Gypsies is without a doubt one of the most important works of photography of the 20th century.

Last Thursday, Fondazione FORMA per la fotografia opened the much-anticipated “Gypsies by Josef Koudelka”, a world premier exhibition of the work of Josef Koudelka based on his seminal 20th century monograph, Gypsies, the artist’s 9-year photographic survey of the gypsy communities of Eastern Europe. The exhibition revisits the artist’s original intention for the work, based on the original sequencing and maquette prepared in 1968 by Koudelka and graphic designer Milan Kopriva. Koudelka intended to publish the work in Prague, but was forced to flee Czechoslovakia, landing eventually in Paris and leaving the book long unpublished. In 1975, Robert Delpire, Aperture, and Koudelka collaborated to publish Gitans, la fin du voyage (Gypsies, in the English-language edition), a selection of sixty photographs taken in various Roma settlements around East Slovakia. Robert Delpire is currently the subject of  a multi-venue career retrospective exhibition in New York City.

FORMA‘s exhibition of this work calls upon Aperture’s expanded edition, featuring 109 photographs of Roma society taken between 1962 and 1971. Printed under close supervision of the artist, expressly for Forma, the images on view recount the everyday life of gypsy communities in the sixties in Bohemia, Moravia, Slovakia, Romania, Hungary, and occasionally France and Spain.

This exhibit is presented in collaboration with Magnum Photos.

Gypsies by Josef Koudelka
On view through September 16, 2012

Fondazione Forma per la Fotografia
Milan, Italy
39 02.5811.8067

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›› Buy Gypsies by Josef Koudelka (Aperture 2011) for 30% off
›› From the 2011 archive, TIME Lightbox reviews Josef Koudelka’s Gypsies, Revisited

Photos Courtesy Cultural Services / The French Embassy in the U.S.

Over the course of the last month, upwards of 300 children from elementary schools across New York City were invited to visit the special exhibition of Robert Delpire’s children’s books at Cultural Services of the French Embassy, part of the city-wide celebration of Delpire’s six decades of visionary publishing work, in conjunction with Aperture’s own 60th anniversary celebration.

These free morning workshops offered interactive, bilingual activities including monster mask-making inspired by Actibum’s The Masks, readings from André François’ Crocodile Tears and Maurice Sendak’s Where the Wild Things Are, book cover design and more.

The exhibition closed Friday, June 8, 2012, but if you missed out make sure to view this video from the French Embassy, Where The Wild Things Are : an Homage to Maurice Sendak and Les editions Delpire, and check out the remaining Delpire & Co. exhibitions on view.

Through July 19, 2012:

• Classic publications by Henri Cartier-Bresson, Robert Frank, William Klein, Josef Koudelka, Sarah Moon and more at Aperture (547 West 27th Street, 4th Floor).
• Contemporary photography from Michael Ackerman, Jehsong Baak, Michel Vanden Eeckhoudt, Harry Gruyaert and more at The Gallery at Hermès/Fondation d’entreprise Hermès (691 Madison Aveune).
• Illustraitions from the Poche Illustrateur series, celebrating Roman Cieślewicz, Honoré Daumier, Etienne Delessert and more at La Maison Française of New York University (16 Washington Mews, at University Place).

Through July 16, 2012:

• Sarah Moon: Now and Then at Howard Greenberg Gallery (41 E. 57th St.).
  
• A Tribute to Robert Delpire: Robert Frank, Lee Friedlander, Josef Koudelka, Duane Michals, and Paolo Roversi at Pace/MacGill Gallery (32 E. 57th St., 9th Floor).

Aperture Gallery was abuzz Wednesday evening, hosting the much-anticipated New York City launch of Delpire & Co., the citywide, multi-venue retrospective of the life and work of legendary editor, curator and publisher, Robert Delpire. Following presentations in Arles and Paris, Delpire & Co. arrives to New York City with representation at six venues throughout Manhattan.

Aperture’s Wednesday opening was the first of the week (followed by Thursday night openings at the French Embassy, and Gallery at Hermes), welcoming a strong roster of photography legends and pillars of the photographic community. Sarah Moon, Mary Ellen Mark, and Josef Koudelka were in attendance, standing alongside their own seminal works on view, as well as celebrated photographers Bruce Davidson and Susan Meiselas. Multiple films by filmmaker/photographer Sarah Moon were on screen, including 1970’s TV spots directed by Moon for Cacharel (7 min), as well as “Le Montreur d’images (The Go-Between)” (2009), her feature length documentary on husband Robert Delpire.

