Discover over 80 images in “Spectacle”, the Square Print Sale, by Magnum photographers.
“Spectacle” displays the diverse ways we create, witness, and respond to the unusual and the unbelievable. A “spectacle” can signify a show, a performance, a public display, or an act of theatre. It suggests something that we willingly observe, with curiosity, wonder, or even contempt. These images have the appeal of something “to look at,” exploring the seductiveness and magnetism of the visual image, with each opening up an opportunity for discussion. It offers a visual feast with contributions from photographers including Steve McCurry, Susan Meiselas, Elliott Erwitt, Robert Capa and more.
Spectacle illuminates the complex relationships between photographer, subject, and viewer. In Danny Lyon’s portrait of an early Bob Dylan and W. Eugene Smith’s dramatic shot of Charlie Chaplin it is the electrifying energy of performance that charges these relationships. In Myriam Boulos’ abandoned cinema in Beirut and Cristina de Middel’s sandcastle at sunset, the allure of the empty stage. Elsewhere, spectacle takes shape in the raw emotion of rituals – whether a Sunday Service for the incarcerated witnessed by Mikhael Subotzky or a community of motorbike riders captured by Bruce Gilden. As a whole these images ask us to consider: What is it that we collectively celebrate, fear, and desire? What do we make of the performances we are both the audience and the actors of? Spectacle is not only a visual feast; it is a meditation on the ways in which we are both the creators and the captivated.
All of the images can be bought as limited six-by-six inch prints which are hand signed by the photographers or stamped by an estate and priced from 110 USD/110 GBP/120 EUR. Online for one week only, after Sunday April 27 the photographs will never be available in this format again.
About Magnum Photos
Magnum Photos has visually documented most of the world’s major events and personalities since the 1930s covering society, politics, events and conflict. Magnum represents some of the world’s most renowned photographers, maintaining its founding ideals and idiosyncratic mix of journalist, artist and storyteller.
