When do certain photographs become icons that enter the collective memory? Why are they published, and how do they later end up in archives? Magnum. A World of Photography, FOTO ARSENAL WIEN’s inaugural exhibition, takes a look at unknown and secret working structures at the legendary agency Magnum Photos.
Setting the Tone in International Photojournalism Following World War II, photography was brought into our living rooms primarily through daily newspapers and magazines. Founded in 1947, the agency Magnum Photos not only decisively stood up for the image rights of photographers; it also set the tone in international photojournalism.
“It is hard to imagine that there is even one person in the world who is not familiar with at least one photograph from Magnum. In this exhibition we in-vestigate how that is possible. To this end, we have dug up some treasures from the archives that have never been shown in public before and will not be repeated in this form,” explains Felix Hoffmann, curator of the exhibition and artistic director of FOTO ARSENAL WIEN.
Insight into the Hidden Processes of Agency Work
The group exhibition Magnum: A World of Photography focuses on the working process of the famous agency and addresses the social significance of photography as a widespread cultural technique. Parts of the Mag-num archives have been made accessible for the first time in this show. In the past it was inconceivable to view the raw material and experience the creation of a “finished” photograph; the selection of images, the work with contact sheets, and the production of prints were hidden from the public to a great extent. These formerly hidden processes are revealed for the first time in this exhibition. Visitors can vividly experience the creation of a photograph and peer over the shoulders of Magnum photographers at work—from Robert Capa and Inge Morath to Eli Reed.
Assessing the Magnum Archives: Three Hundred Images and Objects from Seven Decades
Presented chronologically, the exhibition presents over three hundred photographs and objects from seven decades of world events and agency history, including impressive photo essays from World War II; icons such as Che Guevara, Muhammad Ali, and Malcolm X; trackside mourners paying their last respects to Robert F. Kennedy; life on the subway in New York; and portraits of the British royal family.
Panorama of Reportage Photography
These historical testimonies are placed in dialogue with contemporary perspectives. Susan Meiselas, Bieke Repoorter, and Rafał Milach further develop them in a sociopolitical future. This creates a unique panorama of reportage photography that makes the transformative power of the medium tangible—from the iconic events of the past to the pressing questions of the present.
