DOCSLIB.ORG

Robert Capa and Agustí Centelles Against the Backdrop of the Spanish

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text
Robert Capa and Agustí Centelles Against the Backdrop of the Spanish The photojournalist as a myth: Robert Capa and Agustí Centelles against the backdrop of the Spanish Civil War El fotoperiodista como mito: Robert Capa y Agustí Centelles ante la guerra civil española TERESA FERRÉ PANISELLO1 DOI: https://doi.org/10.32870/cys.v0i33.6913 http://orcid.org/0000-0001-9325-9422 Eighty years after the modernisation of the myth of the war photographer through the figure of Robert Capa during the Spanish Civil War, this article will examine its development and the process of mythification, drawing parallels with Agustí Centelles during the transition to democracy. From that period onwards, media comparisons between the two have been constant, overshadowing the other professionals who covered the conflict, which was ground-breaking from the perspective of visual communication. KEYWORDS: Photojournalism, Robert Capa, Agustí Centelles, Spanish Civil War, Myth. Ochenta años después de la modernización del mito del fotógrafo de guerra con la figura de Robert Capa durante la guerra civil española, analizamos su evolución y el proceso de mitificación por analogía en torno a Agustí Centelles en la Transición. Desde entonces la comparación mediática entre ambos es constante, eclipsando al resto de profesionales que cubrieron aquel conflicto, innovador desde la perspectiva de la comunicación visual. PALABRAS CLAVE: Fotoperiodismo, Robert Capa, Agustí Centelles, guerra civil española, Mito. 1 Departament de Mitjans, Comunicació i Cultura. Universitat Autònoma de Barce- lona, Spain. E-mail: [email protected] Submitted: 10/07/17. Accepted: 13/12/2017. Published: 19/12/2018. Comunicación y Sociedad, 33, September-December, 2018, pp. 237-254. 237 238 Teresa Ferré Panisello THE CAMERA GOES TO WAR War has been a constant feature throughout history and it has been depicted in the arts at particular times, using different techniques and with differing agendas. The medium of photography was no exception, although, as Monegal and Torres (2004) have shown, it soon became clear that the result would be different from classical pictorial representations of war. The first photographs of war taken using daguerreotypes were of the 1846 conflict between the USA and Mexico over the occupation of Texas. But it was the Crimean War (1853-1856) that was considered to be the first in which the press showed an interest in photography, publishing images taken by Roger Fenton (Sousa, 2003, p. 32). It is worth noting that, according to Freund (1999, p. 97), some of them were censored so as not to frighten the families of the soldiers. In 1863, over 300 photographers captured the American Civil War on camera, although “many fell into oblivion because their photos were attributed to Matthew G. Brady” (Newhall, 2002, pp. 88-89). From 1898 onwards, during the Cuban War of Independence, the American mass media made “abundant use of the images, including forged, staged, and unreliable photographs, thus contributing to the fever of war and to the circulation of the newspapers themselves” (Sousa, 2003, p. 34). It was in the context of the new century, as Lebeck and Von Dewitz assert (2002), that photojournalism as narration developed in illustrated magazines, with the images being organized both chronologically and thematically, usually provided by a photographer whose name began to be included at that time. With regard to the content, the pages were filled with disasters, leisure activities, panoramic views of life in the cities, and technological and sporting achievements. Among of the mythological creations constructed by the mass media, some related to the profession of journalism itself. One of the most popular was that of the war correspondent, usually imagined—thanks to cinematic and literary fiction—as a photographer or operator of a television camera. Barthes states in Mitologías [Mythologies] (2000), that the myth is a message, a means of signifying. If we consider the war photojournalist as a myth, the message is a strong, adventurous, elegant, seductive man, who is constantly risking his life. The photojournalist as a myth: ... 239 The Cuban War of Independence was significant for photojournalism because, as Gervais (2010) points out, it saw the birth of the myth of the war photographer in the press, evolving “from the status of artist to photographer”, and the construction of a sequential narrative of war, starting with images of the front and ending with the transport of the wounded. Gervais examines the work of James Hare (1856-1946), who was sent by Collier’s to cover his first war, although he also sent photographs to other American newspapers and European illustrated magazines such as the Berliner Illustrirte Zeitung or L’Illustration. According to Roth (1997, p. 227): “His coverage of the Spanish American War elevated him to the top ranks of the photojournalism of his