27/02/12: Constantine Manos
American Color
Absurd snapshots in quasi-melodramatic abstraction and strictly structured composition of color and light, make the American Constantine Manos one of the world's leading contemporary artists and Leica M photographers.
'American Color' was taken with Leica M6, MP, M8.2. Manos currently works with a Leica M9.
Does America have a specific color palette or does life have a particular hue? Constantine Manos's photos show a country that is radiantly colorful, confusing and fascinating. He explores a lively kaleidoscope of mundane absurdities and peculiar situations, shedding a surprising light on a society we always thought of as familiar.
Manos has wandered all over the USA for more than 25 years - from the far west in California and Nevada, to Maine, Massachusetts and New Jersey in the east, and to Louisiana and, above all, repeatedly to Florida in the south. His journeys have resulted in two opulent photo books.
The first volume, released in 1995 and consisting of 80 images covering 1982 to 1994, was an immediate sensation. The recently released second volume is even more extensive, with 130 images from 1996 to 2009.
Comparing the two, the second one is far more abstract - color has been given even greater autonomy. Whereas the first book emphasized individuals as the central element, the second volume focusses on overall compositions, where the figures are merely one item in the picture.
They often just show a striking silhouette or shadow, reflecting Manos's belief that "in some photographs the picture is more important than the subject - the subject of the picture is the photograph".
For Manos, it is not about portraits but rather about the color in the pictures. This makes him one of the world's most important contemporary photographers who applies color as an autonomous and aesthetic means of expression. In the tradition of American artists belonging to the seventies' New Color Photography movement - confidently disregarding Walker Evans' assessment that color is vulgar -, Manos has developed his own specific color imagery.
Though the photos were all taken in the United States, they are not meant as a general or definitive statement about the country or its people. The images the photographer considers his best are highly complex: They raise questions, but demand that the viewer find answers.
Human beings in public spaces are always as the center of his work, captured at specific moments within a limited location. At the same time, the images should be appreciated independent from the actual sites, as they gain a life of their own and are uniquely perceived by each viewer. Consequently, Manos does not consider himself a photojournalist. He is an observer, who usually waits at some conspicuous spot he has discovered, where he scouts out the scene.
The son of Greek immigrants, Constantine Manos was born in 1934 and raised in Columbia, South Carolina. At school he was an enthusiastic member of the photo club, and acquired his first Leica when he was eighteen. A year later he was hired as a photographer for the Boston Symphony Orchestra, which resulted in his first publication in 1961, 'Portait of a Symphony'.
At the same time, he was successfully established himself as a magazine photographer in New York, but as of 1961 spent three years in Greece discovering his family roots. 'A Greek Portfolio', published in 1972 and containing black&white images exclusively, emerged from that time.
A new edition appeared in 1999. Later he returned to his former home, Boston, and the 'Bostonians' (1974) is a tribute to the people of the city. In 1963 Manos joined the Magnum Photos Agency, and has been a full member since 1965.
After all the assignments and successes, the photographer slid, as he himself admits, into a midlife crisis. He attributes color photography and Kodakchrome to overcoming his depression and to developing a new approach to photography. The project arising from this situation gave life to the central theme of the following decades.
Without a doubt, 'American Color' is one of the most compelling compendia of contemporary color photography. Its scope, covering American life at street parties, on the beach and at leisure, is a dazzling explosion of color. With perfect precision, Manos highlights the inconspicuous, the momentary and the transitory, reinforced by the narrow framing of his clearly-composed images.
The photographs explain nothing, and concise image titles are usually no help either. The viewer is forced to reconnect with his or her own story, letting curiosity discover the essence of the saturated pictures. Because the stories are not apparent at a first glance, the viewer is obliged to look again more closely; and it is worth the effort - it is often then that the meaning or the ambiguity of the situation is revealed.
As a Magnum photographer, Manos has traveled all over the world, but he still considers North America the most exotic country in the world. The selections in the two photo books certainly give the viewer plenty of material to explore this surprisingly unconventional and colorful world.
