The Decisive Network

The Great Unseen. Photojournalism and the archive: from analogue to digital

“…20 Bair takes an even broader view and includes 'writers, spouses, secretaries, editors, darkroom assistants, publishers, corporate leaders, and museum curators' in her analysis. 21 She argues that this networked approach to photojournalism can serve as a critique of the pervasive professional ethos of the decisive moment. By examining photojournalism as a collective rather than an individual practice, it becomes clear that decisive connections rather than moments can explain the lasting relevance of particular photographers and pictures.…”

Page, Print, JPEG: Researching and Curating Picture Post, its history and publics

“…Deliberately moving away from the study of standout examples of photojournalism, Bair addresses Magnum as a shifting group of professionals operating within a commercial system: 'Part of the work of unravelling Magnum's mythologies is seeing how embedded the agency was in the larger business of making and selling photographs.' 10 The same demythologising historiography is required for Picture Post.…”

Spaarnestad: Biography of an Analogue Press Photo Archive

“…41 Nadya Bair confirms this impression in her study on Magnum's international network mentioning that Magnum was often dissatisfied with the low prices obtained by Imre Rona, its agent in the Netherlands. 42 Rona, a Hungarian immigrant in Amsterdam and an acquaintance of Robert Capa, had founded ABC Press Service in 1934, which would grow into one of the most important Dutch photo agencies for high-quality foreign photojournalism. 43 Besides Magnum, ABC Press represented Black Star, Camera Press, Stern and Sygma among others.…”