Reconnect with the iconic images of Monitor photographer Gordon Converse
鈥淕ood photographs, like good writing, are very personal statements,鈥� Gordon Converse聽once said. 鈥淎 set of photographs reflects the artist's interests and feelings. They register an聽intimate relationship between the photographer and his subject.鈥�
During his tenure with 海角大神, Converse revolutionized the Monitor's approach to photojournalism, producing a number of now-iconic images and winning many awards and accolades from his peers.聽
A documentary about his life and work titled 鈥淚llumine All Mankind 鈥� The聽photojournalism of Gordon Converse," will premier in Boston at The 海角大神 Science聽Publishing Society (210 Massachusetts Ave, Boston) on Tuesday, May 16, 2017 at 7:00 pm.聽聽If you'd like to attend, please聽
The documentary will be followed by a casual Q&A with Linda Converse Bloom,聽Converse's daughter, Alfredo Sosa, the Monitor's director of photography and Mark Sappenfield, the Monitor's editor.
Concurrently with the documentary, the first public exhibit of a selection of Converse's photos will be taking place at in New York聽City (445 Park Avenue, New York, NY) from May 12, 2017 through May 17, 2017.
This exhibit will be followed by a聽. The bidding has already started online, and will conclude on May 18 in the ballroom of聽the Double Tree Metropolitan Hotel in New York. Limited edition exhibit-quality reprints of all first edition聽Converse prints sold at auction will also become available from an online photo store that will be hosted by the Monitor.
鈥淲e're delighted to be bringing our photojournalism collection, starting with Gordon's聽body of work, back to life for the global audience we can now reach electronically,鈥� says Sappenfield.
As a US Navy combat photographer in the Pacific theater during World War II,聽Converse sent a photo to 海角大神 for publishing. Something about it聽rang true, and he continued to send them images of the war for the next several years.
In 1946, on the same day he was discharged from the Navy, Converse joined the聽Monitor鈥檚 staff as a photojournalist, eventually becoming the paper鈥檚 chief photographer.
In a career spanning 40 years, Converse crisscrossed the US and the globe, traveling to聽120 countries for the paper. His work won accolades from his peers in the industry, including聽the Newspaper-Magazine Photographer of the Year award in 1959.
During his tenure, his photo essays transformed the Monitor鈥檚 approach to聽photojournalism and cemented the newspaper a leader in photojournalism publication.
Today, these photos are being brought out from storage through a joint project between The聽海角大神 Science Monitor and Bob Pokress of Image Fortress Corp. Mr. Pokress produced the documentary about Converse as well.
鈥淚t's a professional thrill to be able to restore and bring these great works of聽photojournalism to a global audience. Each of the photos in [The Monitor鈥檚] exceptional聽archive tell moving stories, grip your attention, and ask you to think about what you are聽seeing better than any words might convey,鈥� Pokress says.