Peter Barberie, Curator of Photographs for the Philadelphia Art Museum was in attendance Wednesday evening, as well as Jeff Hirsch of FotoCare, and Wendy Byrne, former designer for Aperture Foundation. Special thanks to exhibition producer Mike Derez, and Project Coordinator Agnès Gagnès of Idéodis.

Delpire & Co. runs through June at venues throughout the city. Like us on Facebook to view a full album of photos from the opening.

›› Click here for details on all the exhibitions and events.
›› Join the conversation on Instagram and Twitter using #Delpire
›› The New Yorker presents a stunning and concise slideshow summary of books and photographs from among the displays at Aperture, Hermès, Pace/MacGill, and Howard Greenberg.

Delpire season is upon us.

Tonight Aperture Gallery launches the New York City run of Delpire & Co., opening their W27th street space to the public, showcasing a rich, multimedia exhibition celebrating the revered curator, editor, publisher, and overall champion of photography, Robert Delpire.
In the next several weeks, a comprehensive retrospective of Delpire’s career will be exhibited across four venues in New York City: Aperture Gallery, The Gallery at Hermès, Cultural Services of the French Embassy, and La Maison Française. Concurrent with Delpire & Co., Pace/MacGill and Howard Greenberg will have exhibitions on view in celebration of Robert Delpire’s life and work.

Here’s what you can expect to see throughout New York City:

Aperture Gallery

On view: May 9 through July 19

Highlights: Classical and seminal publications by now-iconic photographers such as Henri Cartier-Bresson, William Klein, Robert Frank (see: “The Americans”), Josef Koudelka, and Sarah Moon. Delpire’s work with magazines will also be featured, including the very first issue of Neuf (founded by Robert Delpire at the ripe age of 23), and Nouvel Observateur Spécial Photo, as well as advertising projects for diverse clients from Cacharel, Citroën, L’Oréal, and the French Ministry of Culture.

Cultural Services of the French Embassy

On view: May 11 through June 6

Highlights: The embassy will be exhibiting the original French editions of beloved illustrator Maurice Sendak’s Where the Wild Things Are and Crocodile Tears.

The Gallery at Hermès/Fondation d’entreprise Hermès

On view: May 11 through July 19

Highlights: Robert Delpire’s famed Photo Poche series is on view, as well as prints from contemporary photographers such as Harry Gruyaert, Jehsong Baak, Michel Vanden Eeckhout, Michael Ackerman, Francesco Zizola, Raymond Depardon, Robert Doisneau, Paolo Pellegrin, Marc Riboud.

La Maison Française of New York University

On view: May 18 through July 19

Highlights: This exhibition focuses on the Poche Illustrateur series, celebrating notable illustrators such as Roman Cieślewicz, Honoré Daumier, Etienne Delessert, Guy Peellaert, and Saul Steinberg.

› In addition, two supporting exhibitions will be on view; Sarah Moon at Howard Greenberg Gallery, featuring new work, and Pace/MacGill Gallery will exhibit works by prominent photographers such as Robert Frank, Josef Koudelka, Duane Michals, Paolo Roversi, and Alfred Stieglitz.

› Visual Supplement: This week in the magazine The New Yorker ran photographs by Sarah Moon and Lee Freidlander, both of which are part of exhibitions celebrating the work of Delpire. Online, The New Yorker presents a stunning and concise slideshow summary of books and photographs from among the displays at Aperture, Hermès, Pace/MacGill, and Howard Greenberg.

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Delpire & Co. is coproduced by Rencontres d’Arles, la Maison Européenne de la Photographie, Delpire Editeur, and Aperture Foundation.Delpire & Co. has been made possible with the support of the National Endowment for the Arts, Fondation d’entreprise Hermès, Etant donnés: The French-American Fund for Contemporary Art, the E.T. Harmax Foundation, and with public funds from the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs in partnership with the City Council.

As part of our sixtieth anniversary celebration, Aperture Foundation, in collaboration with our partners, presents the exhibition Delpire & Co. featuring a half century of achievement in the life and career of visionary French publisher, editor, and curator Robert Delpire.

Over the past sixty years, the eyes and instincts of Robert Delpire have shaped much of the world’s understanding of photography. A prolific publisher and exhibition organizer, with a razor-sharp comprehension of the graphic arts, Delpire has had a defining hand in the careers of many of the master photographers of recent history.

