As photojournalists go, Antonin Kratochvil has sunk his teeth into his fair share of upheaval and human catastrophes whilst going about his documentation of the time in which he lives. As people go, Kratochvil's own refugee life has been much in the way the same as what he has rendered on film. Kratochvil's unique style of photography is the product of personal experience, intimate conditioning and not privileged voyeurism.
Over the years his fluid and unconventional work has been sought by numerous publications stretching across widely differing interests. From shooting Mongolia's street children for the magazine published by the Museum of Natural History to a portrait session with David Bowie for Detour, from covering the war in Iraq for Fortune Magazine to shooting Deborah Harry for a national advertising campaign for the American Civil Liberties Union, Kratochvil's ability to see through and into his subjects and show immutable truth has made his pictures not facsimiles but uncensored visions.
And yet, what set his kind apart from the many is his consistency and struggle to carry on. For Kratochvil this fact comes in the form of his numerous awards, grants and honorable mentions dating back to 1975. The latest of these are his two, first place prizes at the 2002 World Press Photo Awards in the categories of general news and nature and the environment. The next is the 2004 grant from Aperture publishing for Kratochvil's study on the fractious relationship between American civil liberties and the newly formed Homeland Security since the World Trade Center bombings. In addition, Kratochvil's fifth book Vanishing will be unwrapped in 2005 and marks another significant milestone for the craft to which he belongs. Vanishing represents a collection of natural and human phenomena that on the verge of extinction. What makes this book so innovative is the twenty years it has taken to produce, making it not only historical from the onset, but a labor of love and a commitment to one man's conscience.
Twelve young photographers will meet with a group of masters for the 17th annual World Press Photo Joop Swart Masterclass to be held from 29 October to 4 November 2010 in Foam_Fotografiemuseum, Amsterdam. The 12 participants were selected among 162 candidates who had been nominated to submit their portfolios. During the masterclass meeting, the participating photographers will interact with six prominent experts, discussing technical, journalistic and ethical aspects of their work. A selection of their photography has been compiled in the photo book Persistence.
Persistence book launch
The publication of Persistence presents the masterclass participants’ photo essays, each with its distinctive – often widely diverse – interpretation of the theme. The hardcover book also puts the stories into persp...
Ottawa, le 22 mai 2009 - Le Comité international de la Croix-Rouge (CICR) s’est associé à cinq photographes de guerre de renommée mondiale pour mettre sur pied une nouvelle exposition intitulée Notre monde – En guerre. L’exposition, qui a été lancée aujourd’hui au Musée canadien de la guerre, sera présentée à Ottawa jusqu’au 30 juin avant de se déplacer à Toronto, Victoria et dans plus de 40 pays du monde.
« En juin 1859, un homme d’affaires suisse, Henry Dunant, choqué par ce qu’il vit après la bataille entre l’armée française et les troupes autrichiennes à Solférino, en Italie, décida de faire son possible pour s...
Communiqué de presse :
Perpignan, Visa pour l’Image, 8 septembre 2001. Depuis quelques années, une certaine morosité règne dans le monde du photojournalisme, promis semble-t-il à un déclin inexorable. Ce jour-là pourtant, un groupe de sept grands photojournalistes – Alexandra Boulat, Ron Haviv, Gary Knight, Antonin Kratochvil, Christopher Morris, James Nachtwey et John Stanmeyer – annonce la création de VII : une agence traditionnelle basée sur le réseau mondial du Web.
« Ce que nous faisions n’était pas une idée nouvelle, mais du vieux dans une nouvelle ère. À l’époque, nous ne savions pas si nous survivrions 15 semaines et n’osions pas rêver d’exister 1...
From Surrealism and other avant-garde experimentation to realism and classic photo reportage, Czech photographers have long played a key role in all areas of photography and continue to do so to this day.
This exhibition is the first in Germany to present the history and development of Czech photography from 1900 to the turn of the millennium. Beginning with Art Nouveau-inspired pictorialism, the comprehensive survey traces the rise of avant-garde photography and the development of photo montage in the 1920s to the 1940s. It examines the influence of ideological pressure on photography during the Second World War, the Stalinist 1950s and the period of Communist 'normalisation' after the occupation in 1968 and introduces the visitor to the multifaceted range of contemporary trends.
With more than 440 photographs alo...
Antonin Kratochvil est tchèque. Il vit aux Etats-Unis depuis 40 ans. En 2008 il s’est lancé dans un road trip In God’s country, révélant à travers une photographie très dense une société où la religion est omniprésente...
Après l’exposition « L’Amérique dans tous ses états », au moment où paraît la nouvelle édition de Polka Magazine, la galerie Polka est heureuse de vous présenter « Changer de regard sur le monde » .
En 2009, la Dame de Fer fête ses 120 ans. A cette occasion, la galerie Polka présente le tout premier sujet de Marc Riboud, « Le peintre de la tour Eiffel », son sésame pour l’Agence Magnum en 1953. Des tirages inédits, dont un « objet photographique » précieux à l’heure du tout numérique : la planche-contact de la série, annotée de la main du légendaire Robert Capa. Ainsi que d’autres clichés du maître de la composition...