By now, the story of September 11 has been burned into our collective memory, but few have seen New York from the perspective of Magnum photographers. Eleven members of the legendary photo agency immediately dispersed from their monthly meeting in New York as the events unfolded, risking their own lives to document the incomprehensible. Their photographs, by turns haunting, surreal, and breathtaking, are collected together in New York September 11, by Magnum Photographers, compellingly presented in a high-quality edition from powerHouse Books. From their various vantage points we are transported to Ground Zero to witness the destruction of the World Trade Center, the buildings' implosion which sent thousands fleeing from debris through the streets, and the exodus out, only to return to the scene in quiet observation and admiration of the rescue workers whose jobs have only begun and of the mourners who have been gathering in bewildering grief. As a tribute to the World Trade Center's noted place in history, New York September 11, by Magnum Photographers will also include some of the most beloved photographs of the Twin Towers taken by Magnum over the last quarter of a century.
A portion of the proceeds will be donated to an accredited charitable organization, The New York Times 9/11 Neediest Fund.
Services and products have been donated by the following companies:
Smart Papers - Knightkote Matte, Hamilton, Ohio; Meridian Printing, East Greenwich, Rhode Island; Gist Inc. Prepress, New Haven, Connecticut; Bindtech, Nashville, Tennessee; Acme Bookbinding, Charlestown, Massachusetts; Kappa Graphic Board USA, Chesapeake, Virginia; Duggal Visual Solutions, New York City; Laumont Photographics, New York City.
Magnum photographers responding on September 11 include Steve McCurry, Susan Meiselas, Larry Towell, Gilles Peress, Thomas Hoepker, Alex Webb, Paul Fusco, Eli Reed, David Alan Harvey, Bruce Gilden, and Chien-Chi Chang.
Classic World Trade Center images in the book have been provided by Magnum photographers Bruce Davidson, Dennis Stock, Burt Glinn, Hiroji Kubota, Josef Koudelka, Richard Kalvar and Raymond Depardon.
Book design by Yolanda Cuomo Design, New York City.
Magnum Photos, founded in 1947 by Henri Cartier-Bresson, Robert Capa, George Rodger and David “Chim” Seymour, is a cooperative of nearly sixty photographers. For the past half century, Magnum photographers have worked for nearly every major publication in the world. The photographers are particularly well known for their photo essays and seminal photo essays, including “Vietnam Inc.” by Philip Jones Griffiths in the sixties and “Gypsies” by Josef Koudelka in the seventies. To this day, Magnum continues to produce the very best in documentary photography, as evident in New York September 11, by Magnum Photographers.
David Halberstam, a Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist and the author of 17 books, has a gift for bringing current events alive and putting them into historical perspective in an engaging way. His latest book, War in a Time of Peace (Scribner), has been just been released to critical and commercial acclaim.
The exhibition New York September 11 includes compelling photo essays of the tragedy taken by eleven acclaimed Magnum photographers: Paul Fusco, Thomas Hoepker, Steve McCurry, Susan Meiselas, Gilles Peress, Larry Towell, Paul Fusco, Eli Reed, David Alan Harvey, Bruce Gilden, Chien-Chi Change, and Alex Webb. Each photo series is accompanied by text describing the photographer's experience while recording the events taking place in New York.
The large-scale photo blow-ups of the exhibition are divided into three sections. The first records the destruction of the World Trade Center. The next section documents a city in shock and mourning. the exhibition closes with beautiful and celebratory images of the World Trade Center taken over the years by Magnum photographers Bruce Davidson, Richard Kalvar, and Raymond Depardon. The still images are accompanied by a 25-minute video taken by Evan Fairchilds that will play in the galleries. Mr. Fairbanks was at Trinity Church with his camera at the time of the first attack, and recorded the reaction at debris-strewn street level over the next hour. His video includes an extraordinary sidewalk view of the impact of the second plane.
November 20, 2001-February 25, 2002 The New York Historical Society Two West 77th Street at Central Park West For more information, contact Travis Stewart Tel: 212-873-3400 ext. 263
