Recollections
Philip Jones Griffiths
Trolley Books (Publisher)
Published on 1. October 2008
Book
Hardback
196 pages
978-1-904563-70-9 (ISBN)
Description
Renowned Magnum photographer Philip Jones Griffiths's previously unseen images of Britain in the 1950s - 1970s, a period preceding his historic work photographing the Viet Nam war.
Philip Jones Griffiths is renowned as the foremost photographer of the war in Viet Nam. President of Magnum Photos for a record five years, his 1971 publication Viet Nam Inc. was a crucial influence in changing public opinion in the US at the time of the conflict.
His new book presents a period much closer to home, with many previously unseen images taken of Britain in the 1950s, 60s and 70s. Griffiths's pictures depict social and political affairs, and landmark events over three decades of change and upheaval in Great Britain. From the Beatles in Liverpool and coalminers in Wales, to CND marches on the streets of London and funeral processions in Northern Ireland, the images are acute, human, and full of his trademark perceptive commentary.
Recollections presents a domestic revolution from one of the world's greatest photographers, whose international fame covering a country on the other side of the world, is now put in the context of his equally incisive work at home.
With a preface by art historian Julian Stallabrass and extracts from a letter from Tony Benn.
Philip Jones Griffiths is renowned as the foremost photographer of the war in Viet Nam. President of Magnum Photos for a record five years, his 1971 publication Viet Nam Inc. was a crucial influence in changing public opinion in the US at the time of the conflict.
His new book presents a period much closer to home, with many previously unseen images taken of Britain in the 1950s, 60s and 70s. Griffiths's pictures depict social and political affairs, and landmark events over three decades of change and upheaval in Great Britain. From the Beatles in Liverpool and coalminers in Wales, to CND marches on the streets of London and funeral processions in Northern Ireland, the images are acute, human, and full of his trademark perceptive commentary.
Recollections presents a domestic revolution from one of the world's greatest photographers, whose international fame covering a country on the other side of the world, is now put in the context of his equally incisive work at home.
With a preface by art historian Julian Stallabrass and extracts from a letter from Tony Benn.
More details
Person
Born in 1936 in Rhuddlan, Wales, Philip Jones Griffiths studied pharmacy in Liverpool and worked in London while photographing part-time for the Manchester Guardian. In 1961, he became a full-time freelancer for the London-based Observer. He covered the Algerian War in 1962, then moved to Central Africa. From there, he moved to Asia, photographing in Vietnam from 1966 to 1971.
His book on the war, Vietnam Inc. (1971), crystallized public opinion and gave form to Western misgivings about American involvement in Vietnam. One of the most detailed surveys of any conflict, Vietnam Inc. is also an in-depth document of Vietnamese culture under attack.
An associate member of Magnum since 1966, Jones Griffiths became a full member in 1971. In 1973, he covered the Yom Kippur War, then worked in Cambodia between 1973 and 1975. In 1977, he covered Asia from his base in Thailand. In 1980, he moved to New York to assume the presidency of Magnum, a post he held for a record five years.
Jones Griffiths's assignments, often self-engineered, took him to more than 120 countries. He worked for Life and Geo on stories such as Buddhism in Cambodia, droughts in India, poverty in Texas, the re-greening of Vietnam, and the legacy of the Gulf War in Kuwait. His continued revisiting of Vietnam, examining the legacy of the war, led to his two further books Agent Orange and Vietnam at Peace.
A key theme of Jones Griffiths's work is the unequal relationship between technology and humanity, summed up in his book Dark Odyssey (1996). Human foolishness always attracted his eye, but, faithful to the ethics of the Magnum founders, he believed passionately in human dignity and in the capacity for improvement.
Philip Jones Griffiths died in London on March 18, 2008.
His book on the war, Vietnam Inc. (1971), crystallized public opinion and gave form to Western misgivings about American involvement in Vietnam. One of the most detailed surveys of any conflict, Vietnam Inc. is also an in-depth document of Vietnamese culture under attack.
An associate member of Magnum since 1966, Jones Griffiths became a full member in 1971. In 1973, he covered the Yom Kippur War, then worked in Cambodia between 1973 and 1975. In 1977, he covered Asia from his base in Thailand. In 1980, he moved to New York to assume the presidency of Magnum, a post he held for a record five years.
Jones Griffiths's assignments, often self-engineered, took him to more than 120 countries. He worked for Life and Geo on stories such as Buddhism in Cambodia, droughts in India, poverty in Texas, the re-greening of Vietnam, and the legacy of the Gulf War in Kuwait. His continued revisiting of Vietnam, examining the legacy of the war, led to his two further books Agent Orange and Vietnam at Peace.
A key theme of Jones Griffiths's work is the unequal relationship between technology and humanity, summed up in his book Dark Odyssey (1996). Human foolishness always attracted his eye, but, faithful to the ethics of the Magnum founders, he believed passionately in human dignity and in the capacity for improvement.
Philip Jones Griffiths died in London on March 18, 2008.