Don McCullin (b. 1935) is one of Britain's most acclaimed photographers. The Imperial War Museum presents Shaped by War: Photographs by Don McCullin, a major exhibition exploring the life and work of the artist.
The display features a broad range of items including 250 photographs, a specially commissioned film interview, contact sheets, magazine spreads and personal items including his helmet, books, numerous passports and the Nikon F camera which stopped a Khmer Rouge AK bullet in Cambodia, thereby saving his life. Additional exhibits include photographs of the artist at work as well as documents and personal correspondence. Also on show are photographs of still life and English landscapes taken at his Somerset home in recent years.
McCullin is no stranger to the front line having photographed conflicts in East and West Berlin, Vietnam and Cambodia, the Congo, the Lebanon, Biafra, Bangladesh, Cyprus, Israel and the Middle East, and nearer home in Northern Ireland. Curiously, McCullin did not cover the Falklands War in 1982 because the British Government, led by Margaret Thatcher, refused to grant a press pass. Initially, McCullin assumed this was because the government thought his images might be politically inflammatory. He later discovered that it was merely a question of bureaucracy: the Royal Navy had used its quota of press passes!
Through his grainy black and white images he has deliberately stripped all notions of glamour from war, famine and disaster. Many of his photographs are now regarded as icons of 20th-century conflict such as this portrait of a US Marine in Vietnam in 1968. McCullin is a highly skilled portraitist and a selection of these rarely seen images are included in the exhibition.
Don McCullin – About the Artist
Don Mccullin was born in north London. After training at Hammersmith School of Arts and Crafts McCullin served in the RAF. His first written report appeared in the Observer on 15th February 1959. He also wrote for the Sunday Times Magazine and launch his freelance career in 1985, a career that has lasted well over 50 years. McCullin's choice of subject matter has included not just images of conflict, but also social documentary, landscapes, and overseas projects.
Don McCullin is the recipient of countless awards including the 1964 World Press Photo Award for his coverage of the conflict in Cyprus. He became a Fellow of the Royal Photographic Society in 1977, and was awarded the CBE in 1993.
One cannot witness such dreadful scenes without suffering long-term affects and McCullin has written at length about his experiences. His publications include The Destruction Business (1971); The Homecoming (1979); Beirut: A City in Crisis (1983); Cold Heaven (2001); and many others. His latest title, Southern Frontiers: A Journey Across the Roman Empire, is a contemplative study of specially chosen Roman and pre-Roman ruins in North Africa and the Middle East.
Shaped by War: Photographs by Don McCullin – Exhibition Catalogue
To accompany the exhibition the publisher Jonathan Cape, in association with the Imperial War Museum, has released a 208-page book charting Don McCullin's life and work through his photographs. The hardback publication (ISBN: 9780224090261) is available from the IWM at £16.50.
This ticketed exhibition (Adults £7, Concessions £6) will be on view until 15th April 2012. Please note this exhibition is not recommended for young children. Tickets and further information available from the Imperial War Museum.
Sources:
- Imperial War Museum
- Jacobson, C., Shaped by war: Don McCullin in Profile, British Journal of Photography, 03 Mar 2010
- McCullin, D., Unreasonable Behaviour: An Autobiography (1970)
Frances Spiegel - Frances Spiegel, B.A. Hons. (Open)., Dip.Eur.Hum., read Art History/European Modern History at the Open University.
