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September 29, 2008
Josef Koudelka is a key exponent of Czechoslovakian humanistic and documentary photography of the1960s and 1970s. He is seen to work with objective and open eye that captured a reality, which caused them trouble with the old communist regime. Koudelka's reputation was made internationally by the photographs he shot of the invasion of Prague by Warsaw Pact troops (in August 1968) So he emigrated and joined Magnum.
Josef Koudelka, Ireland,1972
Though Koudelka joined Magnum he became stateless, restless and rootless even though Paris was his adopted home. He defined his freedom as a nomad constantly on the move alone with this camera and sleeping bag. Until he returned from exile to Czechoslovakia in the 1990s with his semi-mythic status as a celebrated exponent of 20th century reportage by a romantic artist.
Sleeping under a desk the Magnum office or crashing in a mate's pad for several years in London, sleeping in sleeping bag in the open, walking away from one's kids and being just alone with one's camera is not a practical role for contemporary photographers.
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From memory in the 1980’s in Australia, there was a lot of work by art school trained photartists that questioned and rejected the documentary nature of photography.
One of the techniques used in this photoart was to completely stage the shot. This kind of work was grouped under 'postmodern photography'.