Absurd snapshots in quasi-melodramatic abstraction and strictly structured composition of color and light, make the American Constantine Manos one of the world's leading contemporary artists and Leica M photographers.
'American Color' was taken with Leica M6, MP, M8.2. Manos currently works with a Leica M9.
Does America have a specific color palette or does life have a particular hue? Constantine Manos's photos show a country that is radiantly colorful, confusing and fascinating. He explores a lively kaleidoscope of mundane absurdities and peculiar situations, shedding a surprising light on a society we always thought of as familiar.
Manos has wandered all over the USA for more than 25 years - from the far west in California and Nevada, to Maine, Massachusetts and New Jersey in the east, and to Louisiana and, above all, repeatedly to Florida in the south. His journeys have resulted in two opulent photo books.
The first volume, released in 1995 and consisting of 80 images covering 1982 to 1994, was an immediate sensation. The recently released second volume is even more extensive, with 130 images from 1996 to 2009.
Comparing the two, the second one is far more abstract - color has been given even greater autonomy. Whereas the first book emphasized individuals as the central element, the second volume focusses on overall compositions, where the figures are merely one item in the picture.
They often just show a striking silhouette or shadow, reflecting Manos's belief that "in some photographs the picture is more important than the subject - the subject of the picture is the photograph".
For Manos, it is not about portraits but rather about the color in the pictures. This makes him one of the world's most important contemporary photographers who applies color as an autonomous and aesthetic means of expression. In the tradition of American artists belonging to the seventies' New Color Photography movement - confidently disregarding Walker Evans' assessment that color is vulgar -, Manos has developed his own specific color imagery.
Though the photos were all taken in the United States, they are not meant as a general or definitive statement about the country or its people. The images the photographer considers his best are highly complex: They raise questions, but demand that the viewer find answers.
Human beings in public spaces are always as the center of his work, captured at specific moments within a limited location. At the same time, the images should be appreciated independent from the actual sites, as they gain a life of their own and are uniquely perceived by each viewer. Consequently, Manos does not consider himself a photojournalist. He is an observer, who usually waits at some conspicuous spot he has discovered, where he scouts out the scene.
The son of Greek immigrants, Constantine Manos was born in 1934 and raised in Columbia, South Carolina. At school he was an enthusiastic member of the photo club, and acquired his first Leica when he was eighteen. A year later he was hired as a photographer for the Boston Symphony Orchestra, which resulted in his first publication in 1961, 'Portait of a Symphony'.
At the same time, he was successfully established himself as a magazine photographer in New York, but as of 1961 spent three years in Greece discovering his family roots. 'A Greek Portfolio', published in 1972 and containing black&white images exclusively, emerged from that time.
A new edition appeared in 1999. Later he returned to his former home, Boston, and the 'Bostonians' (1974) is a tribute to the people of the city. In 1963 Manos joined the Magnum Photos Agency, and has been a full member since 1965.
After all the assignments and successes, the photographer slid, as he himself admits, into a midlife crisis. He attributes color photography and Kodakchrome to overcoming his depression and to developing a new approach to photography. The project arising from this situation gave life to the central theme of the following decades.
Without a doubt, 'American Color' is one of the most compelling compendia of contemporary color photography. Its scope, covering American life at street parties, on the beach and at leisure, is a dazzling explosion of color. With perfect precision, Manos highlights the inconspicuous, the momentary and the transitory, reinforced by the narrow framing of his clearly-composed images.
The photographs explain nothing, and concise image titles are usually no help either. The viewer is forced to reconnect with his or her own story, letting curiosity discover the essence of the saturated pictures. Because the stories are not apparent at a first glance, the viewer is obliged to look again more closely; and it is worth the effort - it is often then that the meaning or the ambiguity of the situation is revealed.
As a Magnum photographer, Manos has traveled all over the world, but he still considers North America the most exotic country in the world. The selections in the two photo books certainly give the viewer plenty of material to explore this surprisingly unconventional and colorful world.
Ulrich Rüter, LFI - Leica Fotography International
