December 12, 2007

« Go to previous entry | Home | Go to next entry »

Magnum Magnum: Antoine d'Agata by Patrick Zachmann

Patrick Zachmann


With the publishing of Magnum's latest book "Magnum Magnum" (see Martin Parr's introduction) we present you three sample chapters of this epic 6,5kg book on the Magnum Blog. In this book each Magnum photographer is represented by six works chosen by, and accompanied by a critical text from, another member. We started with Chien-Chi Chang by Bruce Davidson, continued with Eve Arnold by Elliott Erwitt and finish our presentation today with Antoine d'Agata by Patrick Zachmann.


© Antoine D'Agata/Magnum Photos

I like the idea that Antoine d'Agata is part of the 'Magnum family', because there is nothing more stimulating than trying to make photographers fit in who don't conform to the usual image of our venerable agency. Nothing could be more boring than accepting a new photographer who is a clone of ourselves.

When I saw Antoine's work for the first time, I had a shock. I had become saturated with photography in general, which I found repetitive and limited. I had tried other formats - square, panoramic, colour, then cinema - all in an attempt to escape boredom or repetition. Suddenly, Antoine's work proved to me that with photography you could still surprise and move people.

I really loved these photos that brought me into the world of the night.
I found them unique, moving, sensual, brutal, sometimes even shocking, wavering between desire, pleasure and suffering - one moment attracting us to desirable bodies or exciting situations, and the next to something we have no reason to desire.

D'Agata spares us nothing, and he spares himself nothing. He seems to photograph everything he experiences, in its entirety, to excess. He puts himself in danger and takes photos at moments when most of us would have given up. You cannot tell where the private ends and the professional begins. This is what drives most photographers, in a constant to and fro between the inner world and the outer world. His work shows a need to speak, to show, to reveal oneself, to cry out - a sense of urgency, as if our existence was threatened.

Henri Cartier-Bresson claimed that one has to step back from reality and become invisible. Robert Capa said you have to get so close to your subject that you feel fear. As for D'Agata, while he belongs perfectly properly to the tradition of reportage, he gets close enough to his subjects to make them blurred, and even includes himself in some pictures, as if to show that to leave oneself out would be a delusion.

Whether it is the work of a photographer, painter or film-maker, a work of art makes sense and touches me when it bears traces of the artist's self-portrait.
Patrick Zachmann

Book Cover Magnum MagnumMagnum Magnum is a 564 pages, 13.3 pounds heavy book edited by Brigitte Lardinois. It was published in English by "Thames & Hudson" and "Thames & Hudson USA", in French by "Editions de la Martinière", in Spanish by "Lunwerg", in Korean by "Kachi Publishing", in Japanese by "Seigensha", in German by "Schirmer/Mosel", in Italian by "Contrasto" and in Dutch by "Lannoo".

Links:
» Magnum Magnum: Chien-Chi Chang by Bruce Davidson
» Magnum Magnum: Eve Arnold by Elliott Erwitt
» Book Magnum Magnum (From the Magnum Store)
» Album Magnum Magnum
» Article Shooting stars of Magnum light up one another (Guardian Unlimited)

Posted in Magnum Books | RSS feedCategory RSS feed

E-Mail this | Print | Add to Add this post to: del.icio.us Furl digg Spurl Yahoo MyWeb

« Go to previous entry | Home | Go to next entry »

To top


Reader comments (7)

RSS feedSubscribe to this article's comments via RSS

I just saw d'Agata's work at the Photographer's Gallery in London (still there!). Mindblowing, close, personal, strange, harsh. Many of those images just keep on showing inside my head. As Patrick writes, it really is a refreshing piece of work when you think that things are getting a bit too monotonous. I just don't see how he fits in Magnum, though, but I'm glad he's there :o)

Comment posted by Joni Karanka on December 12, 2007

ditto. the very notion that photography teaches us about the outside world frustrates me. the only insight of the outer world can come from an awareness of the inner world first. thru antoine's work i get that. everything i learn from his photography starts and stops with what i learn about him. s

Comment posted by spiro miralis on December 12, 2007

i agree the outside world can only be know from knowing the inside world...still learning though

Comment posted by Savoy Sison on December 23, 2007

Comment removed due to users request.

Comment posted by jukka onnela on December 27, 2007

i second that last comment and i'm sober
if the world is suffering from image saturation then its a photographer like D'Agata who is going to save it

Comment posted by alek on December 30, 2007

totally bored...and out to lunch!

