RE: tracing (documentary) photos over time
Hello,
As a photo archivist for Magnum photographers, I thought to add my two cents. Magnum would certainly be the right source of significant post-WWII photojournalism, but this researcher should likely start by consulting books on the history of photojournalism. The licensing person at Magnum would not be able to provide such in-depth research data as how each image was used and when; any given image in their database of 50+ photographers may have been licensed hundreds of times over decades.
I would also add that scholarly research like this requires the “time consuming” practice of going through books! There are a few publications about Magnum alone out there which would probably be a good starting point for subjects and bibliography (“In Our Time” has a short bibliography of relevant books and periodicals that may be useful), as well as identifying the key photojournalists that dealt with the subject matter – Capa, Phillip Jones Griffiths, etc - and then researching books that address their photography. No small task – good luck!
--
Emma Winter
Archivist and Exhibitions Coordinator
The Inge Morath Foundation
40 West 27th Street, 6th Floor
New York, NY 10001
212.684.4195
fax 212.684.0760
www.ingemorath.org
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Date: Fri, 1 Apr 2011 18:07:11 +0000
From: "Wilson, Terrie" <[log in to unmask]">[log in to unmask]>
Subject: tracing (documentary) photos over time
Hi Everyone,
I must admit my knowledge of documentary photography is a bit limited, so this request for assistance threw me for a loop. I'm sending this out in case anyone has any suggestions for the patron. I suspect that this may be difficult if not impossible to do, but here is the question:
"Currently, we are trying to set up a database of crucial photographs in regards to issues of war and social justice post-WW II. However, it's been difficult tracking the images comprehensively in how they've been used over time. Do you know of any way to do this? Internet searches are patchy at best and often don't cite, I tried contacting Magnum Photos' Licensing person and that ultimately did not lead to anything concrete making me hesitant to try other companies, and books don't site all who have used the image before making them useful but time consuming to wade through."
Any suggestions for the patron are welcome. Thanks in advance!
Terrie
Terrie L. Wilson
Art Librarian and Head, Fine Arts Library
Michigan State University
Fine Arts Library
100 Library
East Lansing, MI 48824
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