Magnum Magnum: Eve Arnold by Elliott Erwitt

Elliott Erwitt

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 and continue our presentation today with Eve Arnold by Elliott Erwitt.

© Eve Arnold/Magnum Photos

If you were asked to conjure up a seasoned journalist-photographer who has travelled extensively, worked in the most difficult and remote parts of our globe, managed to penetrate and be accepted in exotic cultures at one time, and then average or even banal, familiar ones right afterward, all the while observing and recording with great heart and sympathy the manifestations of our human condition, you would surely come up with the legendary Eve Arnold ... a very big person in a very compact package.

Eve Arnold is the quintessential journalist. Or better, she is what the quintessential photojournalist should be. That is, a curious, visual person, the inconspicuous fly on the wall observing situations without participating in them or attracting attention, opinionated but not judgmental.

I have known Eve as a suburban wife and doting mother in the Long Island exurbs fifty miles from New York City, where she lived years ago, and as a literary person and author of many fine works, now based in her sublime, book-lined London apartment. But I know her especially as the intrepid, highly energetic photographer and colleague, producing picture story after picture story, and picture book after picture book, and as a pillar of our Magnum Photos cooperative. In all of Eve's work, as with her person, the special ability has been getting close to her subjects - often becoming a trusted friend, regardless of their caste or fame, while always maintaining the dignity that permeates her character.

Eve Arnold's legacy is as varied as it is fascinating. It is hard to fathom how one person's work can be so diverse. It covers the humblest to the most exalted, the meanest to the kindest, and everything in between. The subjects are all there in Eve Arnold's photographs and they are treated with intelligence, consideration and sympathy. Most important is Eve's ability to visually communicate her concerns directly, without fanfare or pretence, in the best humanistic tradition.
Elliott Erwitt

Magnum 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
» Book Magnum Magnum (From the Magnum Store)
» Album Magnum Magnum
» Article Shooting stars of Magnum light up one another (Guardian Unlimited)

	Reader comments (5) Subscribe to this article's comments via RSS
	What shall I say? Magnum Magnum is a very heavy book and Expensive too.I own Magnum Stories which is a relief that I cannot own Magnum Magnum !! Comment posted by Kamaal A. Bahnasawi on December 7, 2007
	Eve Arnold was and still is one of my favourites, such a special eye, such tenderness and ability to be revealing and yet careful. The image of Burton and Taylor shown above – so everyday but also magic – as if she caught them in that moment as they were. ☺ Comment posted by Jenny Maria on December 8, 2007
	Of the essays I have read thus far in the book, this one by Erwitt did the most for me. Not so much because it is 'the best' (each essay is so different that to waste time comparing them would be like sitting down to a ravishing cornucopia and comparing apples to irises), but because his writing is so much like his photography-- at once whimsical and earnestly humane. Indeed, this is a portrait in words that conjures to my mind many of Arnold's images (those she has taken and portraits taken of her), a breeze of grace and charm. The book is now selling for $141 on Amazon. A steal. But it is so cumbersome that I wonder whether they will be releasing a portable, more affordable version. Comment posted by verninino on December 8, 2007
	i wish i had half her empathy towards a subject. Comment posted by mark on December 17, 2007
	The look on their faces is really bizarre and crazy...I mean I am a highly recommended photo person...I have never seen such scarry dance Comment posted by heather on January 2, 2008

	Post a comment
	Name: (required)		E-Mail: (required but not published)
	Website:
			Remember personal info?
	Your comment: (required)
	Subscribe to this article's comments via RSS