International Center of Photography
Encyclopedia
The International Center of Photography is a photography museum, school, and research center in Midtown Manhattan
in New York City
, United States
. The center was founded in 1974.
It is the host of the Infinity Awards, inaugurated in 1985 "to bring public attention to outstanding achievements in photography by honoring individuals with distinguished careers in the field and by identifying future luminaries."
with help from Micha Bar-Am
in the historic Willard Straight
House, on Fifth Avenue's Museum Mile
, ICP has presented over 500 exhibitions, bringing the work of more than 3,000 photographers and other artists to the public in one-person and group exhibitions and provided thousands of classes and workshops for tens of thousands of students. ICP was founded as an institution to keep the legacy of 'Concerned Photography' alive. After the untimely deaths of his brother Robert Capa
and his colleagues Werner Bischof
, David "Chim" Seymour
, and Dan Weiner
in the 1950s, Capa saw the need to keep their humanitarian documentary work in the public eye. In 1966 he founded the International Fund for Concerned Photography. By 1974 it was obvious the Fund needed a home, and the International Center of Photography was created.
ICP has seen enormous growth in its exhibitions, collections, education programs, and staff. In 1985, a satellite facility, ICP Midtown, was created to help accommodate this growth. Over the years, as ICP continued to develop, it became clear that further expansion wasn’t possible in the Fifth Avenue location, and plans were made for the major redesign and reconstruction of the Midtown location to meet the challenges of the flourishing museum, educational and community programs.
Siegel & Associates Architects for the display of photography and new media with state-of-the-art lighting, climate control systems, and digital presentation systems. The reopening of the 17000 square feet (1,579.4 m²) site, previously used as a photo gallery for Kodak, in the fall of 2000 provided in one location the same gallery space as the two previous sites combined and became the headquarters of ICP's public exhibitions programs. The new ICP also provided an expanded store and a café.
The expansion of the School of the International Center of Photography in the fall of 2001 created a Midtown campus diagonally across from the Museum in the Grace Building at 1114 Avenue of the Americas. Designed by the architecture firm Gensler
, the new, 27000 square feet (2,508.4 m²) school facility doubled ICP’s teaching space and allowed ICP to expand both its programming and community outreach.
Opened in 2001, the School is a 27000 square feet (2,508.4 m²) facility at 1114 Avenue of the Americas, diagonally across the street from the ICP Museum. The facility features state-of-the-art classroom and black-and-white and color lab spaces; digital labs with resources for multimedia, digital photography, video editing and production; and a professional shooting studio. Designed by Gensler
, a New York-based architectural firm, the School includes a library, a student lounge, and a student and community exhibition gallery. Among the building's architectural highlights is a striking glass pavilion entrance on the building's plaza.
ICP's educational initiatives are divided into three areas: the School, Public Programs, and Community Programs.
and digital chromogenic
prints.
The collection is strongest in its holdings of American and European documentary photography
of the 1930s to the 1990s. It comprises large bodies of work by W. Eugene Smith
, Henri Cartier-Bresson
, Robert Capa
, the Farm Security Administration
photographers, Alfred Eisenstadt, Lisette Model
, Gordon Parks
, James VanDerZee, and Garry Winogrand
. Recent purchases have included work by contemporary photographers such as Carrie Mae Weems
, Justine Kurland
, Katy Grannan
, Vik Muniz
, Tomoko Sawada, and Susan Meiselas
.
Another component of the collection is a significant group of photographically illustrated magazines, particularly those published between World War I
and II
, such as Vu
, Regards
, Picture Post
, Lilliput
, Berliner Illustrirte Zeitung
, Arbeiter Illustrierte Zeitung, and Life
.
of Göttingen
, Germany to launch the photography imprint ICP/Steidl. ICP/Steidl books combine the printing and publishing experience of Steidl with the strength of ICP's collections, exhibitions, and curatorial staff.
(GEH) and ICP launched the GEH–ICP Alliance, whose fundamental aim is to enhance public understanding and appreciation of photography, through exhibitions, publications, research, scholarship, collection sharing, and the joint website Photomuse.org.
In this collaboration, the staffs of the International Center of Photography and George Eastman House
share resources, pool their expertise, and dovetail their collections for a series of exhibitions called “New Histories of Photography.”
