Harbutt, Charles, circa 1985 Jun 3-7
Scope and Contents
In the first of two segments, Charles Harbutt discusses his philosophy of photography. He speaks on the distinction between photography and photojournalism, as well as his self-identification within the field. His slideshow begins with a photograph of himself at a young age, followed by selections from his projects in Cuba, Mexico, and the United States. There is a question and answer session at the end, with some heated exchanges on the relevance of captions and on the meaning of photojournalism. The debate continues in the second segment.
Inscriptions
- Container
- Charles Harbutt - Focus '85
- Item Label
- Harbutt con't
Dates
- circa 1985 Jun 3-7
Extent
1 1/4 inch Audio Cassette (01:18:36 duration)
Biographical / Historical
Charles Harbutt (1935-2015) grew up in Teaneck, New Jersey and studied journalism at Marquette University. In 1959, while working as a staff writer and photographer for the Catholic magazine, Jubilee, Harbutt went to Cuba to document the Cuban Revolution. The experience was transformative, and he quit journalism for a career in photography. Harbutt would go on to photograph migrant workers, the slums of the Lower East Side, protests against the war in Vietnam, and towns in the Yucatan, Mexico. His photographs appeared in many publications including The New York Times, Life, Look, and National Geographic, and are in the collections of major museums such as The Museum of Modern Art, the Whitney Museum, and the Art Institute of Chicago, and the Center for Creative Photography. Harbutt served twice as the president of the photographers’ cooperative. Magnum, and taught for many years at Parsons School of Design, where he was appointed to the full-time faculty in 1999.
Source: Roberts, Sam. “Charles Harbutt, Photojournalist With an Eye for Art as Well as News, Dies at 79.” The New York Times (New York, NY), July 5, 2015.