day” (Gervais, 2010). The worldwide fame that Hare enjoyed a century ago bears no relation to current knowledge of him; a fact that makes him an obvious example of Barthes’ (2000) idea that there are no eternal myths, since mythology can only have a historical foundation. This article was borne out of a recurring question: why, eighty years on, has the profession of photojournalism in the Spanish Civil War been reduced to just one or, at most, two individuals? This research focuses on the figure of the war photographer as a mythical creation of the media. Its objective is to examine the causes of the modernization of this myth in the context of the Spanish Civil War (1936-1939), when Robert Capa was named as the world’s best photographer. The public figure of this photojournalist, whose identity was fictitious, and his presence for several decades as the sole point of reference will be considered based on a bibliographic review, which is necessary in order to show his influence on the process of the creation and popularization of the photographer known as the “Spanish Capa” or the “Catalan Capa”, Agustí Centelles (1909-1985). This work will undertake, for the first time, a comparative analysis of the two; at the same time, it will reveal previously unpublished evidence concerning the process of Centelles’ mythification, based on an analysis of journalistic resources comprising 52 articles from the Spanish press (newspapers and magazines) published between 1978 and 1982.2 These form part of the study of this 2 Works relating to exhibitions and books on Centelles published during the same period have also been consulted, as well as three television pro- 240 Teresa Ferré Panisello public figure, started by the author with the editing of his memoirs and her research into his period of exile in France. ROBERT CAPA: THE ENDURING MYTH OF THE MODERN WAR PHOTOGRAPHER From a communications perspective, it can be said that the Spanish Civil War was widely covered by the global media, set a standard for the Second World War, and saw a pioneering use of radio and sound film for propaganda. In the golden age of photojournalism, it was the battle in which the camera became the protagonist in representations of the war. The press was at its peak and in both foreign and national publications, the photographer’s bravery and the reference to the exclusivity of his images formed part of the journalistic narrative (Adam, Antebi, Ferré, & González, 2015). According to Colombo (1997), a new relationship emerged between photographer, camera and tragedy: The human point of view appears (participation, passion, compassion), which connects the author with the event, and the technical point of view (which also includes the aesthetic vision), which connects the author with his instrument and which is expressed in the frame, in the contrast, in the choice of the perfect moment and in the beauty of the opportunity (p.140). On a technical note, it is worth noting that small cameras were being used for the first time in war, although, according to López Mondejar: “the almost complete absence of universal standard negatives meant that many photographers were forced to revert to their old plate cameras” (1997, p. 299). The worldwide media sent correspondents to what appeared to be a coup d’état that would shortly be put down by the government. Meanwhile, photojournalists from Madrid and Barcelona, hubs of grammes, one of which concentrated solely on Centelles. A representative sample of the material will be cited here. The photojournalist as a myth: ... 241 media production and distribution, took to the streets camera in hand from July 1936 onwards. The working conditions of these photojournalists during the conflict are a key aspect that has not been studied in any detail. It is important to move away from the supposed solitary hero and to understand that they would have been granted permission to work, and were subject to the control and censorship of the authorities, as well as having to respect the laws enacted by the government in December 1936 which meant that they were obliged—among other things—to register any photographic equipment in their possession (Adam, Antebi, Ferré & González, 2015; Hernández Pin, 2010). Of the dozens of foreign and Spanish professionals who covered this war —most of them in the republican zone— only one became well known: Andrei Friedman (1913-1954),3 known internationally as Robert Capa. Towards the end of 1938, the English magazine Picture Post proclaimed him “the world’s best war photographer” for his report on the Battle of the Segre, which followed his reports on events in Madrid, Aragon and the Battle of the Ebro, among others (Whelan, 2007). He was 25 years old and this was his first war. Thus, the myth of the war photographer was modernized through a media that was in a constant state of technological development and a public that was fascinated by images reproduced technically in mass society. Unlike Hare, the modern myth was born out of a fictitious identity.
