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Constantine Manos: Photographer

Constantine Manos:  Photographer

 

 




Introduction to Constantine Manos.  3:21 min.  Interview:  Raymond Elman.  Music:  Lobo Loco, Never Can Stop It.  Camera:  Lee Skye.  Editor:  Jessica Barrios.   Recorded:  1/5/2019, Dania Beach, FL.    

 

Editor’s Note:  This video interview is part of The Esther Paster & Rick Grossman ArtSpeak Photography Series.

 

Constantine Manos was born in Columbia, South Carolina, of Greek immigrant parents. His photographic career began in the school camera club at the age of 13, and within several years he was a working professional. He graduated from the University of South Carolina with a B.A. in English literature. At the age of 19 he was hired as the official photographer of the Boston Symphony Orchestra at its summer festival at Tanglewood.

Upon completion of his military service, he moved to New York, where he worked for Esquire, Life, and Look.  His book, Portrait of a Symphony, a documentary of the Boston Symphony Orchestra, was published in 1961. From 1961 to 1963 he lived in Greece, where he made photographs for his book A Greek Portfolio, first published in 1972. The book won awards at Arles and at the Leipzig Book Fair, and exhibitions of the work took place at the Bibllothéque Nationale in Paris and the Art Institute of Chicago. In 1963 Manos joined Magnum Photos.

Returning from Greece, Manos settled in Boston and completed many assignments for Time-Life books, including their book on Athens. In 1974, he was the chief photographer for Where’s Boston?, a multimedia production that documented the city and provided the photographs for his book Bostonians.

Manos’s photographs are in the permanent collections of the Museum of Modern Art, New York; the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston; the Art Institute of Chicago; the Bibliothéque Nationale, Paris; George Eastman House, Rochester, NY; the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston; and the Benaki Museum, Athens. In 2003 Manos was awarded the Leica Medal of Excellence for his pictures from American Color.

Work from Manos’s ongoing work in color first appeared in his book American Color, published in 1995. The work continued in American Color 2, published in 2010.  A new edition of A Greek Portfolio was published in 1999, accompanied by an exhibition at the Benaki Museum in Athens. In 2013 an exhibition commemorating the 50th anniversary of the making of the photographs for the book, including 80 unpublished pictures, was held at the Benaki.

constantinemanos.com

Manos currently lives in Dania Beach, FL, and Provincetown, MA.

The videos below are organized by topic and run between 30 seconds and 5 minutes. Click on any video. You must be connected to the Internet to view the videos.

 

 

SELF-CONFIDENCE: 1:05 min.




When you photographed the inhabitants of Daufuskie Island, South Carolina in 1952, did you know anybody living on the island?

 

SELF-CONFIDENCE:   1:03 min.




Was there a response from KKK members when you started taking photographs of them in their white hoods?

 

INSIGHT & INSPIRATION:  1:17 min.




What is the evolution of your approach to “street photography?”

 

PERSEVERANCE FURTHERS:  1:54 min.




Before digital photography was available, you waited for “The Magic Moment” to push the shutter release button. Has that changed in the Digital Age?

 

OPEN TO CHANGE, FLEXIBILITY: 3:09 min.




Describe your evolution from traditional to digital printmaking.

 

SEIZES OPPORTUNITIES:  5:33 min.




Describe the evolution of your career.

 

VALUES FIRST-RATE EDUCATION: 1:38 min.




After successfully joining Magnum, what were your next steps?

 

SERENDIPITY:   3:51 min.




Did you ever have to work directly with a publication or did all of your work flow through Magnum?

 

CREATES A UNIQUE PERSONAL BRAND:  1:25 min.




During your professional career, photographs went from an undervalued art form to super-valued art form. How did your goals change over the course of your career?

 

INSIGHT & INSPIRATION:  1:58 min.




Your work is very notable for strong organizing concepts. What are you working on now?

 

CREATES A UNIQUE PERSONAL BRAND: 3:47 min.




Tell us about some of your black & white photography books.

 

CRITICAL THINKING:  2:01 min.




Why did you switch from black & white photography to color?

 

SEIZES OPPORTUNITIES:  2:50 min.




Tell us about your relationship with the Benaki museum.

 

CRITICAL THINKING:  1:34 min.




Since digital images can be more permanent than printed images, have you thought about making digital books of your photographs?

 

CREATES A UNIQUE PERSONAL BRAND:  2:49 min.




Tell us more about your switch from black & white photography to color.

 

INSIGHT & INSPIRATION:  0:56 sec.




You write very beautifully about your photography. Is that an innate talent or something you worked on?

 

CRITICAL THINKING:  1:34 min.




Tell us a little about your camera gear.

 

OVERCOMES CHALLENGES TO SUCCEED:  1:16 min.




Describe a challenging situation with a successful outcome.

 

UNDERSTANDS THE AUDIENCE’S PERSPECTIVE:  0:33 sec.




Did you have a chance to watch people viewing your work at the Miami History Museum?

 

CRITICAL THINKING:  0:48 sec.




What are your criteria for a successful photograph?

 

INSIGHT & INSPIRATION:  2:04 min.




What are some of your experiences with teaching photography?

 

PERSEVERANCE FURTHERS: 1:45 min.




What’s the role of serendipity in your work?