🌐 Video Wed 6/25 at 7 pm - Photographer André Kertész

The Hungarian-born André Kertész wasn’t always regarded as one of the most important photographers of the 20th century. Revered for his advancements in photojournalism, the photo essay and composition, Kertesz was largely unknown in the art community, save the belated attention he received in the ‘60s, and again in the ‘80s.

Perhaps he’s best known for his sensitive images of the everyday. And though he considered himself a realist and documentarian, he was informally associated with the surrealist movement, and also leant on the teachings of cubism.

Freud once said reality is that which ‘gets in the way’ — that which disrupts or shackles our fantasies and dreams. In the case of photo realism, it’s argued what is considered ‘real’ in photography isn’t just formal technique or objective style.

This take on realism defined Kertész early on in his career as one of the founders of photojournalism. As a young man he photographed Hungarian peasants on the streets, pioneering the use of a small camera. His snapshots reveal moments, or surprises, in every day life. He was a mentor to Henri Cartier-Bresson, Robert Capa and Brassai — a look at their oeuvres hark back to Kertész.