Load more

Recommended publications
  • The Global Visual Memory a Study of the Recognition and Interpretation of Iconic and Historical Photographs
    The Global Visual Memory A Study of the Recognition and Interpretation of Iconic and Historical Photographs Het Mondiaal Visueel Geheugen Een studie naar de herkenning en interpretatie van iconische en historische foto’s (met een samenvatting in het Nederlands) Proefschrift ter verkrijging van de graad van doctor aan de Universiteit Utrecht op gezag van de rector magnificus, prof.dr. H.R.B.M. Kummeling, ingevolge het besluit van het college voor promoties in het openbaar te verdedigen op woensdag 19 juni 2019 des middags te 2.30 uur door Rutger van der Hoeven geboren op 4 juni 1974 te Amsterdam Promotor: Prof. dr. J. Van Eijnatten Table of Contents Abstract 2 Preface 3 Introduction 5 Objectives 8 Visual History 9 Collective Memory 13 Photographs as vehicles of cultural memory 18 Dissertation structure 19 Chapter 1. History, Memory and Photography 21 1.1 Starting Points: Problems in Academic Literature on History, Memory and Photography 21 1.2 The Memory Function of Historical Photographs 28 1.3 Iconic Photographs 35 Chapter 2. The Global Visual Memory: An International Survey 50 2.1 Research Objectives 50 2.2 Selection 53 2.3 Survey Questions 57 2.4 The Photographs 59 Chapter 3. The Global Visual Memory Survey: A Quantitative Analysis 101 3.1 The Dataset 101 3.2 The Global Visual Memory: A Proven Reality 105 3.3 The Recognition of Iconic and Historical Photographs: General Conclusions 110 3.4 Conclusions About Age, Nationality, and Other Demographic Factors 119 3.5 Emotional Impact of Iconic and Historical Photographs 131 3.6 Rating the Importance of Iconic and Historical Photographs 140 3.7 Combined statistics 145 Chapter 4.
    [Show full text]
  • The Perceived Credibility of Professional Photojournalism Compared to User-Generated Content Among American News Media Audiences
    Syracuse University SURFACE Dissertations - ALL SURFACE August 2020 THE PERCEIVED CREDIBILITY OF PROFESSIONAL PHOTOJOURNALISM COMPARED TO USER-GENERATED CONTENT AMONG AMERICAN NEWS MEDIA AUDIENCES Gina Gayle Syracuse University Follow this and additional works at: https://surface.syr.edu/etd Part of the Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons Recommended Citation Gayle, Gina, "THE PERCEIVED CREDIBILITY OF PROFESSIONAL PHOTOJOURNALISM COMPARED TO USER-GENERATED CONTENT AMONG AMERICAN NEWS MEDIA AUDIENCES" (2020). Dissertations - ALL. 1212. https://surface.syr.edu/etd/1212 This Dissertation is brought to you for free and open access by the SURFACE at SURFACE. It has been accepted for inclusion in Dissertations - ALL by an authorized administrator of SURFACE. For more information, please contact [email protected]. ABSTRACT This study examines the perceived credibility of professional photojournalism in context to the usage of User-Generated Content (UGC) when compared across digital news and social media platforms, by individual news consumers in the United States employing a Q methodology experiment. The literature review studies source credibility as the theoretical framework through which to begin; however, using an inductive design, the data may indicate additional patterns and themes. Credibility as a news concept has been studied in terms of print media, broadcast and cable television, social media, and inline news, both individually and between genres. Very few studies involve audience perceptions of credibility, and even fewer are concerned with visual images. Using online Q methodology software, this experiment was given to 100 random participants who sorted a total of 40 images labeled with photographer and platform information. The data revealed that audiences do discern the source of the image, in both the platform and the photographer, but also take into consideration the category of news image in their perception of the credibility of an image.
