. Eugene Smith United States Withdrawn[84] 1957[22]1958[85] now deceased
Jacob Aue Sobol Denmark Active (Associate) 2007
Alec Soth United States Active (full Member) 2004 Nominee from 2004; Member from 2008[86]
Chris Steele-Perkins United Kingdom Active (full Member) 1979 Nominee from 1979; Associate Member from 1981; Member from 1983[87]
Dennis Stock United States Deceased 19512009 Associate Member from 1951; Member from 1957[88]
Zoe Strauss United States Active (Nominee) 2012[37]
Mikhael Subotzky South Africa Active (Nominee) 2007
Kryn Taconis Netherlands Withdrawn 1954[22]1960[22] now deceased
Nicolas Tikhomiroff Russia / France Withdrawn 1959
Larry Towell Canada Active (full Member) 1988
Ilkka Uimonen Finland Withdrawn 2002
Burk Uzzle United States Withdrawn 19671983[89] 1979-1980 President[89]
Peter van Agtmael United States Active (Full Member) 2008 Nominee from 2008[90]
William Vandivert United States Deceased 1947[91]1948[92] Founding member
John Vink Belgium Active (full Member) 1993 Member from 1997[93]
Alex Webb United States Active (full Member) 1976
Simon Wheatley Singapore bgcolor="#ddffdd"| Withdraw
Donovan Wylie United Kingdom Active (full Member) 1992 Member from 1997[94]
Patrick Zachmann France Active (full Member) 1985

