揹相機的革命家：用眼睛撼動世界的馬格南傳奇

by Russell Miller, 盧塞爾．米勒, 徐家樹 (Translator)

馬格南，他們定義了新聞攝影！
對馬格南的成員來說，攝影不只是視覺的延伸，
更是他們對世界的思索、批判和滔滔雄辯……
他們永遠站在事件最前線，透過鏡頭，
讓我們看盡世間的戰爭與災難、進步與變遷、荒謬與尊嚴，
也證明了攝影是我們這時代最具穿透力、最令人信服的藝術形式。
這是一本紀錄馬格南攝影師的珍貴傳記，
揭露照片背後更精采的故事。
他們是揹著相機的革命家，也是世界的眼睛。

「如果你的照片不夠好，那是因為你靠得不夠近。」──羅伯．卡帕（馬格南創始成員）

「馬格南是一個思想的團體，是人性的共享，是對世界事務的求知，對事實的尊重，對理想的視覺化轉述，這一切使馬格南生存至今。」──亨利．卡提耶－布列松（馬格南創始成員）

他們是一群特立獨行的怪傑，也是擅長用影像說故事的天才，他們具備敏感的視覺、睿智的頭腦、勇敢的精神、執著的毅力以及最真實的人性。

一九四七年春，享負盛名的戰地攝影師羅伯．卡帕延攬了三位志同道合的好友：亨利．卡提耶－布列松、喬治．羅傑跟大衛．西摩，共同創立了「馬格南圖片社」。原本他們只是想擺脫雜誌編輯的束縛，更自由地拍自己想拍的題材，沒想到卻因此開啟了一個偉大的時代，「馬格南」這個名字也與世界發生的重大事件緊緊聯結在一起。

本書是一本馬格南圖片社傑出攝影師們的傳記，並且以一種特殊的視角，逼真地重現半個多世紀以來，馬格南成員如何在槍林彈雨的第一線目擊各種戰爭與衝突。像是：西班牙內戰、二次世界大戰、蘇聯關上鐵幕、中國大陸易幟、以色列獨立戰爭、南非屠殺黑人、韓戰跟越戰等等。透過馬格南的作品，讓我們從戰爭與災難中看到人類的愚蠢與荒謬。這些深深觸動人心、感動好幾個世代的不朽作品，都是馬格南攝影師冒著生命的危險，甚至付出生命的代價才能換得。

透過本書的生動介紹，我們也跟著馬格南攝影師前往第一線目睹改變世界的人與事。例如布列松在國共戰爭末期在北京及上海親眼目睹的末世景象；以及布列松在印度與聖雄甘地會談後不久，甘地隨即遇刺；有中國通之稱的馬克呂布在文化大革命時期與周恩來晤談；雷內．布里在古巴現場捕捉到卡斯楚與切格瓦拉的革命家風采；以及，馬格南攝影師們所呈現好萊塢巨星詹姆斯狄恩、瑪麗蓮夢露的萬種風情等等。

本書不只第一手敘說這些偉大照片背後的故事，也毫不諱言這個不同凡響的家庭成員，個個都是些脾氣暴躁、喜怒無常的怪傑，團體裡充斥著莫名的猜忌、奇怪的愛恨糾葛、與持久的路線爭論。但直到今天，他們的圖片仍然不斷地挑釁、戳刺著著人類的良知，繼續令這個愈形憤世嫉俗的世界動搖、驚愕，繼續彌合新聞攝影與藝術之間的鴻溝。

Genres: Photography, History, Art, Journalism, Nonfiction, Art and Photography, Business

416 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1997

About the author

Russell Miller (born c. 1938) is a British journalist and author of fifteen books, including biographies of Hugh Hefner, J. Paul Getty and L. Ron Hubbard. While under contract to The Sunday Times Magazine he won four press awards and was voted Writer of the Year by the Society of British Magazine Editors.

Reviews

[Gaetano Laureanti · Rating 4 out of 5]

Magnum Photos è una sorta di cooperativa, fondata nel 1947 da un pugno di grandi ed appassionati fotografi ormai mitici quali Robert Capa, Henri Cartier-Bresson, George Rodger e David Seymour (Chim per gli amici), accomunati dagli ideali liberali ed antifascisti che avevano già professato prima della Guerra; chi documentando le tremende condizioni in cui lavoravano e vivevano gli operai, chi frequentando gli intellettuali parigini, socialisti e comunisti, che animavano appassionate discussioni sul futuro dell’Europa.

Questo libro del giornalista inglese Russell Miller, scritto nel 1999, è stato pubblicato in Italia solo nel 2016, alle soglie del settantesimo anniversario della leggendaria agenzia.

Leggerlo è stato interessante perché mi ha fatto conoscere meglio alcuni personaggi e scoprirne altri che non conoscevo, tutti affratellati dalla passione per la documentazione fotografica della storia, nei suoi momenti più o meno bui, cercando di restare liberi dai condizionamenti esterni, economici e politici.

E dietro tutte le vicende e testimonianze descritte echeggia il rombo della storia: dalla guerra di Spagna documentata da Capa alla Cina ed all’India di Cartier-Bresson, dalla guerra del Kippur a quella del Vietnam, alla Cuba di Che Guevara (sì, la mitica foto del Che con il sigaro è di un membro della Magnum, René Burri), dalle stragi della polizia sudafricana a Sharpeville documentate da Ian Berry (le sue foto salvarono i dimostranti sopravvissuti che erano stati arrestati e processati) al Nicaragua fotografato da Susan Meiselas, dalla guerra del Golfo alla ex Jugoslavia ed alla tragedia della Cecenia degli anni Novanta.