    [Show full text]
  • Ethics in Photojournalism: Past, Present, and Future
    Ethics in Photojournalism: Past, Present, and Future By Daniel R. Bersak S.B. Comparative Media Studies & Electrical Engineering/Computer Science Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 2003 SUBMITTED TO THE DEPARTMENT OF COMPARATIVE MEDIA STUDIES IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE DEGREE OF MASTER OF SCIENCE IN COMPARATIVE MEDIA STUDIES AT THE MASSACHUSETTS INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY SEPTEMBER, 2006 Copyright 2006 Daniel R. Bersak, All Rights Reserved The author hereby grants to MIT permission to reproduce and distribute publicly paper and electronic copies of this thesis document in whole or in part in any medium now known or hereafter created. Signature of Author: _____________________________________________________ Department of Comparative Media Studies, August 11, 2006 Certified By: ___________________________________________________________ Edward Barrett Senior Lecturer, Department of Writing Thesis Supervisor Accepted By: __________________________________________________________ William Uricchio Professor of Comparative Media Studies Director Ethics In Photojournalism: Past, Present, and Future By Daniel R. Bersak Submitted to the Department of Comparative Media Studies, School of Humanities, Arts, and Social Sciences on August 11, 2006, in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Science in Comparative Media Studies Abstract Like writers and editors, photojournalists are held to a standard of ethics. Each publication has a set of rules, sometimes written, sometimes unwritten, that governs what that publication considers to be a truthful and faithful representation of images to the public. These rules cover a wide range of topics such as how a photographer should act while taking pictures, what he or she can and can’t photograph, and whether and how an image can be altered in the darkroom or on the computer.
    [Show full text]
  • Photojournalism Photojournalism
    Photojournalism For this section, we'll be looking at photojournalism's impact on shaping people's opinions of the news & world events. Photojournalism From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Photojournalism is a particular form of journalism (the collecting, editing, and presenting of news material for publication or broadcast) that employs images in order to tell a news story. It is now usually understood to refer only to still images, but in some cases the term also refers to video used in broadcast journalism. Photojournalism is distinguished from other close branches of photography (e.g., documentary photography, social documentary photography, street photography or celebrity photography) by complying with a rigid ethical framework which demands that the work be both honest and impartial whilst telling the story in strictly journalistic terms. Photojournalists create pictures that contribute to the news media, and help communities connect with one other. Photojournalists must be well informed and knowledgeable about events happening right outside their door. They deliver news in a creative format that is not only informative, but also entertaining. Timeliness The images have meaning in the context of a recently published record of events. Objectivity The situation implied by the images is a fair and accurate representation of the events they depict in both content and tone. Narrative The images combine with other news elements to make facts relatable to audiences. Like a writer, a photojournalist is a reporter, but he or she must often make decisions instantly and carry photographic equipment, often while exposed to significant obstacles (e.g., physical danger, weather, crowds, physical access).
    [Show full text]
  • Telling Stories to a Different Beat: Photojournalism As a “Way of Life”
    Bond University DOCTORAL THESIS Telling stories to a different beat: Photojournalism as a “Way of Life” Busst, Naomi Award date: 2012 Link to publication General rights Copyright and moral rights for the publications made accessible in the public portal are retained by the authors and/or other copyright owners and it is a condition of accessing publications that users recognise and abide by the legal requirements associated with these rights. • Users may download and print one copy of any publication from the public portal for the purpose of private study or research. • You may not further distribute the material or use it for any profit-making activity or commercial gain • You may freely distribute the URL identifying the publication in the public portal. Telling stories to a different beat: Photojournalism as a “Way of Life” Naomi Verity Busst, BPhoto, MJ A thesis submitted in total fulfilment of the requirements of the degree of Doctor of Philosophy School of Media and Communication Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences Bond University February 2012 Abstract This thesis presents a grounded theory of how photojournalism is a way of life. Some photojournalists dedicate themselves to telling other people's stories, documenting history and finding alternative ways to disseminate their work to audiences. Many self-fund their projects, not just for the love of the tradition, but also because they feel a sense of responsibility to tell stories that are at times outside the mainstream media’s focus. Some do this through necessity. While most photojournalism research has focused on photographers who are employed by media organisations, little, if any, has been undertaken concerning photojournalists who are freelancers.