Books

See also

References

  1. Magnum Official Website
  2. Russell Miller, Magnum: Fifty Years at the Front Line of History (New York: Grove, 1998; ISBN 0-8021-3653-2), pp. 4950.
  3. Miller, Magnum, p. 53
  4. 4.0 4.1 Miller, Magnum, p.51.
  5. Die Leica-Geschichte, TV-Documentary, can be viewed here (Youtube).
  6. Miller, Magnum, p.49.
  7. Miller, Magnum, p.127.
  8. Miller, Magnum, pp. 70, 97, 106.
  9. "News Photos, on the Move, Make News", New York Times, 1 February 2010
  10. "Historic Photo Print Archive, Featuring Iconic 20th Century Images, Has New Owner and Home", University of Texas at Austin press release, February 2, 2010. Accessed 2010-02-09.
  11. Gerald Rich, "UT Receives Historical Treasure: Harry Ransom Center acquires 20th-century photography archive", The Daily Texan, 4 February 2010. Accessed 2010-02-09.
  12. http://dealbook.nytimes.com/2013/09/21/dell-led-trio-to-donate-magnum-photo-archive-to-university-of-texas/?_r=0
  13. Estrin, James. "Crowd-Sourcing the Magnum Archive" New York Times (July 26, 2011).
  14. Russeth, Andrew. "Good Morning! Creative Thinking Edition", New York Observer (August 29, 2011).
  15. "Magnum appelle à "taguer" ses archives", Le Monde (August 15, 2011)(French)
  16. Jarvis, Alice-Azania "Who, what, where? Magnum is hoping the modern crowd will help them identify a historic archive", The Independent (August 5, 2011)
  17. Benenson, Fred. "Hidden Treasure: Lost Photos From the Set of American Graffiti" Wired (July 2011).
  18. Mims, Christopher. "How Six Degrees of Kevin Bacon Unearthed Lost Photos From American Graffiti", Technology Review (June 20, 2011).
  19. Weise, Karen. "Humans Plus Computers Equals Better Crowdsourcing", Bloomberg Businessweek, (November 10, 2011).
  20. 20.0 20.1 "Abbas", Magnum Photos. Accessed 2010-01-16.
  21. "Christopher Anderson", Magnum Photos. Accessed 2010-01-16.
  22. 22.0 22.1 22.2 22.3 22.4 22.5 22.6 22.7 22.8 22.9 22.10 22.11 22.12 22.13 22.14 22.15 22.16 22.17 22.18 22.19 22.20 22.21 22.22 22.23 22.24 22.25 Chronology, Magnum Photos (London: Thames & Hudson, 2008; ISBN 978-0-500-41094-3), not paginated.
  23. 23.0 23.1 "Burt Glinn", Magnum Photos. Accessed 2010-01-16.
  24. "Eve Arnold", Magnum Photos. Accessed 2010-01-16.
  25. "Olivia Arthur", Magnum Photos. Accessed 2010-01-17.
  26. "Micha Bar-Am", Magnum Photos. Accessed 2010-01-16.
  27. 27.0 27.1 "Bruno Barbey", Magnum Photos. Accessed 2010-01-18.
  28. "Jonas Bendiksen", Magnum Photos. Accessed 2010-01-16.
  29. "Werner Bischof", Magnum Photos. Accessed 2010-01-18.
  30. "Rene Burri", Magnum Photos. Accessed 2010-01-16.
  31. "Cornell Capa", Magnum Photos. Accessed 2010-01-18.
  32. 32.0 32.1 "Chien-Chi Chang", Magnum Photos. Accessed 2010-01-16.
  33. 33.0 33.1 "Antoine D'Agata", Magnum Photos. Accessed 2010-01-19.
  34. 34.0 34.1 "Bruce Davidson", Magnum Photos. Accessed 2010-01-16.
  35. 35.0 35.1 "Carl De Keyzer", Magnum Photos. Accessed 2010-01-16.
  36. "Raymond Depardon", Magnum Photos. Accessed 2010-01-16.
  37. 37.0 37.1 37.2 Magnum Photos Announces 3 Nominees, PDN Online. July 2012.
  38. "Thomas Dworzak", Magnum Photos. Accessed 2010-01-16.
  39. "Nikos Economopoulos", Magnum Photos. Accessed 2010-01-16.
  40. 40.0 40.1 "Elliott Erwitt", Magnum Photos. Accessed 2010-01-19.
  41. 41.0 41.1 "Martine Franck", Magnum Photos. Accessed 2010-01-19.
  42. 42.0 42.1 "Stuart Franklin", Magnum Photos. Accessed 2010-01-19.
  43. 43.0 43.1 "Leonard Freed", Magnum Photos. Accessed 2010-01-19.
  44. 44.0 44.1 "Cristina García Rodero", Magnum Photos. Accessed 2010-01-19.
  45. 45.0 45.1 "Jean Gaumy", Magnum Photos. Accessed 2010-01-19.
  46. 46.0 46.1 "Bruce Gilden", Magnum Photos. Accessed 2010-01-19.
  47. 47.0 47.1 "Burt Glinn", Magnum Photos. Accessed 2010-01-19.
  48. 48.0 48.1 "Jim Goldberg", Magnum Photos. Accessed 2010-01-19.
  49. "Philip Jones Griffiths", Magnum Photos. Accessed 2010-01-16.
  50. 50.0 50.1 "Harry Gruyaert", Magnum Photos. Accessed 2010-01-21.
  51. 51.0 51.1 "Philippe Halsman", Magnum Photos. Accessed 2010-01-21.
  52. 52.0 52.1 "Erich Hartmann", Magnum Photos. Accessed 2010-01-21.
  53. 53.0 53.1 "David Alan Harvey", Magnum Photos. Accessed 2010-01-21.
  54. 54.0 54.1 "Thomas Hoepker", Magnum Photos. Accessed 2010-01-21.
  55. 55.0 55.1 "David Hurn", Magnum Photos. Accessed 2010-01-21.
  56. "David Hurn", Magnum Photos. Accessed 2010-01-16.
  57. "Richard Kalvar", Magnum Photos. Accessed 2010-02-14.
  58. "Josef Koudelka", Magnum Photos. Accessed 2010-02-14.
  59. "Hiroji Kubota", Magnum Photos. Accessed 2010-02-14.
  60. "Hiroji Kubota", Magnum Photos. Accessed 2010-02-14.
  61. "Sergio Larrain", Magnum Photos. Accessed 2010-02-14.
  62. 62.0 62.1 "Guy Le Querrec", Magnum Photos. Accessed 2010-02-17.
  63. 63.0 63.1 "Erich Lessing", Magnum Photos. Accessed 2010-02-17.
  64. "Erich Lessing", Magnum Photos. Accessed 2010-01-16.
  65. "Herbert List", Magnum Photos. Accessed 2010-02-21.
  66. 66.0 66.1 "Alex Majoli", Magnum Photos. Accessed 2010-02-21.
  67. 67.0 67.1 "Constantine Manos", Magnum Photos. Accessed 2010-02-21.
  68. "Peter Marlow", Magnum Photos. Accessed 2010-01-16.
  69. "http://web.me.com/fredmayer/Web-Site/fred_mayer_and_magnum.html
  70. "Steve McCurry", Magnum Photos. Accessed 2010-01-16.
  71. 71.0 71.1 "Susan Meiselas", Magnum Photos. Accessed 2010-03-07.
  72. "Wayne Miller", Magnum Photos. Accessed 2010-03-07.
  73. 73.0 73.1 "Inge Morath", Magnum Photos. Accessed 2010-03-07.
  74. 74.0 74.1 "Trent Parke", Magnum Photos. Accessed 2010-03-20
  75. http://www.guardian.co.uk/artanddesign/gallery/2011/apr/19/photography-henricartierbresson#/?picture=373813578&index=9
  76. 76.0 76.1 "Martin Parr", Magnum Photos. Accessed 2010-03-20
  77. 77.0 77.1 "Paolo Pellegrin", Magnum Photos. Accessed 2010-03-20
  78. 78.0 78.1 "Gilles Peress", Magnum Photos. Accessed 2010-03-20
  79. 79.0 79.1 "Gueorgui Pinkhassov", Magnum Photos. Accessed 2010-03-20
  80. 80.0 80.1 "Mark Power", Magnum Photos. Accessed 2010-03-20
  81. "Miguel Rio Branco", Magnum Photos. 16 January 2009.
  82. "Ferdinando Scianna", Magnum Photos. Accessed 2010-01-16.
  83. "Marilyn Silverstone", Magnum Photos. Accessed 2010-01-16.
  84. Shadow and Substance (McGraw-Hill, 1989), p. 397: "'I think it will be more interesting, and more profitable - with more work used, and uniquely used.' That was the positive view. The negative aspect is found in a draft for a letter to Magnum in which Gene tried to respond to a recent decision by Magnum's members to censure him: 'I stand thoroughly censured, I'm broke, desperate, tired - however, the censure is right, I am guilty. I trust that the photographers of Magnum are willing to stand on their public recors. I trust that the photographers of Magnum are willing that I publicly evaluate them accordingly as they have achieved. I am not interested in their excuses accordingly to their private confessions. Their blames, including Smith, will not be of my concern.'"
  85. Shadow and Substance, p. 398.
  86. "Alec Soth", Magnum Photos. Accessed 2010-01-16.
  87. Miller, Magnum, p,268.
  88. "Dennis Stock", Magnum Photos. Accessed 2010-01-16.
  89. 89.0 89.1 http://www.burkuzzle.com
  90. "Peter van Agtmael", Magnum Photos. Accessed 2010-01-16.
  91. Miller, Magnum, pp. 4951.
  92. Miller, Magnum, pp. 6667.
  93. "John Vink", Magnum Photos. Accessed 2010-01-16.
  94. "Donovan Wylie", Magnum Photos. Accessed 2010-01-16.

External links

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