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Out of context: Reply #76547
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- DaveO1
Horp - thats a great take! I think its right to not accept 'National Treasures' if you don't agree. You can't argue with the fact that its an amazing body of work and there likely will never be a better creative expression of Britishness committed to the page.
With regard to anything he curated himself, i doubt that all the work was falsified (simply because there's so much of it in the Magnum archives – too much to be fully constructed) and I don't think his work should be judged by how 'authentic' it was. To me it was lovingly poking fun at the pockets of absurdity of life in Britain and all the weird and wonderful people that contribute to it.
I'm sure there was a formula that he worked out and knew what to do to create 'his' pictures.
Jamie Hawkesworth did a lovely book called The British Isles that to me is a more soulful and poetic tribute to our sceptred isles, and worth a look if this is up your street. The subjects are beautiful and dignified rather than cartoonish and caricatured, so offers a nice counterpoint.