    [Show full text]
  • Engaged Observers: Documentary Photography Since the Sixties
    OBJECT LIST Engaged Observers: Documentary Photography since the Sixties At the J. Paul Getty Museum, the Getty Center June 29–November 14, 2010 1. Leonard Freed (American, 1929 - 2006) 5. Leonard Freed (American, 1929 - 2006) Demonstration, New York City, 1963 Georgia, 1965 Gelatin silver print Gelatin silver print Image: 25.9 x 35.4 cm (10 3/16 x 13 15/16 Image: 38.3 x 25.6 cm (15 1/16 x 10 1/16 in.) in.) Gift of Brigitte and Elke Susannah Freed. The Gift of Brigitte and Elke Susannah Freed. The J. Paul Getty Museum, Los Angeles, J. Paul Getty Museum, Los Angeles, 2008.59.3 2008.59.9 2. Leonard Freed (American, 1929 - 2006) 6. Leonard Freed (American, 1929 - 2006) March on Washington, Washington, D.C., Political Meeting, Harlem, 1963 August 28, 1963 Gelatin silver print Gelatin silver print Image: 33.2 x 25.2 cm (13 1/16 x 9 15/16 Image: 37.8 x 25.4 cm (14 7/8 x 10 in.) in.) Gift of Brigitte and Elke Susannah Freed. The The J. Paul Getty Museum, Los Angeles, J. Paul Getty Museum, Los Angeles, 2008.62.3 2008.59.4 7. Leonard Freed (American, 1929 - 2006) 3. Leonard Freed (American, 1929 - 2006) New York City, 1963 Johns Island, South Carolina, 1964 Gelatin silver print Gelatin silver print Image: 33.2 x 25.2 cm (13 1/16 x 9 15/16 Image: 25.7 x 34.9 cm (10 1/8 x 13 3/4 in.) in.) Gift of Brigitte and Elke Susannah Freed.
    [Show full text]
  • On Photography, History, and Memory in Spain Hispanic Issues on Line Debates 3 (2011)
    2 Remembering Capa, Spain and the Legacy of Gerda Taro, 1936–1937 Hanno Hardt Press photographs are the public memory of their times; their presence in the public sphere has contributed significantly to the pictures in our heads on which we rely for a better understanding of the world. Some photographs have a special appeal, or an extraordinary power, which makes them icons of a particular era. They stand for social or political events and evoke the spirit of a period in history. They also help define our attitudes towards people or nations and, therefore, are important sources of emotional and intellectual power. War photography, in particular, renders imagery of this kind and easily becomes a source of propaganda as well. The Spanish Civil War (1936–39) was the European testing ground for new weapons strategies by the Soviet Union and Nazi Germany. Both aided their respective sides in the struggle between a Popular Front government— supported mainly by left-wing parties, workers, and an educated middle class—and “Nationalist” forces supported by conservative interests, the military, clergy, and landowners. The conflict resulted in about 500,000 deaths, thousands of exiles, and in a dictatorship that lasted until Franco’s death in 1975. It was a time when large-scale antifascist movements such as the Republican army, the International Brigades, the Workers’ Party of Marxist Unification, and anarchist militias (the Iron Column) united in their struggle against the military rebellion led by Francisco Franco. Foreigners joined the International Brigade, organized in their respective units, e.g., the Lincoln Battalion (USA), the British Battalion (UK), the Dabrowski Battalion (Poland), the Mackenzie-Papineau Battalion (Canada), and the Naftali Botwin Company (Poland and Spain, including a Jewish unit).
    [Show full text]
  • How Has Photojournalism Framed the War in Afghanistan?