Manhattan
Manhattan is the oldest and the most densely populated of the five boroughs of New York City. Located primarily on the island of Manhattan at the mouth of the Hudson River, the boundaries of the borough are identical to those of New York County, an original county of the state of New York...
in New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
, United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
. The center was founded in 1974.
It is the host of the Infinity Awards, inaugurated in 1985 "to bring public attention to outstanding achievements in photography by honoring individuals with distinguished careers in the field and by identifying future luminaries."
History
Since its founding in 1974 by Cornell CapaCornell Capa
Cornell Capa was a Hungarian American photographer, member of Magnum Photos, and photo curator, and the younger brother of photo-journalist and war photographer Robert Capa. Graduating from Imre Madách Gymnasium in Budapest, he initially intended to study medicine, but instead joined his brother...
with help from Micha Bar-Am
Micha Bar-Am
Micha Bar-Am is a renowned Israeli journalistic photographer. His most prominent pictures are from when he covered the Six Day War. His pictures are not so much of direct combat, but more of wartime life....
in the historic Willard Straight
Willard Straight
Willard Dickerman Straight was an American investment banker, publisher, reporter and diplomat.-Biography:...
House, on Fifth Avenue's Museum Mile
Museum Mile, New York City
Museum Mile is the name for a section of Fifth Avenue in Manhattan in the city of New York, in the United States, running from 82nd to 104th streets on the Upper East Side in a neighborhood known as Carnegie Hill. The "mile", which contains one of the densest displays of culture in the world, is...
, ICP has presented over 500 exhibitions, bringing the work of more than 3,000 photographers and other artists to the public in one-person and group exhibitions and provided thousands of classes and workshops for tens of thousands of students. ICP was founded as an institution to keep the legacy of 'Concerned Photography' alive. After the untimely deaths of his brother Robert Capa
Robert Capa
Robert Capa was a Hungarian combat photographer and photojournalist who covered five different wars: the Spanish Civil War, the Second Sino-Japanese War, World War II across Europe, the 1948 Arab-Israeli War, and the First Indochina War...
and his colleagues Werner Bischof
Werner Bischof
Werner Bischof was a Swiss photographer and photojournalist.-Early life:Bischof was born in Zürich, Switzerland. When he was six years old, the family moved to Waldshut, Germany, where he subsequently went to school...
, David "Chim" Seymour
David Seymour
Chim was the pseudonym of David Seymour , a Polish photographer and photojournalist. Born Dawid Szymin in Warsaw to Polish Jewish parents, he became interested in photography while studying in Paris...
, and Dan Weiner
Dan Weiner
Dan Weiner was an American photojournalist, working largely for Fortune magazine. Weiner specialized in photographs of America at work.-Biography:Weiner was born in New York City in 1919...
in the 1950s, Capa saw the need to keep their humanitarian documentary work in the public eye. In 1966 he founded the International Fund for Concerned Photography. By 1974 it was obvious the Fund needed a home, and the International Center of Photography was created.
ICP has seen enormous growth in its exhibitions, collections, education programs, and staff. In 1985, a satellite facility, ICP Midtown, was created to help accommodate this growth. Over the years, as ICP continued to develop, it became clear that further expansion wasn’t possible in the Fifth Avenue location, and plans were made for the major redesign and reconstruction of the Midtown location to meet the challenges of the flourishing museum, educational and community programs.
Redesign and reconstruction
In 1999, the headquarters building at 1130 Fifth Avenue was sold. The expanded galleries, at 1133 Avenue of the Americas at 43rd Street, were designed by GwathmeyCharles Gwathmey
Charles Gwathmey was an American architect. He was a principal at Gwathmey Siegel & Associates Architects, as well as one of the five architects identified as The New York Five in 1969...
Siegel & Associates Architects for the display of photography and new media with state-of-the-art lighting, climate control systems, and digital presentation systems. The reopening of the 17000 square feet (1,579.4 m²) site, previously used as a photo gallery for Kodak, in the fall of 2000 provided in one location the same gallery space as the two previous sites combined and became the headquarters of ICP's public exhibitions programs. The new ICP also provided an expanded store and a café.
