[Leica] Magnum; the history

[TWBurton@aol.com (by way of Eric Welch <TWBurton@aol.com>)]

Everyone,

A friend of mine Tom Burton of the Orlando Sentinel posted this on the
National Press Photographers list about a new book on Magnum. Sounds like a
page turner! 

==========================snip==================

Grove Press has just published Russel Miller's "Magnum: Fifty Years on the
Front Line of History." It's a quick read and there are plenty on interesting
stories about some of the most talented photographers of our era. It's not a
picture book, so if you are not familiar with the work of these photographers
you may want to peek at "In Our Time: The World As Seen by Magnum
Photographers" which was published in 1989.

Magnum was founded by Robert Capa, Henri Cartier-Bresson, Chim (David Seymour)
and George Rodger. It is a photographer's co-operative run by the members and
it is dedicated to supporting photographers in their personal work. It is very
exclusive. You have to be invited by a Magnum member in order to join and then
you are subjected to a review process of several years before you can become a
full member. They have annual meetings where the photographers get together to
party, argue and decide the course of Magnum.

When reading the book, I noticed some similarities between Magnum and the
NPPA-L. Some of the topics hotly debated by the Magnum photographers that
sounded familiar include:

- - Copyright ownership. Magnum was one of the first groups to propose that the
photographers retain the ownership of their images. This was a revolutionary
concept just after WWII and some people credit Magnum with introducing this
idea.

_ Art vs. Journalism. Good friends Capa and Cartier-Bresson couldn't have
been more different in terms of their photography. But they still held some
common beliefs in the power of photography. The debate continues (often in
heated terms) within Magnum.

- - Commercial vs. Editorial. The photographers who take on corporate accounts
and make money for Magnum are often criticized by those members who stick
exclusively to personal work that often makes little or no money. There is a
friction between selling out for the cash or starving for principles. (note:
someone like Eugene Richards rarely makes more than $20,000 a year, according
to Miller)

- - Business management. The photographers are the bosses at Magnum and
consequently, the organization is often a disaster. The NPPA management fiasco
has the flavor of a Magnum crisis.

- - Factions. The Paris office photographers think there is a conspiracy in the
New York office. The New York office KNOWS there is a conspiracy in the Paris
office. (On the NPPA-L, the factions seems to break between big paper/small
paper or staffers vs. freelancers. Like Magnum, for nor apparent reason.)


- - The debates NEVER end. Elliot Erwitt talks about how "tiresome" the
meetings
can become because the debates go on and on and on. Every year. It's like a
family reunion where the siblings bicker.

Of course, the main difference between Magnum and NPPA-L is the talent level.
Magnum is a small group of very, very talented photographers. One can't get in
the door if they aren't first an innovative photographer. Not just good, but
exceptional. For the NPPA-L, the only requirement is a modem. In fact, one of
our regular contributors proclaims that individual's credentials should mean
nothing in the discourse. At Magnum, everyone comes with serious credentials.
(These folks are soooo serious about personal work that some members scoff at
Magnum members who lower themselves to shoot for National Geographic!)
But maybe "Credentials" is a poor choice of words. Magnum photographers are
first judged by their photography and then by how well they fit into the
Magnum
philosophy. Many, and perhaps most, of the Magnum photographers are self-
taught and do not have important awards before they join Magnum. I made the
mistake of labeling a photographer's talent and their motivation as
"credentials."  Every member of Magnum is an outstanding photographer.

The Magnum book is worth the time, if you like to read. If nothing else, you
can find out what Sabastiao Salgado was wearing and how much his pictures
earned from the Reagan assassination attempt. And there are interviews with
Cartier-Bresson, Eve Arnold, Steve McCurry, Susan Meiselas and more.

Tom Burton
The Orlando Sentinel