Magnum: A World of Photography

When do certain photographs become icons that enter the collective memory? Why are they published, and how do they later end up in archives? Magnum: A World of Photography, takes a look at unknown and secret working structures at the legendary agency Magnum Photos.

The group exhibition Magnum: A World of Photography focuses on the working process of the famous agency and addresses the social significance of photography as a widespread cultural technique. Parts of the Magnum archives have been made accessible for the first time in this show. In the past it was inconceivable to view the raw material and experience the creation of a “finished” photograph; the selection of images, the work with contact sheets, and the production of prints were hidden from the public to a great extent. These formerly hidden processes are revealed for the first time in this exhibition. Visitors can vividly experience the creation of a photograph and peer over the shoulders of Magnum photographers at work—from Robert Capa and Inge Morath to Eli Reed.

Presented chronologically, the exhibition presents over three hundred photographs and objects from seven decades of world events and agency history, including impressive photo essays from World War II; icons such as Che Guevara, Muhammad Ali, and Malcolm X; trackside mourners paying their last respects to Robert F. Kennedy; life on the subway in New York; and portraits of the British royal family.