The expansion of the School of the International Center of Photography in the fall of 2001 created a Midtown campus diagonally across from the Museum in the Grace Building at 1114 Avenue of the Americas. Designed by the architecture firm Gensler
Gensler
Gensler is an American design and architecture firm headquartered in San Francisco, California. The firm was founded in 1965 by Art Gensler, Drue Gensler, and James Follett, and originally focused on corporate interiors...
, the new, 27000 square feet (2,508.4 m²) school facility doubled ICP’s teaching space and allowed ICP to expand both its programming and community outreach.
The ICP School
Located in midtown Manhattan, the ICP School is one of the world's most extensive and best-equipped schools of photography. ICP serves more than 5,000 students each year, offering 400 courses in a curriculum that ranges from darkroom classes to certificate and master's degree programs. Other educational programming includes a lecture series, seminars, symposia, workshops hosted by professional photographers, and complementary activities.Opened in 2001, the School is a 27000 square feet (2,508.4 m²) facility at 1114 Avenue of the Americas, diagonally across the street from the ICP Museum. The facility features state-of-the-art classroom and black-and-white and color lab spaces; digital labs with resources for multimedia, digital photography, video editing and production; and a professional shooting studio. Designed by Gensler
Gensler
Gensler is an American design and architecture firm headquartered in San Francisco, California. The firm was founded in 1965 by Art Gensler, Drue Gensler, and James Follett, and originally focused on corporate interiors...
, a New York-based architectural firm, the School includes a library, a student lounge, and a student and community exhibition gallery. Among the building's architectural highlights is a striking glass pavilion entrance on the building's plaza.
ICP's educational initiatives are divided into three areas: the School, Public Programs, and Community Programs.
The School
The School offers:- A year-round selection of continuing education classes
- Two one-year Certificate programs:
- General studies
- Documentary photography and photojournalism
- The ICP-Bard Program in Advanced Photographic Studies, a two-year graduate program leading to a master of fine arts degree
Public programs
Public programs address issues in photography and its relationship to art and culture and promote the interpretation of ICP's exhibitions and collections. The Photographers Lecture Series invites photographers to present their work while sharing ideas and concerns about the medium. Other seminars, symposia, and panel discussions feature artists, critics, scholars, and historians.Community programs
Community programs provide an enhanced experience of the exhibitions and an understanding of the possibilities of photography to people who might otherwise not have access to ICP's cultural resources. Programs include docent-led interactive tours, family day events, teachers' workshops, workshops for students of all ages, long-term photography programs in four New York City public schools, summer photography programs in community centers, and a high school internship program designed to promote youth leadership.Permanent collection
The permanent collection at ICP contains more than 100,000 photographs. Since its opening in 1974, ICP has acquired important historical and contemporary images through an acquisitions committee and through donations and bequests from photographers and collectors. The collection spans the history of the photographic medium, from daguerrotypes to gelatin silverGelatin-silver process
The gelatin silver process is the photographic process used with currently available black-and-white films and printing papers. A suspension of silver salts in gelatin is coated onto a support such as glass, flexible plastic or film, baryta paper, or resin-coated paper...
and digital chromogenic
Chromogenic
Chromogenic refers to color photographic processes in which a traditional silver image is first formed, and then later replaced with a colored dye image.- Description :...
prints.
The collection is strongest in its holdings of American and European documentary photography
Documentary photography
Documentary photography usually refers to a popular form of photography used to chronicle significant and historical events. It is typically covered in professional photojournalism, but it may also be an amateur, artistic, or academic pursuit...
of the 1930s to the 1990s. It comprises large bodies of work by W. Eugene Smith
W. Eugene Smith
William Eugene Smith was an American photojournalist known for his refusal to compromise professional standards and his brutally vivid World War II photographs.- Life and work :...
, Henri Cartier-Bresson
Henri Cartier-Bresson
Henri Cartier-Bresson was a French photographer considered to be the father of modern photojournalism. He was an early adopter of 35 mm format, and the master of candid photography...
, Robert Capa
Robert Capa
Robert Capa was a Hungarian combat photographer and photojournalist who covered five different wars: the Spanish Civil War, the Second Sino-Japanese War, World War II across Europe, the 1948 Arab-Israeli War, and the First Indochina War...