Comment posted by heather on January 2, 2008

Oh, boy - lots more ugly pictures! Magnum is gaining more and more gravitas among the elites who are bored and need more and more alienation to keep feeling special. It's a downward spiral that leads away from public embrace (for some silly reason, the average non-elite LIKES technical craft and the ability to identify with the subject) and into that miniscule circle of salonists who talk about monotony. "I'm bored, give me ugliness." Yech!!!

Comment posted by Terry Carroll on January 6, 2008

Post a comment

(required)

(required but not published)

(required)

RSS feedSubscribe to this article's comments via RSS

Or browse the Archive for all articles and sections.

Notifications:

Sign up to get notified via E-Mail of every new article posted on the Magnum Blog.

RSS feedSubscribe to the Magnum Blog RSS feed

Become a fan of Magnum on FacebookBecome a fan of Magnum on Facebook

Follow Magnum on TwitterFollow Magnum on Twitter

More articles:


Announcement: Your Magnum Edit competition winner
Meagan Young

I am pleased to announce that the winning edit in the 'Your Magnum Edit' competition was Edit #3 from Raabia Wazir. Raabia will be receiving...


Studio Visit at Alec Soth's
Martin Fuchs

Mr. Jackanory (Andrew Hetherington) recently visited Alec Soth's studio in Saint Paul, Minnesota to film the fourth episode of his "inside the photographers_studio" series.


Your Magnum Edit: The Three Finalists
Martin Fuchs

UPDATE: Voting has now ended for the contest. We will tally the votes and announce the results tomorrow afternoon, 21 April 2009. Thank you to...


New Competition: Your Magnum Edit
Martin Fuchs

The photographer Elliott Erwitt. Photograph by Marion Wedekind. 1991 UPDATE: Contest is now closed. Thanks to everyone that entered. We will post the results...


Find more articles in the Archive.

Categories:

Awards & Competitions
Awards and Competitions you might want to consider entering

Behind the image
What happened as the shutter clicked

Behind the project
The bigger story behind a project

Conversations
A loose series of conversations with photographers, editors and industry professionals

Educational
Educational content concerning Magnum workshops and other offers

From the field
Stories from around the world

Inside Magnum
Stories from the people who work at Magnum

Magnum Books
Stories around Magnum books

Miscellaneous
Miscellaneous blog articles and announcements

News & Links

Photo of the week
One photo every week and almost no text

Understanding the trade
From magazines to galleries, photographs' many lives

Recent Comments:

Behind the image: My birthday present from Henri (17)
Comment by Pia-Muellerson

Fashion Magazine: Paris Minnesota (14)
Comment by ssk

First Impressions: Portfolio Review London (13)
Comment by Sophy

Access To Life: Swaziland (5)
Comment by Marco Negri

Where were you on June 8th, 1968? (6)
Comment by DF

Authors:

Alec Soth, Alessandra Sanguinetti, Ann Tornkvist, Ben Shneiderman, Bjarke Myrthu, Bruce Davidson, Bruce Gilden, Chien-Chi Chang, Chris Steele-Perkins, Christopher Anderson, Claudia Guadarrama, Claudine Boeglin, Constantine Manos, Daniel Power, David Alan Harvey, Elliott Erwitt, Frank Smyth, Geert Van Kesteren, Gueorgui Pinkhassov, Inge Bondi, Jacob Aue Sobol, Jörg M. Colberg, Jessica Dimmock, John Vink, Jonas Bendiksen, Magnum Photographers, Magnum Photos, Malaria No More, Mark Power, Martin Fuchs, Martin Parr, Martine Franck, Matthew Murphy, Meagan Young, Mikhael Subotzky, Olivia Arthur, Pablo Inirio, Paolo Pellegrin, Patrick Zachmann, Peter Marlow, Peter van Agtmael, Pia Frankenberg, Reiner Holzemer, Sam Ottenhof, Simon Wheatley, Stephen Bulger, Stuart Franklin, Trent Parke, Artprice.com,

For more information on every author visit the Authors page.

Blog Home | Archive | Authors | Links | Blog Policy

© 2008 Magnum Photos. All rights reserved.
Duplication of any material on this site without author's consent and attribution is expressly prohibited.

RSS feedSubscribe to the Magnum Blog RSS feed