Stories from the Picture Press: Black Star Publishing Co. & The Canadian Press
Hilmar Pabel, Untitled [Youngsters protesting after the invasion of Czechoslovakia by five countries ofthe Warsaw Pact (the USSR, Hungary,Bulgaria, EastGermany, and Poland), Prague, Czechoslovakia],1968, gelatin silver print. The Black Star Collection,The Image Centre
Written by: Max Wiener
Photo Edited by: Billy Delfs
STORIES FROM THE PICTURE PRESS: BLACK STAR PUBLISHING CO. & THE CANADIAN PRESS
September 13, 2023–April 6, 2024
The brutal importance of photojournalism is highlighted in this masterful and poignant exhibition.
Nothing tells a story quite like a picture. It's a portal to a different world, allowing a stagnant mind to dynamically explore surroundings far beyond the unknown. At their core, photographs are wordless stories, and no more profound and more poignant stories are told through photojournalism. Often accompanied by words, images used for the press starkly differ from some of the fine artists' glamorous shots. They’re raw, real, and palpable evidence that serves as cornerstones for the zeitgeist. At Toronto’s Image Centre, one of Canada’s premier photographic institutions, Stories from the Picture Press: Black Star Publishing Co. & The Canadian Press is a robust look into the country’s most stunning photojournalistic work spanning much of the twentieth century. The series features more than thirty-five stories about historical events and famous personalities, all aimed at providing a full scope of a world seemingly far from our own. Stories from the Picture Press opened on September 13th and is scheduled to close on April 6th.
Gene Daniels, Untitled [American performer SammyDavis Jr. and Swedish actress May Britt, UnitedStates], 1960–1965, gelatin silver print.TheBlackStar Collection, The Image Centre
The images in Stories from the Picture Press all have a unique feel. Some of them are harrowing looks into the societies of the past, from political rallies to military uprisings. Prominently featured in this series are images taken at the infamous 1965 Watts Riots in Los Angeles. The riots - often referred to as a slave rebellion - are considered one of the most guttural racial moments in United States history, and the images presented are certainly cognizant of that. Subjects look through the lens rather than at it, telling their stories with their eyes and body language. The images are still, but there is a feverish pace presented in them, spiking our blood pressure and giving us an excruciating look into some of our darkest moments. This is a tremendous curatorial decision, showing that while we may look fondly at some of the previous century’s triumphant moments, we must also remember the pain and suffering that lay on the other side of the coin.
Kosti Ruohamaa, Untitled [A fishing vessel in a squall,Georges Bank, Maine, United States], 1957, gelatinsilver print.TheBlack Star Collection, The ImageCentre
While the woes of the twentieth century still ring true to this day, Stories from the Picture Press does a tremendous job of balancing good and bad, splicing in magnetic images of some of the time period’s most recognizable stars. Celebrities had a different feel then, a different polish that few possess in the modern era. Sammy Davis Jr., featured handsomely in Gene Daniels’ brilliant image, has a suaveness that is missed in the public world. These images represent the freedom that existed in society, a
carefree existence that we should all be striving for. Let these pictures be a reminder to simply live your life. There may be bad in this world, yes, but it is up to you to create your own good. Go to that party. Drive with the windows down. In each image, there’s something small that makes the subjects happy. The true power of this series is that it is translatable into your world.
Griffith J. “Griff” Davis, Untitled [Children parading,Liberia], 1950, gelatin silver print.TheBlack StarCollection, The Image Centre