    How has photojournalism framed the war in Afghanistan? David Campbell PUBLICATION In Burke and Norfolk: Photographs from the War in Afghanistan, John Burke and Simon Norfolk (Stockport: Dewi Lewis, 2011). Images are central to contemporary geopolitics. We encounter other people and places though a “field of perceptible reality” enabled by visual representations.1 Photographs, paintings, video, film, computer games – each and every pictorial artefact - helps establish what can be represented and how it can be shown. In turn, those images are made possible by a series of historical, cultural and political frames.2 The field of perceptible reality that is the decade-long war in Afghanistan has been enacted in large part through news imagery and photojournalism. We have seen a steady stream of familiar pictures made up of allied forces, Afghan civilians, Taliban casualties and American military families. Photojournalism on the front line has focused on the military struggles of international forces as they combat an ‘elusive’ opponent, with soldiers and their weaponry front and centre. There is also an inevitable regularity to the style of these images. As Associated Press photographer David Guttenfelder notes, the work of photojournalists in Afghanistan “sometimes looks very uniform.”3 “Embedded journalism” has been a frame commonly focused upon to explain the nature and limits of what we do and don’t see. That analysis sometimes proceeds on the assumption that there was once a time when photography’s contribution to the field of perceptible reality was free from government controls. As Judith Butler claims in her assessment of the ethics of photography: Recent war photography departs significantly from the conventions of war photojournalism that were at work thirty or forty years ago, where the photographer or camera person would attempt to enter the action through angles and modes of access that sought to expose the war in ways that no government had planned.
    [Show full text]
  • THIS IS WAR ! ROBERT CAPA at WORK THIS IS ROBERT CAPA at Work WAR RICHARD WHELAN
    THIS IS WAR ! ROBERT CAPA AT WORK THIS IS ROBERT CAPA at work WAR RICHARD WHELAN Steidl CONTENTS “If your pictures aren’t good enough, you’re not close enough,” the renowned Robert Capa said about Director’s Foreword 6 photography. These words could just as easily apply to the philosophy shared by all of us at BNP Paribas, Introduction by Christopher Phillips 8 the bank for a changing world. Capa spent most of his professional life traveling internationally, becoming intimately involved with the people and events he recorded. His work, seen in this exhibition and accompanying catalogue, shows how that approach creates exceptional results. BNP Paribas follows the same approach at all our locations in eighty-five countries around the world. THIS IS WAR ! ROBERT CAPA AT WORK We take pride in getting close to our clients. We apply the insights we gain from that intimacy to deliver banking and finance solutions capable of meeting their individual needs. by Richard Whelan On behalf of my 150,000 colleagues around the world, let me express our thanks for being part of this exhibition of Capa’s distinguished work. Let me also congratulate the International Center of Photography for its exceptional work in helping people explore the possibilities of the art of photography. 1 Robert Capa and the Rise of the Picture Press 11 Please enjoy this book and the exhibition. 2 The Falling Soldier, 1936 53 3 China, 1938 88 Sincerely, 4 This Is War! The End of the Spanish Civil War in Catalonia, 1938–39 134 Everett Schenk Chief Executive Officer 5 D-Day, June 6, 1944 206 BNP Paribas North America 6 Leipzig, 1945 252 Chronology Checklist of the Exhibition Bibliography DIRECTOR’S FOREW0RD Few photographers of the last century have had such a broad and last- recorder; he had a point of view and that, more than any blind pursuit tinguished cultural historian, Richard’s magisterial biography of Capa, Other important contributors include Christian Passeri and Sylvain ing influence as Robert Capa.
    [Show full text]
  • Famous Journalist Research Project
    Famous Journalist Research Project Name:____________________________ The Assignment: You will research a famous journalist and present to the class your findings. You will introduce the ​ journalist, describe his/her major accomplishments, why he/she is famous, how he/she got his/her start in journalism, pertinent personal information, and be able answer any questions from the journalism class. You should make yourself an "expert" on this person. You should know more about the person than you actually present. You will need to gather your information from a wide variety of sources: Internet, TV, magazines, newspapers, etc. You must include a list of all sources you consult. For modern day journalists, you MUST read/watch something they have done. (ie. If you were presenting on Barbara Walters, then you must actually watch at least one interview/story she has done, or a portion of one, if an entire story isn't available. If you choose a writer, then you must read at least ONE article written by that person.) Source Ideas: Biography.com, ABC, CBS, NBC, FOX, CNN or any news websites. NO WIKIPEDIA! The Presentation: You may be as creative as you wish to be. You may use note cards or you may memorize your ​ presentation. You must have at least ONE visual!! Any visual must include information as well as be creative. Some possibilities include dressing as the character (if they have a distinctive way of dressing) & performing in first person (imitating the journalist), creating a video, PowerPoint or make a poster of the journalist’s life, a photo album, a smore, or something else! The main idea: Be creative as well as informative.