Delpire & Co. (Delpire et Cie in the original French) was one of the highlights of the Rencontres d’Arles in summer 2009, and was subsequently given a major presentation at la Maison Européenne de la Photographie (related video) in Paris from October 2009 to January 2010—to which Vingt Paris Magazine said, “Savor it”—with the continued support of the Fondation d’entreprise Hermès.

The exhibition showcases Delpire’s rise to prominence in the world of photography through his pioneering and seminal work in magazine (see: Neuf, Le Nouvel Observateur, Photo Poche) and book publishing—titles including Gypsies (Aperture 2011) and Koudelka (Aperture 2007)— films, curatorship, and advertising for the past fifty years.

Delpire & Co. will be divided among four different venues, creating altogether a comprehensive exhibition on Delpire’s many initiatives. Howard Greenberg Gallery and Pace/MacGill Gallery will also have exhibitions concurrently on view in celebration of Robert Delpire’s life and work.

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Delpire & Co. Exhibition
Wednesday, May 9, 2012
6:00–8:00 pm
Exhibition on view: Thursday, May 10, 2012–Thursday, July 19, 2012

FREE

Aperture Gallery
New York, New York

›› Click here for details on all the exhibitions and events.
›› Join the conversation on Instagram and Twitter using #Delpire
›› Buy Gypsies, Photographs by Josef Koudelka w/ essay by Will Guy for 30% off.

August 21, 1968. Hours after 30-year-old Josef Koudelka–then nascent career photographer–returned to Prague, having spent the past several years documenting the lives of Romanian gypsies, Soviet tanks suddenly cross the Czechoslovakian border. 200,000 Warsaw Pact troops and 2000 tanks head to Prague and occupy the capitol.

“Our city is experiencing perhaps the most trying moment in our recent history,” the Municipal Committee of the Czechoslovak Communist party of Prague announces. The country, then under the sphere of Soviet influence, had been occupied by foreign armies several times before, but never by troops from allied, supposedly friendly countries.

According to the a statement issued by TASS, the Soviet Press Agency earlier that day, the USSR made an appeal to Warsaw pact countries for immediate assistance, including armed forces, “to the fraternal Czechoslovak people.” They said the request was made “because of the emergent threat to the socialist system and statehood provided for by the constitution of Czechoslovakia.”

The “threat” comes as news to the Communist Party of Czechoslovakia, which broadcasts a statement calling upon “all citizens of the republic to remain calm and not to put up a resistance to the advancing troops because defense of the frontiers is now impossible.”

As tensions mount, ‘Prague’, the Free Legal Radio Transmitter, surrounded by Soviet infantrymen broadcasts a reiteration: “Friends… any resistance to the superior force is utterly futile. This is not defeatism; our only chance is in our preventing bloodshed, because bloodshed makes no sense at all in the present circumstances. Please remain calm, as calm as possible.”

Despite a largely passive and civil resistance, 72 Czechs and Slovaks loose their lives, hundreds others are wounded.

Koudelka had never covered a news event at that point. He spent the first seven days of the invasion making a series of stunning, emotionally charged images in central Prague. The photographs he managed to have smuggled out of the country and a year later distributed anonymously by Magnum Photos. They earned him the Robert Capa Award, though he could not claim authorship until 16 years later when threats to his family had ceased.

Nearly 250 of these images were published, many for the first time, 40 years after the event in the monograph Invasion 68: Prague (Aperture 2008). Select photographs paired with related texts, including radio transcripts and eyewitness testimonies, are now part of a traveling exhibition opening in Porto Alegre, Brazil this Sunday, April 29, 2012 (at FestFotoFoA through May 27, 2012).

“The invasion of Czechoslovakia was meant ‘to restore order,’ to return a country that had broken off its chain to the position of an obedient vassal,” write Jiri Hoppe, Jiri Suk, and Jaroslav Cuhra in their introduction to the monograph. But, “urgent appeals were made to avoid violence,” and the tanks and assault rifles were “met by a wave of words and gestures.”

One mode of resistance was called the ‘anonymous town,’ in which “the names of streets, institutions, government offices and road signs were painted over with the aim of making it difficult or impossible for the soldiers to get their bearings in an unknown environment.” Substituted instead were wall scribblings with messages like, “Moscow – 1,800 km.”

Koudelka’s series, “is not a chronological record,” he writes, “although the historical sequence of events during the first week of the occupation is take into account. Rather, the intent is to evoke the atmosphere of those days.”

