Until October 10, 2021, the Ernst Leitz Museum Wetzlar presents the exhibition "The Eyes of Humanity" by American Magnum photographer Steve McCurry - a personal selection from 40 years.
His photographs tell stories and have made history. At the intersection of reportage, portrait, travel and landscape photography, the American Steve McCurry (*1950) has long been one of the very great photographers of our time. For the exhibition "The Eyes of Humanity" at the Ernst Leitz Museum Wetzlar, the Magnum photographer has made a personal selection of around 90 color motifs: Images that are particularly close to his heart and at the same time provide a wonderful overview of his rich life's work. The photographs were taken over the past four decades in a total of 26 countries. They include motifs from crisis and disaster areas, such as the burning oil fields in Kuwait in 1991 or the destroyed towers of the World Trade Center in New York in 2001, as well as impressive landscapes and everyday scenes, but above all photographs that tell of the fate of the most diverse people and communities in the world.
McCurry's work is in the tradition of humanistic photography and transcends linguistic and cultural boundaries. Intense portraits from Pakistan, Tibet, Ethiopia or Ecuador: the unwavering optimism and his knowledge of human nature let him find access and trust to the most diverse people again and again. Not to be missed in the exhibition is his most famous picture: the "Afghan Girl," which McCurry photographed in a refugee camp in Pakistan in 1984, advanced to become a photographic icon printed worldwide. It was not until 2002 that the photographer was able to find the hitherto nameless girl after a long search and continue the story of Sharbat Gula. Time and again, Steve McCurry succeeds in drawing attention to those who would otherwise be otherwise unnoticed. With tireless energy and empathetic curiosity, his work reveals the beguiling beauty, but also the abysses of the world.
Steve McCurry was born on April 23, 1950 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA. After graduating from university in 1978, he began traveling and working worldwide. McCurry has worked for all major international magazines, published numerous illustrated books, and has been honored with prestigious awards, including the Robert Capa Gold Medal, the National Press Photographers Award, and multiple times at the World Press Photo Awards. He has been a contributor to the Magnum agency since 1986. He was the first photographer to be inducted into the Leica Hall of Fame by Leica Camera AG in 2011.
ERNST LEITZ MUSEUM
Am Leitz-Park
D-35578 Wetzlar
Taj Mahal und Eisenbahn. Agra, Uttar Pradesh, Indien 1983
© Steve McCurry courtesy of the Ernst Leitz Museum, Wetzlar 2021
Shaolin Kloster. Provinz Henan, China 2004
© Steve McCurry courtesy of the Ernst Leitz Museum, Wetzlar 2021
Mutter und Kind am Autofenster., Indien 1993
© Steve McCurry courtesy of the Ernst Leitz Museum, Wetzlar 2021
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