Stories From The South

By Elin Spring

Longtime Magnum photographer Constantine Manos knew by the age of thirteen that he wanted to be a photographer. Devouring Popular Photography magazine, he soon discovered the work of Henri Cartier-Bresson, famed champion of the “decisive moment” and founder of the prestigious Magnum photo agency, which lit Manos’ fire. By age eighteen, he managed to buy a Leica camera and Ilford film, the products used by Cartier-Bresson, and searched for “a serious project” to inaugurate his professional career as a documentary photographer. A superb selection of these seminal early photographs are on view in “Stories from the South, 1952 – 1966” at Robert Klein Gallery in Boston through June 15^th, 2019.

“Man Praying, Daufuskie Island, South Carolina, 1952” by Constantine Manos (courtesy of the artist and Robert Klein Gallery, Boston).

The son of Greek immigrants, Manos was born and raised in South Carolina. It is easy to imagine that for his first photographic foray, the eighteen year-old student sought a subject that was not only distinctive but also relatively close to home. Manos headed to Daufuskie, an isolated island off the coast of South Carolina inhabited by the African-American descendants of its original plantation slaves. A dozen vintage prints from this moving project are on exhibit, a rare treat. More recent artist-printed photographs from this period are also on view, as well as Manos’ 1952 photographs of a Klu Klux Klan Rally in his home city of Columbia and pictures from the 1960’s, when he returned to South Carolina after traveling widely.

“Klu Klux Klan (klansmen and burning cross), Columbia, South Carolina, 1952” by Constantine Manos (courtesy of the artist and Robert Klein Gallery, Boston).

“Funeral of a Soldier Killed in Vietnam, South Carolina, 1966” by Constantine Manos (courtesy of the artist and Robert Klein Gallery, Boston).

It is evident from these earliest photographs that Manos possessed both a gifted eye and a passionate heart. His images of Daufuskie Island, Klu Klux Klan Rally, South Carolina Sharecroppers, and the funerals of a soldier killed in Vietnam and Martin Luther King, Jr. resonate just as deeply today and easily explain how Manos became a Magnum photographer at just twenty-nine years old. His images also serve as consummate examples of the prevailing doctrines of documentary photography: capturing the “decisive moment,” attention to un-cropped, full-frame composition, and the primacy of a richly toned photographic print. Manos’ zeal and mastery are luminous in this soul-satisfying exhibit.

“Untitled, Island Boy, Daufuskie Island, South Carolina (boy on porch), 1952” by Constantine Manos (courtesy of the artist and Robert Klein Gallery, Boston).

For more information about this exhibit, go to: https://www.robertkleingallery.com/

Feature Image: “Kids Playing in the Backyard, Daufuskie Island, South Carolina, 1952” by Constantine Manos (courtesy of the artist and Robert Klein Gallery, Boston).