    [Show full text]
  • The Mexican Suitecase
    THE MEXICAN SUITECASE A film by Trisha Ziff Running Time: 86 Minutes Language: English, Spanish and Catalane dialogue with English and Spanish subtitles. Official website: www.TheMexicanSuitcase.com ABOUT THE FILM: THE MEXICAN SUITCASE tells the story of three lost boxes that were recovered by the film’s director, Trisha Ziff, from a closet in Mexico City in 2007. The boxes, misplaced in the chaos at the start of WWII, contained many of the Spanish Civil War negatives by the legendary photographer, Robert Capa. These boxes have become known as the Mexican Suitcase. Rumors had circulated for years of the survival of the negatives, which had disappeared from Capa's Paris studio at the start of the war. They held 126 rolls of film, not only by Capa, but also by Gerda Taro and David “Chim” Seymour, fellow photographers who were also acclaimed for their coverage Spanish Civil War. Capa, Taro and Seymour were Jewish immigrants from Hungary, Germany and Poland respectively, and they had found a home in the culturally open Paris of the early 1930s. They often traveled together in Spain. Their combined work constitutes some of the most important visual documentation of that war. It’s particularly poignant to note that Gerda Taro would die before her 27th birthday at the Battle of Brunette in Spain, killed when a Republican tank veered out of control. Her funeral bought thousands on to the streets of Paris. Exactly how the negatives reached Mexico City is not definitively known. However, given Mexico’s unique role in the war, and how it opened its doors unreservedly to the Republican exiles, it makes sense that the suitcase would find its way there.
    [Show full text]
  • ROBERT CAPA Spanish Civil War and Wwii BIOGRAPHY - Born in Budapest, 1913 As Andre Friedmann - Studied and Worked in Berlin - Moved to Paris in 1933
    ROBERT CAPA spanish civil war and wwii BIOGRAPHY - Born in Budapest, 1913 as Andre Friedmann - Studied and worked in Berlin - Moved to Paris in 1933 - met Gerda Taro Robert Capa on a destroyer during the ship arrivals in French beach for landings and liberation of France. - 1936 - 1938: Photographed the Spanish Civil War - 1939: Capa moves to New York - World War II - travels throughout Europe - D-Day Photographs - 1947: Travels to Russia with friend / writer John Steinbeck - 1947: Forms Magnum - 1954: Travels to Vietnam to cover the First Indochina war - Dies while on assignment MAGNUM - Had been thinking about the idea for many years - Met Chim in Paris who introduced him to Cartier-Bresson - During WWII met Rodger - In 1947 officially founded the agency SPANISH CIVIL WAR - War timed with technological developments - Given assignments by Vu - Exclusively shot for the Republican side - Photographs from 1936-1938 - 1936: Travels to Spain with Gerda Taro - Barcelona - Cordoba SPAIN. Barcelona. August 1936. - Madrid SPAIN. Andalucia. September 5th, 1936. Cerro Muriano, Córdoba front. Civilians fleeing. SPAIN. Santa Eulalia. 1936. Republican soldiers during an attack. - Highly controversial - First published in Vu on September 23rd, 1936 - First doubted in 1975 - 1996 soldier identified as Federico Borrell García - Question of authenticity - do specifics matter? SPAIN. Córdoba front. Early September, 1936. Death of a loyalist militiaman. Spanish Civil War Cont’d - November of 1936 Capa travels to Madrid alone - Shows fulls horror of the war - Gerda dies in Spain in 1938 SPAIN. Madrid. Winter 1936-1937. After an Italo-German air raid. D-Day Landing - June 6, 1944 Allied troops advance through Normandy - Omaha Beach - Capa is the only press photographer present GB.
    [Show full text]