Le barricate del ’68 a Parigi, la primavera di Praga (1968), Il Bloody Sunday in Irlanda (1972), la rivolta degli studenti cinesi in piazza Tienanmen (1989), insomma tutti gli avvenimenti più importanti della nostra epoca hanno sempre visto in prima linea gli inviati Magnum, di fatto “gli occhi del mondo”, con le loro immagini che ancora oggi sono delle vere e proprie icone popolari.

Ho appreso delle liti, delle rivalità tra i membri delle sedi di Parigi e New York, gelosie, invidie e dispetti, insomma aspetti più umani di quei personaggi solo in apparenza sovrumani. L’alternanza di aneddoti con interviste e riflessioni sul fotogiornalismo ed i suoi aspetti negli anni rende la lettura mai noiosa.

Mi ha sorpreso così sapere che Magnum è stata spesso sull’orlo del fallimento, probabilmente perché i soci non sono mai stati dei buoni (forse neanche mediocri) manager, lasciando per tanto tempo nel caos persino gli archivi che, secondo me, sono oggi la cosa più preziosa dell’agenzia.

Una lettura scorrevole per conoscere meglio i maestri della fotografia e le storie umane che albergano dietro gli scatti più famosi della nostra epoca.

[Francesco · Rating 3 out of 5]

Aspetti noti e meno noti sull’agenzia di fotogiornalismo più importante al mondo. Un racconto che rincorre gli eventi più importanti degli ultimi cinquant’anni di storia. Bellissimo il capitolo su Eugene Smith.

[Nuno de Oliveira · Rating 2 out of 5]

“As a photographer you see things first hand, things that haven’t been filtered through some process of manipulation, so the more you see, the more - hopefully - you understand. The more you understand, the more you see, and in this process you become wiser. That is the principle.”

[Marlene · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is about the first 50 years of the Magnum Photo Agency. It is an agency run by the photographers who are members. This is quite a feat as the photographers are all individual thinkers who aren't really into compromise. Miller describes some of the individual photographers and interviewed many of them. Their opinions are quite varied. Along with stories of the agency and stories about some of the photographers were also stories BY some of the photographers about their adventures, especially in places at war or occurring riots or other dangerous situations. I found those very interesting and gained a new appreciation of photo journalism.

[Karl · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is a wonderful account of an organization that has been praised for the last 70 years. Yet it is very interesting to see how dysfunctional it is internally and how it’s fame is more an external image created by a few photographers than a living reality. Now being in 2022, it would be great to see how it has been done in the time since the book was published, which is nearly 25 years.

[Ryan · Rating 3 out of 5]

A vaguely interesting, highly romantic, not terribly granular, look at the world's premier photo agency (Hmmm, I think I may have been taken in by the author's unmitigated love of Magnum, dysfunctional though it may be). In the author's defense, any one of the photographers from Magnum's first 40 years of existence would rate biographies of their own; indeed Robert Capa has more than one, as does Cartier-Bresson (who does not always come off terribly well in this tale). A truly thorough-going history of Magnum would be a project the scale of Caro's LBJ opus and would have a decidedly limited audience. This gives a very quick overview of Magnum and the various periods in which it's existed. It leans far more heavily on the early years, indeed the 80s and 90s seem to unfold in something like 20 pages, leading one to think that work by Nachtwey, Steele-Perkins and Abbas got short shrift. Buy this book used like I did or, better still, buy books full of Magnum's photos, they're the better value.

[Hung-ya · Rating 5 out of 5]

Reading this book was an absolutely intense and fruitful journey. Such a privilege to know some insight stories of Magnum. Yes, it is composed of the world’ s best photographers and have therefore produced enormous amounts of historical moments under their lens. What we were aware of was, in fact, the very conflict of running Magnum itself when it comes to management. Such inflicting nature to recruit so many masterminds under one roof and to even try to “manage” them.

Fantastic stories within this volume and it really reflects on historical momentums and provides you with food for thought.

[Arah · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was an exhausting read, and not entirely in a good way. I skipped the last 20 pages, as I guessed it would be just another round of Magnum's concoction of great photography, poor (and yet somehow sustainable) management, and melodrama. I don't often choose to skip the ending of a book.

That said, the book is a great ride through 50 years of incredible photojournalism, and it was enjoyable to learn more about some of the personalities in Magnum's history.

[titi · Rating 5 out of 5]

Every aspiring photographer dreams of joining the Magnum (and the National Geographic) for the adventures it promises, and this book offers a more profound reason to attain that elusive dream - social and political relevance.

[Michael Dundon · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is the classic story of art versus business. Many of the photographers seem brilliant, but others petty and selfish. I don't know how Magnum has lasted for as long as it has, but even with the childish behavior, I'm glad it's still there.

[Timo · Rating 4 out of 5]

Brilliant storytelling, less so a history study. Enjoyed every page of it.

[Teri Cooper · Rating 4 out of 5]

Tells the wonderful story of the building of a photographic icon - Magnum Photos.

[Shane · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book is kind of interesting if you are interested in Magnum, but it's mostly gossip.

[Ismail Nur · Rating 5 out of 5]

İt was an amazing book. I've got so much information about Magnum Photos and i rocommend this book for beginner press photographers, you will learn many things from this book.

[Zorislav Stojanovic · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved every page of it :)

[Bob Peru · Rating 4 out of 5]

hardcore.

[Leslie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Exhausting - Magnum I mean, not the author. Recommended!