Exhibition on view:
Sunday, April 29, 2012–Sunday, May 27, 2012

FestFotoPoA
Rua Sete de Setembro, 1028
Porto Alegre, Brazil

© Josef Koudelka/Magnum Photos

In 1968, Josef Koudelka was thirty years old. He had committed himself to photography as a full-time career only recently, and had been chronicling the theater and the lives of gypsies, but he had never photographed a news event. That all changed on the night of August 21, when Warsaw Pact tanks invaded the city of Prague, ending the short-lived political freedom in Czechoslovakia that came to be known as the “Prague Spring.” In the midst of the turmoil of the Soviet-led invasion, Koudelka took to the streets to document this critical moment. It was a major turning point in his life

The Lumiere Brothers Center for Photography in Moscow, Russia, present the exhibition of the legendary Czech photographer Josef Koudelka—“Invasion 68 Prague”—a series that not only embodies a key period of Czech history, but also has become recognized as a classic example of the photo-documentary genre. Forty years later, these photographs, which have been seen around the world, will be shown in Moscow. This is the most famous series of images by Josef Koudelka in history of photo reportage.

Koudelka’s photographs of the invasion were miraculously smuggled out of the country. A year after they reached New York, Magnum Photos distributed the images, but credited them to an unknown Czech photographer to avoid reprisals. The intensity and significance of the images earned the still-anonymous photographer the Robert Capa Award. Sixteen years passed before Koudelka could safely acknowledge authorship.

The exhibition, Invasion 68 Prague, is comprised of images personally selected by Josef Koudelka from his extensive archive, and is co-produced with Magnum Photos. Conceived as an installation, it features large-scale, ink-jet prints as well as related texts.

In August 2008, Aperture published a monograph of the same title on the occasion of the fortieth anniversary of the invasion.

This exhibition is made possible, in part, by generous support from Mark and Elizabeth Levine. Additional support provided by HP and Coloredge.

Exhibition on view:
Thursday, October 7–Sunday, December 4, 2011

The Lumiere Brothers Center for Photography
Marsh embankment, 3, p. 1
Moscow, Russia
(495) 228-98-78

Click here for full traveling exhibition details regarding Invasion 68 Prague.

© Josef Koudelka/Magnum Photos

Josef Koudelka‘s exhibition coproduced by Aperture and Magnum Photos, Invasion 68: Prague is now on view in Argentina at the Fundacion OSDE.  The remarkable photographs were taken during one week in August of 1968, which capture the Soviet-led invasion of Prague.  Koudelka took to the streets to document this critical moment. His powerful photographs reached Magnum Photos in New York and earned the still-anonymous photographer the Robert Capa Award. This exhibition, with many images—reproduced in large-scale prints and grids—never having been seen before, as well as compelling texts by Czech historians.

Invasion 68 Prague
August 5 – October 2, 2010

Espacio de Art de Fundación OSDE
Suipacha 658 – 1er piso
Microcentro
Ciudad de Buenos Aires, Argentina

Click here to purchase Koudelka’s Aperture published monograph, Invasion 68: Prague.

Click here for more information about Fundacion OSDE

The summer issue of Aperture magazine #199, is now on newsstands.

Here are some of the features:

Artist Robert Gober’s selection of Diane Arbus’ lesser-known images, which he considers to have had an impact on his own work.

New panoramic iamges by Josef Koudelka, taken in northwestern Italy.

Photographer Paul Graham and writer/curator Aaron Schuman discuss Graham’s sequencing and point of view.

An examination of the OpenEnded Group’s use of technology, movement, and light.

A look at the reciprocal relationship between photography and performance, including images by Melanie Bonajo, William Lamson, and Lilly McElroy.

Richard Learoyd, who makes images with a camera obscura, is interviewed by Peggy Roalf about his influences and process of working.

Environmentalist and photographer Kelly Poe documents landscapes inspired by letters from incarcerated ‘eco-terrorists’.

Stephen Dupont’s collaboration with U.S. Marines combines his photographs with notes written by his subjects, answering the question “Why are you a Marine?”

To subscribe to Aperture magazine, click here.

The cover of Bob Dylan’s latest album, “Together Through Life” features photographs from the legendary Bruce Davidson on the cover and Josef Koudelka on the back. Davidson’s work centers around a group of teenagers from Brooklyn called “The Jokers” whose antics he documented in summer of 1959. Magnum in Motion has created a video compilation of Davidson’s images to illustrate “Beyond Here Lies Nothin’”, click here to watch the full version via Amazon.