Munkácsi's revolution (part 1 / 11)

::::: an uncredited artist

In short the story goes like this: Munkacsi's style, trademarks and "tricks" were quickly adopted by whole new generations of photographers with whom the pioneer artist couldn't (wouldn't) compete after a point. He should have renewed, should have shifted to color photography, maybe to medium format too - but he didn't: he kept to his bulky large format camera and B&W photography that he was master of, kept to his direct style and tried to hold on to his fame too. At last he offended the Bazaar refusing to take pictures of a republican politician saying he could no ways make a republican look good. And that was it. A quick end to a long and laconic downhill trip, a human tragedy - or the fate of a big time bold pioneer. 

Today however we can see the very same details and the very same person in a totally different light ... Since his life and carrier took place at the dawn of fashion- and magazine photography, looking back now from the other end of time provides quite a historical distance and so we can really start to see the story differently. Even his early fame and unprecedented success at the Bazaar appears differently today ...

• an uncredited artist
• being the best paid photographer of the world
• the pioneer and the "newcomers"
• Munkacsi's revolution : addiction & penetration to reality
• Potsdam 1933
• Munkacsi's festive style
• Having Fun at Breakfast
• the counter-revolution
• the road to oblivion
• finally: shining through
• original sources, great readings