2010-09-11
Munkácsi's revolution (part 4 / 11)
The shining through of an uncredited artist
::::: Munkacsi's revolution : addiction & penetration to reality
Speaking of "Lovely autumn: the last warm rays of sunshine" Munkacsi's is so alive, so full of life, that this picture is practically not just a photo for a
magazine but a picture of a real moment, in a real afternoon - even the title tells us about that. He didn't create something sophisticated that 'looks' beautiful (especially because you can't have it), something that'd remind you of a real moment of a real experience, but instead he made a beautiful moment happen - and captured it while happening. Instead of 'imitation of life' - it was life actually.
A magazine is a prospectus showing pictures of great possible moments of life, showing how extremely beautiful life could be for the lucky ones. When there's a cultural recession viewers will prefer their images more misty or fictitious, more like off-reality whereas during an optimistic period they'll be attracted to reality, they'll like everydays to be reflected, to be captured in the images.
When Munkacsi was called to America the depression was (sort of?) over and a bright, optimistic era has started out (if we can say that). Munkacsi was just the perfect choice, he was a specialist, he was cutting edge in 'penetrating reality', capturing, depicting life as it had never been seen before.
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The expression "media penetration" actually covers two phenomenons, one being media's reaching wider layers of society (i.e. media penetrates society). The other one is media's gaining a closer access to 'reality', providing a higher 'resolution' 'coverage' by improvement (or spreading or getting more mobile or inexpensive) of the available imaging technologies.
Penetration of this kind was for example
when digital cameras suddenly started to allow the speed of ISO 1600 for photographers, or when(ever) video- or photo cameras became more portable, being able to penetrate more into reality - just think of Robert Capa on D-Day how could he possible make it having to use a Graflex instead of his 35 mm and 6x6 cameras?
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As for 'penetrating reality' you can distinguish 3 basic elements: talent (great eye, fast mind), technical improvement (fast lenses, more portable equipment, flashlight, WSE) and a new way of thinking (attraction to reality). But instead of becoming really dogmatic we can focus on reality's great pioneer penetrators.
Munkacsi, besides being an extremely talented artist was able to use his bulky large format cameras as though it'd been just a lightweight handy thing - this and his manners gave him the key and free access to reality.
There was Arthur Fellig WEEGEE who entered previously unseen dimensions of reality, he'd regularly show up "unexpectedly" at crime scenes, as if just following a calling, to fire his flash-armoured Graflex. WEEGEE was as regular and welcome (police even let him use their radio frequency) to crime scenes as Munkacsi to sports-, or Dr. Salomon to political, diplomatic events.
Dr. Salomon first tried the standard news camera at the Berliner Illustrirte Zeitung *, it was the 13x18 cm Contessa Nettel (as you read it in humble and wonderful Peter Hunter's article on Dr. Salomon, his father). He fell in love with photography but he needed something more (more access to reality), which was there for him profoundly in the form of the fantastic Ermanox, the small, handy camera (very small size - but large format) with its f 1.8 super-fast lens that'd allow the dear Doctor taking pictures at 'available light' even unnoticed - which he became famous for.
As we speak of great penetrators, we definitely have to mention Roman Vishniac who started his desperate requiem-project in 1935, saving the memory of Central- and Eastern European Jews. It was not really a historian's job. First of all he was taking pictures of his brothers and sisters when it was planned that they'd be soon exterminated. If art and photography has to do with 'preserving memory' - his photographs and his project is just huge ... like the Schindler's list in photography. It was really not a historian's project, not to mention that he had to use hidden camera (because the orthodox Jews wouldn't let him take pictures of them), got arrested for 11 times, and also had to 'penetrate' deep into the more and more dangerous zones. In 1938 he sneaked into a deportation camp in Germany. He took pictures in a dimension of reality that most of the world was unaware of.
Penetration to reality was the new way. By this time Cinema Verité was already born, and as movies began to have sound (in Hollywod they started to talk :)) Cinema Verité founder Dziga Vertov took the huge sound equipment to do field recording for his new documentary - Entuziazm. The whole world was changing. Reality (a hunger for pictorial details of life) became an obsession - it was the birth of image-based mass media. Munkacsi was right the man right there, having all the style and know-how that was to become fashionable, having all the experience and talent and originality that made him perfect for playing the role of the # 1 magazine photographer of western civilization.
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* "Ilustrirte Zeitung" - is obviously an incorrect way of spelling, the correct version would be "Illustrierte" - but since the magazine had this name spelled like this we'll use this incorrect spelling throughout this article
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Photographs linked and/or appearing in this article belong to Ullstein Verlag (Ullstein Bild) (Munkacsi's Berliner period), to the Harper's Bazaar and ICP.org (International Center of Photography) and F.C. Gundlach respectively.
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következő fejezet: Potsdam 1933
a cikk fejezetei:
-JP-
2010-09-11