Magnum Football: Magnum Soccer

Description

There are few things that unify people across the world better than the game of football. More than just kicking a ball about, football stirs passions beyond rational thought, affecting the mood of a nation or even the fortunes of a government. Since the 1930s, various members of Magnum have photographed the world of football, documenting the teams, the supporters, and the game, from barefeet on African mud or a Brazilian beach, to kicking cans in the backstreets of Newcastle. This collection of photographs shows how deep the roots of football run and how wide they are spread, how football culture crosses every boundary of nationality, race and religion, how it throws up important social issues such as the empowerment of women through football in Iran and the bitter religious rivalry between Glasgow's two teams Rangers and Celtic. The photographs combine the beauty of the game itself with the aesthetic quality associated with the photographers of Magnum and provides a celebration of the "world game" as well as a social portrait of the world over a period of more than half a century.

Magnum Photos was founded in 1947 by Henri Cartier-Bresson, Robert Capa, George Rodger and Chim Seymour to free its photographers from the magazine values of the time so that they could shoot the work they wanted. Becoming legendary, Magnum has always precariously balanced the values of art and humanitarian journalism, and continues to do so today. Magnum's members and associated photographers include Eve Arnold, Henri Cartier-Bresson, Raymond Depardon, Elliott Erwitt, Leonard Freed, Josef Koudelka, Steve McCurry, Susan Meiselas, James Nachtwey, Martin Parr, Gueorgui Pinkhassov, Larry Towell and Ferdinando Scianna. Photographer's Residence Various

'You don't have to be a fan of the game to enjoy the wonderful images that have been put together by the world's leading photographers of our time ... an absolute gem.' (Time Out) 'A breathtaking collection of images that best describe what soccer represents on a planet so diverse yet unified by a simple game.' (Soccer Magazine)