The Magnum Digest: August 23, 2019
Chris Steele-Perkins, Raghu Rai, and Susan Meiselas in interview, Neil Young photographed by Jim Goldberg, and more from Magnum photographers this week
Chris Steele-Perkins discusses his New Londoners project and reflects upon how immigration has made the city stronger
Over four years Chris Steele-Perkins sought to photograph London households reflecting every nationality on earth, and he got very close – with the project culminating in a book documenting 164 families, collectively hailing from 187 countries.
In this interview with Niloufar Haidari the photographer discuses sensationalist and negative coverage of immigration in the media, the vibrancy of London, and how the project forced him to reassess the concept of ‘homeland’. A selection of Steele-Perkins’ work is on display as part of the Somerset House exhibition, Kaleidoscope, which looks at immigration and modern Britain.
You can read more about the project on Magnum, here.
Raghu Rai discusses the ever-changing challenges of photojournalism and the power a single image can convey
On the occasion of World Photo Day 2019, Indian newspaper The Morning Standard spoke with Raghu Rai. The photographer reflects upon prosaic issues – such as how changes in security have made political reportage more challenging – as well as more philosophical matters like the dangers of mediocrity and the importance of non-photographic artistic influences.
You can read the interview here.
Jim Goldberg shoots Neil Young for The New York Times Magazine
Neil Young is, according this profile, “crankier than a hermit being stung by bees.” The musician rails against Facebook, Spotify, Steve Jobs and – unsurprisingly – quite a few other things in the feature, which is accompanied by a new portrait by Jim Goldberg. You can see the feature here.
“For me, seeing is listening,” Susan Meiselas interviewed on France Culture
In this conversation Meiselas discusses a number of her bodies of work from America’s Carnival Strippers to her coverage of the revolution in Nicaragua. There is a French-language audio of the interview, and French-speakers can read the piece here.
Explore more of Meiselas’ work here.
The Art of Street Photography: exclusive preview
In the third instalment of this new series, Digital Camera World has published more exclusive previews of Magnum’s online education program: Magnum Learn. This week’s feature focused on shooting on location, with Martin Parr. The photographer muses on the high failiure rate in photography and reminds readers to keep ‘taking rubbish photos’, until something comes good.
You can see the article, here, and read an essay by Magnum’s Cultural Director – Pauline Vermare – on Magnum photos’ long history in the street photography world, here.
The trailer for The Art of Street Photography course can be seen here.
Finally, voting is now open for Magnum Photos panels at SXSW Festival, 2020. You can find out more and cast your votes here, and here.