, the Farm Security Administration
Farm Security Administration
Initially created as the Resettlement Administration in 1935 as part of the New Deal in the United States, the Farm Security Administration was an effort during the Depression to combat American rural poverty...
photographers, Alfred Eisenstadt, Lisette Model
Lisette Model
Lisette Model was an Austrian-born American photographer.Lisette Model was born Elise Felic Amelie Stern in Vienna, Austria...
, Gordon Parks
Gordon Parks
Gordon Roger Alexander Buchanan Parks was a groundbreaking American photographer, musician, poet, novelist, journalist, activist and film director...
, James VanDerZee, and Garry Winogrand
Garry Winogrand
Garry Winogrand was a street photographer known for his portrayal of America in the mid-20th century. John Szarkowski called him the central photographer of his generation....
. Recent purchases have included work by contemporary photographers such as Carrie Mae Weems
Carrie Mae Weems
Carrie Mae Weems is an award-winning photographer and artist. Her photographs, films, and videos have been displayed in over 50 exhibitions in the United States and abroad and focus on serious issues that face African Americans today, such as racism, gender relations, politics, and personal identity...
, Justine Kurland
Justine Kurland
Justine Kurland is a fine art photographer based in New York.-Education:Kurland earned her B.F.A. from the School of Visual Arts in 1996. She went on to Yale University where she studied with Gregory Crewdson and Philip-Lorca diCorcia and graduated with an M.F.A...
, Katy Grannan
Katy Grannan
Katy Grannan is an American portrait photographer.Her work has appeared in The New York Times Magazine, was included in the 2004 Whitney Biennial, and is in public collections including The Metropolitan Museum of Art, the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, and the Whitney Museum of American Art...
, Vik Muniz
Vik Muniz
Vicente José de Oliveira Muniz, known as Vik Muniz , is a visual artist living in New York City.-Early career:Muniz began his career as a sculptor in the late 1980s after relocating from Brazil to Chicago and later to New York. His early work grew out of a post-Fluxus aesthetic and often involved...
, Tomoko Sawada, and Susan Meiselas
Susan Meiselas
Susan Meiselas is an American documentary photographer. She has been associated with Magnum Photos since 1976 and a full member since 1980. Her works have been published in newspapers and magazines including The New York Times, The Times, Time, Geo and Paris Match...
.
Another component of the collection is a significant group of photographically illustrated magazines, particularly those published between World War I
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
and II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
, such as Vu
VU
- Country codes :* VU is the country code of Vanuatu* .vu is Vanuatu's country code top-level domain- Companies :* Air Ivoire, IATA airline designator* Vivendi Universal, now Vivendi SA, a French company active in media and communications- Music :...
, Regards
Regards
Regards is a French news magazine. Created in 1932 as a Communist title, it is primarily known for photojournalism, and pre-dated other pictorial magazines such as Life and Paris-Match...
, Picture Post
Picture Post
Picture Post was a prominent photojournalistic magazine published in the United Kingdom from 1938 to 1957. It is considered a pioneering example of photojournalism and was an immediate success, selling 1,700,000 copies a week after only two months...
, Lilliput
Lilliput (magazine)
Lilliput was a small-format British monthly magazine of humour, short stories, photographs and the arts, founded in 1937 by the photojournalist Stefan Lorant. The first issue came out in July and it was sold shortly after to Edward Hulton, when editorship was taken over by Tom Hopkinson in 1940....
, Berliner Illustrirte Zeitung
Ullstein-Verlag
The Ullstein Verlag was founded by Leopold Ullstein in 1877 at Berlin and is one of the largest publishing companies of Germany. It published newspapers like B.Z. and Berliner Morgenpost and books through its subsidiaries Ullstein Buchverlage and Propyläen.The newspaper publishing branch was taken...
, Arbeiter Illustrierte Zeitung, and Life
Life (magazine)
Life generally refers to three American magazines:*A humor and general interest magazine published from 1883 to 1936. Time founder Henry Luce bought the magazine in 1936 solely so that he could acquire the rights to its name....
.
