Magnum Landscape - Hardcover

Jeffrey, Ian; Peretz, Henri

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0714836427 ISBN 13: 9780714836423

Publisher: Phaidon Press, 2001

Synopsis

Landscape, says Henri Peretz, is the photographic genre which above all others "sets in competition the simple viewer, the painter, the amateur and professional photographer." This book, which marks the 50th anniversary of the Magnum Photo Agency, collects images by some of the most imaginative photographers of the century. Many have the eye of great painters: Henri Cartier-Bresson's study of picnickers on the bank of the River Marne is like a Renoir brought to life, while Bruno Barbey's exquisite color image of soldiers descending the hills of Kurdistan has the quality of an Albert Bierstadt canvas. There are some wonderfully surreal visions here too, such as Bruce Davidson's shot of the Statue of Liberty with a New Jersey junkyard in the foreground, and Richard Kalvar's image of a naked man on the Brooklyn Bridge.

About this title

About the Author

Ian Jeffrey is a photography writer, lecturer and curator. His other books include The Photography Book also published by Phaidon, Portraits of Artists (2000) and Revisions: An Alternative History of Photography (1999).

Review

"A collection of cracking landscapes from members of the world renowned picture agency."-Practical Photography "An inspiring and diverse collection."-Amateur Photographer "One of the most successful photography books of this year. To shamelessly pilfer the joke of the great Dorothy Parker: me Leica."-Wallpaper* "Haunting images from around the world. I'll guarantee it will change the way you look through your viewfinder when you get out the Instamatic."-BBC Homes & Antiques "Informal and interesting."-What's on in Birmingham "The book illustrates the power of the still photograph to put an alternative slant on reality... Magnum Landscape inspires the viewer to consider our relationship with the earth and its role as a changing backdrop to human affairs."-Landscape Design "The 184 pages here present a range of styles and formats... But despite the apparent heterogeneity of the collected images, there emerges in the pages... a certain unity, an approach to documenting the physical world that is uniquely Magnum's. This approach is rooted in the belief that the very idea of landscape depends on people's participation in it... But... these photographers avoid the cliche of people's role as destroyer and turn their attention instead to those scenes where human entry into the landscape seems almost tentative, human control tenuous or at risk: Burri's image of a sand-covered road in Abu Dhabi, for example, or Larry Towell's cover photograph of Mexican Mennonite women caught in a dust storm. It is images such as these that we find Magnum Landscape's particular power... Readers of this book will certainly come away with... an appreciation of the work of some of Magnum's lesser-known members... The photographs in this book are strong enough to speak for themselves. They comprise, without question, a powerful collective vision of the world. For that reason, Magnum Landscape is a necessary volume, one which illustrates that Magnum photographers have produced some of the very best work in a crowded, too-often tired genre."-The Photo Review "The Magnum book stretches the definition of landscape..."-The Picture Professional "If you want to see how some of the finest photographers in the world approach landscape, pick up this book... These images... offer a real who's who of photographers..."-Colorado Springs Gazette "Bestseller in an attractive matt, small, landscape format."-The Art Newspaper

Edition details

• Publisher: Phaidon Press
• Publication date: 2001
• ISBN 10: 0714836427
• ISBN 13: 9780714836423
• Binding: Hardcover
• Language: English
• Number of pages: 184