Magnum Manifesto

 In this landmark photography publication and accompanying exhibition, Clement Cheroux demonstrates how Magnum Photos owes its pre-eminence to the ability of its photographers to encompass and navigate the points between photography as art object and photography as documentary evidence. A Magnum photograph can be expressive and bear witness at the same time. Magnum Manifesto is organized into three main parts: Part 1 (1947-1968) views the Magnum archive through a humanist lens, focusing on post-war ideals of commonality and utopianism. Part 2 (1969-1989) shows a world fragmenting, with a focus on subcultures, minorities and outsiders. Part 3 (1990-present day) charts the ways in which Magnum photographers have captured - and continue to capture - a world in flux and under threat. Featuring both group and individual projects, the book includes contact sheets, notebooks, magazine spreads and other previously unseen material to accompany the photographs. Complete with extensive texts by Clement Cheroux and photographic historian Clara Bouveresse, Magnum Manifesto is an essential purchase for anyone seeking to understand the very best in photography.

Review: 'From the wake of the war, through the Cuban revolution to the fall of the Berlin Wall and 9/11, the history of Magnum is the history of our world. Here are the images to prove it' - The Herald

'An epic tome that charts the history and cultural impact of this legendary organization' - Amateur Photographer

'An immense visual record of the second half of the 20th century ... many-faceted, contradictory, yet utterly compelling' - Black & White Photography

'A vital compendium of documentary photography from the past seventy years' - RA Magazine

'An absolutely essential book on the most important photographers collective the world has ever seen' - Cellophaneland

'Magnum Manifesto, published to mark the 70th anniversary of an organisation which, as the book reminds us, was named after both champagne bottles and revolvers. The pictures capture the past seven decades with a violence and effervescence worthy of that name' - Daily Telegraph

'Essential reading for anyone wanting to get beyond the myths and find out the inside story on this inspirational organization' - RPS Journal

'An important read for anyone interested in Magnum's beginnings and development, indeed anyone interested in photography in any way' - Shutterhub

'The epitome of top-drawer photography' - Irish Times

'An absorbing insight to the career of some of the greatest exponents of the camera art' - State 

 

 

Preface: May 22, 1947 * Part I, 1947-1968: Human Rights and Wrongs * Part II, 1969-1989: An Inventory of Differences * Part III, 1990-2017: Stories About Endings * Epilogue: 'Magnum Is...'