Publications
In 2003 the International Center of Photography joined with Steidl PublishersSteidl
Steidl is a German-language publisher, an international publisher of photobooks, and a printing company, based in Göttingen, Germany.The company was started by Gerhard Steidl...
of Göttingen
Göttingen
Göttingen is a university town in Lower Saxony, Germany. It is the capital of the district of Göttingen. The Leine river runs through the town. In 2006 the population was 129,686.-General information:...
, Germany to launch the photography imprint ICP/Steidl. ICP/Steidl books combine the printing and publishing experience of Steidl with the strength of ICP's collections, exhibitions, and curatorial staff.
ICP/Steidl publications
ICP/Steidl publications include:- Young America: The Daguerreotypes of Southworth and Hawes, edited by Grant Romer and Brian Wallis (2005). New England Historical Society: Best Book of the Year; Kraszna-Krausz Book Award: Honorable Mention.
- Atta Kim: On Air, by Atta KimAtta KimAtta Kim is a South Korean photographer who has been active since the mid-1980s. He has exhibited his work internationally and was the first photographer chosen to represent South Korea in the São Paulo Biennial....
(2006). Deutsche BörseDeutsche BörseDeutsche Börse AG is a marketplace organizer for the trading of shares and other securities. It also is a transaction services provider. It gives companies and investors access to global capital markets. It is a joint stock company and was founded in 1993. The headquarters are in Frankfurt,...
Prize: Best Photo Book of the Year. - Unknown Weegee by WeegeeWeegeeWeegee was the pseudonym of Arthur Fellig , a photographer and photojournalist, known for his stark black and white street photography....
(2006). College Art AssociationCollege Art AssociationThe College Art Association of America is the principal professional association in the United States for practitioners and scholars of art, art history, and art criticism...
: Best Book Design, Honorable Mention. - Snap Judgments: New Positions in Contemporary African Photography, edited by Okwui EnwezorOkwui EnwezorOkwui Enwezor is an Igbo Nigerian-born American curator, art critic, writer, poet, educator, and specializing in art history. He lives in New York.- Biography :...
(2006). Photo España: Best International Photography Book of the Year.
Other ICP publications
Other ICP publications include:- Reflections in a Glass Eye, edited by Ellen HandyEllen HandyEllen Joan Handy is a critic and historian of art, printmaking, and photography. She is Chair of the Photography Department of City College of the City University of New York....
(1999; ICP/Little, Brown) - The Decisive Moment by Henri Cartier-BressonHenri Cartier-BressonHenri Cartier-Bresson was a French photographer considered to be the father of modern photojournalism. He was an early adopter of 35 mm format, and the master of candid photography...
, a DVD (2007)
The ICP Library
The Library of the International Center of Photography, serving more than 6,000 visitors a year, is New York City's only library dedicated to photography. The information and bibliographic resources it provides are used by ICP staff, patrons, and scholars from around the world. As of 2008, the Library receives 75 periodicals and serials, and its collection of approximately 20,000 volumes and 2,000 files is available for on-site perusal.The GEH–ICP Alliance
In 2000, George Eastman HouseGeorge Eastman House
The George Eastman House is the world's oldest museum dedicated to photography and one of the world's oldest film archives, opened to the public in 1949 in Rochester, New York, USA. World-renowned for its photograph and motion picture archives, the museum is also a leader in film preservation and...
(GEH) and ICP launched the GEH–ICP Alliance, whose fundamental aim is to enhance public understanding and appreciation of photography, through exhibitions, publications, research, scholarship, collection sharing, and the joint website Photomuse.org.
In this collaboration, the staffs of the International Center of Photography and George Eastman House
George Eastman House
The George Eastman House is the world's oldest museum dedicated to photography and one of the world's oldest film archives, opened to the public in 1949 in Rochester, New York, USA. World-renowned for its photograph and motion picture archives, the museum is also a leader in film preservation and...
share resources, pool their expertise, and dovetail their collections for a series of exhibitions called “New Histories of Photography.”
External links
- Official website
- Infinity Awards
- http://www.photomuse.orgPhotomuse.org (Joint website with George Eastman HouseGeorge Eastman HouseThe George Eastman House is the world's oldest museum dedicated to photography and one of the world's oldest film archives, opened to the public in 1949 in Rochester, New York, USA. World-renowned for its photograph and motion picture archives, the museum is also a leader in film preservation and...
)] - ICP Library Catalog