Seymour, David
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==Life== | ==Life== | ||
| − | '''David Seymour''' was born David Szymin in [[Warsaw]] to [[Poland|Polish]] [[Jew]]ish parents, on November 20, 1911. David had an excellent education, attending the Jewish [[gymnasium (school)|Gymnasium]] Ascolah and the he | + | '''David Seymour''' was born David Szymin in [[Warsaw]] to [[Poland|Polish]] [[Jew]]ish parents, on November 20, 1911. David had an excellent education, attending the Jewish [[gymnasium (school)|Gymnasium]] Ascolah and the ''Adademie der Graphischen un Buch Küenste'' (Academy of Graphic and Book Arts) in [[Leipzig]], [[Germany]], where he studied color printing techniques. |
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| + | Graduating in 1932, he left Germany, where the [[Nazi]]s were gaining power, returning to Poland where he found economic problems and [[fascism]] on the rise. He decided to move to [[Paris]], [[France]], planning to study [[science]] at the [[Sorbonne]]. To support himself, he borrowed a [[camera]] from a friend and began his career in [[photography]]. This friend was [[David Rappaport]], who owned the pioneer picture agency Rap, which provided photographs to publishers of books and magazines. | ||
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| + | Becoming a freelance journalist in 1933, David began using the name "Chim," a phonetic spelling of his otherwise difficult family name. At that time David wrote to his girlfriend, Emma, in Warsaw: | ||
| + | <blockquote>Today it is one year since I came to Paris—an important anniversary that puts me in a mood for reflection and memories. As you know, I am not any more working at reproduction (lithography). I am a reporter, or more exactly, a photo-reporter... My stories appeared lately in Paris Soir (about the Metro.) Regards will publish my two big stories. Basically I am satisfied with myself, because I am working well. I know what I want at this moment and I am making progress in that direction. But I want to do something bigger. Then, socially, I am moving in new circles, away from the Polish gang. I am more among photographers, thinking people, interested in the same problems as myself. We are trying to organize some kind of association of revolutionary-minded people.<ref>David Seymour and Inge Bondi, ''Chim: The Photographs of David Seymour'' (Bulfinch Press, 1996, ISBN 978-0821222294)</blockquote> | ||
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| + | These photographer friends he worte about were André Friedman, later to be known as [[Robert Capa]], and [[Henri Cartier-Bresson]], the group that would found [[Magnum Photos]] more than a decade later in the United States. | ||
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In 1940 he enlisted in the [[United States Army]], serving in Europe as a photo interpreter during the war. He became a [[naturalized citizen]] of the [[United States]] in 1942, the same year that his parents were killed by the [[Nazism|Nazis]]. After the war, he returned to Europe to document the plight of refugee children for [[UNESCO]]. | In 1940 he enlisted in the [[United States Army]], serving in Europe as a photo interpreter during the war. He became a [[naturalized citizen]] of the [[United States]] in 1942, the same year that his parents were killed by the [[Nazism|Nazis]]. After the war, he returned to Europe to document the plight of refugee children for [[UNESCO]]. | ||
Revision as of 23:40, 29 May 2008
Chim (pronounced shim) was the pseudonym of David Seymour (November 20, 1911 – November 10, 1956), an American photographer and photojournalist.
Life
David Seymour was born David Szymin in Warsaw to Polish Jewish parents, on November 20, 1911. David had an excellent education, attending the Jewish Gymnasium Ascolah and the Adademie der Graphischen un Buch Küenste (Academy of Graphic and Book Arts) in Leipzig, Germany, where he studied color printing techniques.
Graduating in 1932, he left Germany, where the Nazis were gaining power, returning to Poland where he found economic problems and fascism on the rise. He decided to move to Paris, France, planning to study science at the Sorbonne. To support himself, he borrowed a camera from a friend and began his career in photography. This friend was David Rappaport, who owned the pioneer picture agency Rap, which provided photographs to publishers of books and magazines.
Becoming a freelance journalist in 1933, David began using the name "Chim," a phonetic spelling of his otherwise difficult family name. At that time David wrote to his girlfriend, Emma, in Warsaw:
Today it is one year since I came to Paris—an important anniversary that puts me in a mood for reflection and memories. As you know, I am not any more working at reproduction (lithography). I am a reporter, or more exactly, a photo-reporter... My stories appeared lately in Paris Soir (about the Metro.) Regards will publish my two big stories. Basically I am satisfied with myself, because I am working well. I know what I want at this moment and I am making progress in that direction. But I want to do something bigger. Then, socially, I am moving in new circles, away from the Polish gang. I am more among photographers, thinking people, interested in the same problems as myself. We are trying to organize some kind of association of revolutionary-minded people.Cite error: Closing
</ref>missing for<ref>tag"It was probably a sort of escape from the world we are living now to wander through the ancient Greece ruins and sail around the islands…one gets philosophical looking at the remnants of great civilizations…”
Many of Seymour’s later photographs of Greece seem to reflect the photographer’s playful musings about the nature of the people and the landscape. These images reflect a strong kinship with the work of his friend Cartier-Bresson.[1]
"He didn't surprise them, he didn't photograph them from a distance or over their shoulders...," Shneiderman says. "He made a close, personal and emotional relationship."[2]
Legacy
Seymour was eulogized by his friend and colleague, photographer Henri Cartier-Bresson: “Chim picked up his camera the way a doctor takes his stethoscope out of his bag, applying his diagnosis to the condition of the heart. His own was vulnerable.”[3]
Publications
- Seymour, David. 1949. Children of Europe. UNESCO
- Seymour, David. 1950. The Vatican: Behind the Scenes in the Holy City. Grosset & Dunlap.
- Seymour, David. 1957. Little Ones. Japan: Heibonsha.
- Seymour, David. 1966. David Seymour-"Chim". Paragraphic Books.
- Seymour, David. 1999. Closeenough: Photography by David Seymour (Chim). Art Gallery, University of Maryland. ISBN 978-0937123386
Notes
- ↑ Corcoran Gallery of Art (2008) Chim:Reflections from the Heart Greece Retrieved May 29, 2008.
- ↑ Susan Stamberg David Seymour's 'Reflections from the Heart' Morning Edition, NPR, March 23, 2006. Retrieved May 29, 2008.
- ↑ Corcoran Gallery of Art (2008) Reflections for the Heart: Photographs by David Seymour (Chim) Retrieved May 29, 2008.
References
ISBN links support NWE through referral fees
- Beck, Tom. 2006. David Seymour (Chim). Phaidon Press. ISBN 978-0714842769
- Capa, Cornell. 1974. David Seymour. Penguin. ISBN 978-0670258321
- Miller, Russell. 1999. Magnum: Fifty Years at the Front Line of History: The Story of the Legendary Photo Agency. Grove Press. ISBN 978-0802136534
- Seymour, David and Inge Bondi. 1996. Chim: The Photographs of David Seymour. Bulfinch Press. ISBN 978-0821222294
External links
- CHIM: The Photographs of David Seymour Retrieved December 18, 2007.
- NPR Story: Reflections from the Heart
- Chim Home Page
- Chim: The Photography of David Seymour (1911–1956) de Young Exhibition, Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco.
- Reflections from the Heart: Photographs by David Seymour (Chim) Corcoran Gallery of Art.
- David Seymour Magnum Photos.
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