Things As They Are: Photojournalism in Context Since 1955 - Hardcover

Mary Panzer; Christian Caujolle

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 1597110140 ISBN 13: 9781597110143

Publisher: Aperture, 2006

Synopsis

Things as They Are presents the story of photojournalism over the past five decades, from 1955 until today. Published in collaboration with World Press Photo on the occasion of its fiftieth anniversary, the book takes us from the golden era of the illustrated press--the heyday of Life magazine and Picture Post, and the moment of The Museum of Modern Art's defining Family of Man exhibition--to the twenty-first century's explosion of digital media. This history is told through the presentation of 125 photojournalistic features shot and published around the world, shown in context on the pages of newspapers and magazines as the public originally experienced them. In this way, Things as They Are reveals how the events of the world, the art of photographers and the interests of publishers and the press converged on the printed page. It traces how photojournalism has developed over time alongside changing technology, media, fashions in photography, and a changing world. And it does so using landmark photo-essays from some of the greatest photographers in the world, including W. Eugene Smith, Sebastiao Salgado, Mary Ellen Mark, James Nachtwey, Annie Liebovitz, Nan Goldin and Henri Cartier-Bresson. Each project is accompanied by expert commentary. An international panel of 100 specialists--photographers, editors, art directors, historians and magazine collectors--made the final selections. They chose stories that exemplified the highest quality of work published internationally during each period, stories that demonstrated important innovations in photography and in publishing, and stories that played a key role in shaping the history of photojournalism itself.

About this title

About the Author

Mary Panzer taught at Rhode Island School of Design, University of Kansas, New York University and Hunter College and was curator of photographs at the National Portrait Gallery (Smithsonain Institute) in Washington, DC.

Review

"Throughout Things As They are, we are reminded of a lesson that hasn't changed, even in an era when the most naïve Internet or camera-phone snapshot can pass for journalism (the Tsunami, Abu Ghraib): the power of photographs is still the intimate cohort of applied arts like typography, pacing, cropping (or not cropping); in short, the partner of a mix of skill sets that goes well beyond those that create an image in the first place." -- Jim Cornfield --Rangefinder

"Taking the reader from the golden era of the illustrated press to the explosion of digital media in the 21st century, Things as They Are traces how photojournalism has developed over time and how the events of the world, the art of photographers, and the interests of publishers and the press converged on the printed page." -- Lindsay E. Dygert --Focus: Fine Art Photography Magazine

"'Things As They Are'... surveys the quest to chronicle world events without altering the situation on the other side of the lens. But rather than single images -- the usual 'best of photojournalism' approach -- the book is made up of 120 photo essays published in the second half of the 20th century. The essays appear as they did in the original magazine and newspaper layouts, giving a fuller historic record of how the photographs, along with the texts, shaped our view of the world." -- Philip Gefter --The New York Times

"Things as They Are is not a book designed to make its owner feel comfortable. It exists to provoke--and make one appreciate the rare photographers and even rarer publications still loyal to that mission." -- Jason Gay --GQ

"...by including magazine work by Avedon, Weber, Diane Arbus, Helmut Newton, Daido Moriyama, Wolfgang Tillmans, Martin Parr, and others, the editors expand the focus and underline the importance of magazines as showcases and repositories of that collective memory." -- Vince Aletti --Photograph

"The talent, variety and dedication displayed by the photographers are breathtaking, and the dash and daring of the editors and designers are inspiring. One can't help wondering if we'll ever see a mass audience arise again with enough in common to support such a creative outburst." -- Phil Harris -- Photo-Eye Magazine

"Good photojournalism allows for integrated understanding. We need these graphic examples of human suffering (and joy) to deal honestly with social questions. We cannot afford to lose the truths so eloquently stated and shown in 'Things as They Are.'" -- John Huddleston --The Chicago Tribune

About this edition

• Publisher: Aperture
• Publication date: 2006
• ISBN 10: 1597110140
• ISBN 13: 9781597110143
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 384