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A review by kristi_starr35
Eyes of the World: Robert Capa, Gerda Taro, and the Invention of Modern Photojournalism by Marc Aronson, Marina Budhos
4.0
"This is what will distinguish [Capa's] work and that of his circle in the years to come. As big movements and big ideas sweep the streets, the entire continent of Europe, he homes in on what it means to be human during such momentous times. He is beginning to tell a story. A story in pictures" (p. 33).
Eyes of the World is several stories in one. It tells the story of the birth of modern photojournalism. It relates the romance of Robert Capa and Gerda Taro, two young people caught in up changing times, inventing themselves as they go. It reveals events of the Spanish Revolution, a precursor to World War II. Each story was a fresh one for me.
While I have often admired photography, I had never given much thought to the development of the medium, particularly how it became an indispensable component of journalism. I love the images throughout the book. You cannot open to a two-page spread without finding at least one captivating image. If this is a book about photojournalism, you have to have photos. We find them in abundance.
Though some of the images on the pages were familiar, Capa's and Taro's names were not. The creativity and resilience they showed, the relationship between them, their competitiveness and fierce independence all factored into their development and success as photographers. What an amazing and inspired partnership. Also remarkable is how powerful Taro was. She developed her own style, her own perspective. This was an equal partnership.
Then there's the Spanish Civil War. I never really learned about it in school. Sure, I knew that Langston Hughes, George Orwell, and Ernest Hemmingway were each associated with that period, but this book shed a whole new light on the time of turmoil and the ensuing conflicts in Europe.
I would be remiss if I failed to address the remarkable extra material - the appendices, cast of characters (both individuals and groups), time line, and explanation of how the authors came to write the book.
And oh, the photographs! "Capa and Taro gave us a visual language for understanding the catastrophic changes, the disasters and tragedies, of the first half of the twentieth century. No one had seen anything like this, not brought back such a record of witnessing. ... These images have a way of piercing through the fog of rhetoric and cheery exhortations. ... They gave birth to the visual world we live in now" (p. 244).
Eyes of the World is several stories in one. It tells the story of the birth of modern photojournalism. It relates the romance of Robert Capa and Gerda Taro, two young people caught in up changing times, inventing themselves as they go. It reveals events of the Spanish Revolution, a precursor to World War II. Each story was a fresh one for me.
While I have often admired photography, I had never given much thought to the development of the medium, particularly how it became an indispensable component of journalism. I love the images throughout the book. You cannot open to a two-page spread without finding at least one captivating image. If this is a book about photojournalism, you have to have photos. We find them in abundance.
Though some of the images on the pages were familiar, Capa's and Taro's names were not. The creativity and resilience they showed, the relationship between them, their competitiveness and fierce independence all factored into their development and success as photographers. What an amazing and inspired partnership. Also remarkable is how powerful Taro was. She developed her own style, her own perspective. This was an equal partnership.
Then there's the Spanish Civil War. I never really learned about it in school. Sure, I knew that Langston Hughes, George Orwell, and Ernest Hemmingway were each associated with that period, but this book shed a whole new light on the time of turmoil and the ensuing conflicts in Europe.
I would be remiss if I failed to address the remarkable extra material - the appendices, cast of characters (both individuals and groups), time line, and explanation of how the authors came to write the book.
And oh, the photographs! "Capa and Taro gave us a visual language for understanding the catastrophic changes, the disasters and tragedies, of the first half of the twentieth century. No one had seen anything like this, not brought back such a record of witnessing. ... These images have a way of piercing through the fog of rhetoric and cheery exhortations. ... They gave birth to the visual world we live in now" (p. 244).