Click on picture to go to Slate's Today's Picture
Last week, Slate Magazine announced its new "Today's Picture" section featuring the work of more than 70 Magnum photographers. Magnum's archive is without question an extraordinary collection documenting the visual culture of the 20th Century and beyond.
It is interesting to track which of the thousands of images Magnum edits for the site daily. The act of editing which images are used on Slate provides a glimpse into the mindset and philosophical underpinnings of the agency.
The series begins, appropriately, with Cartier-Bresson's 1932 image of a man jumping over a puddle -- a picture that has come to define one of the strongest stylistic characteristics in photojournalism, the "decisive moment." In addition to the image, the editors have selected a "quote of the day".
In this case, it is again from Bresson: "Photography is a way of shouting, of freeing oneself, not of proving or asserting one's own originality.
It's a way of life." Again, there is an important and often overlooked dimension of photojournalism -- the critical relationship between words and images.
The juxtaposition of Bresson's words and image produces in the viewer/reader the feeling that there is a deep connection between process and product -- with more of an emphasis in Bresson's case on process.
Bresson's words, in this sense, served as a mantra for future generations of photojournalists. Bresson's words are full of hope and promise. Photojournalism as "a way of life" reflects Magnum's founding philosophical foundations that seeks to promote a vision that attempts to visually explore the extraordinarily complex world we live in.
Hiroji Kubota's work from North Korea in the 1980s is a nice example of presenting the complexities of life without falling into stereotyping culture. Naturally, there will always be some form of stereotype signified by any deep reading, but Magnum deserves some credit in its effort to show the breath and depth of a culture through the photographer's eyes.
Both Kubota and Bresson are captured in a segment called "classic Magnum" and differs from another segment of the site featuring the ongoing work of present-day photojournalists through interactive essays.
The collaboration between Slate and Magnum is good business for both interests. First, it promotes the photo agency in a unique way. Second, the images of Magnum photographers, especially those featuring celebrities, will bring readers to Slate.
It would easy to see this effort as a shameless bit of commercialism if it were not for the partnership's greatest potential --education. The hope is that young people may discover something special in the images that will help to further direct and motivate their lives in some small way.
As a teenager I used to sit for hours in our local library pouring over photobooks by W. Eugene Smith, Bresson, Margaret Bourke-White, Eve Arnold, Elliott Erwitt, and Larry Burrows. It was through images that I began to find a passion for seeing the world in a different world.
The library is still there and so are the books. However, today, young people need look no further than the Internet to find inspiration and edification.