The Magnum Digest: August 3, 2018
Susan Meiselas' retrospective at SFMoMA, Elliott Erwitt's vision of Scotland, Sim Chi Yin on Fallout, and more from Magnum photographers this week
Susan Meiselas at SFMoMA
Mother Jones’ expansive feature on Susan Meiselas’ career-spanning retrospective at SFMoMA draws upon myriad aspects of her work from her earliest projects to her most famous via books, writings, and her Magnum Foundation work to build a comprehensive view of her impact on both photojournalism, and the photography industry. Meiselas also spoke with Hyperallergic about her practice, and the importance of building relationships with her subjects.
Elliott Erwitt on Scotland’s chip shops and dogs
In the month of his 90th birthday, Elliott Erwitt’s work in Scotland was the focus of a piece on inews. Famed for his ability to capture grandstanding politicians and high glamour celebrity with the same wit and honesty as he did America’s working class, Erwitt’s 2012 tour of Scotland saw him documenting chips shops, fishermen and of course, dogs. See the piece here, and read some of Erwitt’s pithy observations on life, here.
Sim Chi Yin profiled in The Straits Times
Singapore’s leading English-language newspaper, The Straits Times, spoke with new Magnum nominee Sim Chi Yin. Nobel Peace Prize photographer Sim, who cut her teeth at the paper as an intern, discussed her ongoing work documenting international nuclear proliferation, as well as the importance of a sense of ‘social purpose’ in photography. Read the feature in full here.
Burt Glinn’s Beat Scene reviewed
Burt Glinn’s new book, the beat scene, was hailed this week as ‘without doubt one of the best archival photo titles of the year’, in the New York Journal of Books. The book, which draws on both Glinn’s iconic portraits of Beat Scene greats and a treasure trove of recently rediscovered color negatives, was also included in PDN’s Photo of the Day feature.
Matt’s Black’s photographs of marginalized America
Matt Black’s ongoing project, Geography of Poverty, has seen the photographer traversing the United States for the last four years, travelling over 100,000 miles through 46 states, documenting marginalised communities. CBS News interviewed Black about his work, his focus on the lived experiences of those he has photographed, and America’s increasingly divided population. More on Black’s Geography of Poverty here.
Magnum and Fujifilm HOME in Hong Kong
Post Magazine covered the latest embodiment of Magnum and Fujifilm’s globe-trotting HOME exhibition, soon to open in Hong Kong. The project saw 16 Magnum photographers explore what ‘home’ meant to them. Post spoke with Magnum photographer Chien-Chi Chang, who will attend the opening of the show, about his work documenting New York’s immigrant communities as part of the show. The Hong Kong leg of HOME will open on August 19.
(Video still.) New York City. USA. 2017. © Chien-Chi Chang | Magnum Photos
Alec Soth’s for Huawei
Alec Soth is the subject of a new short film made by Huawei in which he discusses the impact the Midwest has had on his outlook, and the importance of documenting place and family. Shooting on Huawei’s new smartphone in the film, Soth – who will also be a judge on 2019’s Huawei Next-Image awards – explores the camera’s ability to ‘render space differently’. See the film here.
