A Photographic Life - 109: Plus Michael Magers

In episode 109 UNP founder and curator Grant Scott is in his shed reflecting on photography on the streets as a form of protest, how creativity is viewed on television, the state of the editorial industry, and why we no longer need to us the word 'mobile' when describing photographs. Plus this week photographer Michael Magers takes on the challenge of supplying Grant with an audio file no longer than 5 minutes in length in which he answer’s the question ‘What Does Photography Mean to You?’ Michael Magers is a documentary photographer and journalist based in New York City working on long-term documentary projects.  He is a frequent collaborator with the online publication Roads & Kingdoms and was  lead photographer on their award-winning books, Rice Noodle Fish and Grape Olive Pig. Since 2013, he has photographed the Shokunin, or master-craftspeople, in Japan.  This work has taken him from the ateliers of top ceramic artists, sword-makers, and kimono weavers to the taboo underworld of Japanese traditional tattooing. Outside of Japan, Magers continues to explore the personality it takes to dedicate one's life to perfecting the smallest of details, with an abiding interest in the obsessive need to create. Magers images are exhibited both internationally and in the U.S. and have appeared in print publications including TIME, Smithsonian, Vogue Italia, Huck, and The Washington Post. His first monograph, Independent Mysteries, was published by Hatje Cantz and debuted at Paris Photo in 2019. Michael’s work documenting craftsmanship in Japan was named a 2016 Critical Mass Finalist and in 2019, he was shortlisted for the Hariban Award. https://mpmagers.com If you have enjoyed this podcast why not check out our A Photographic Life Podcast Plus. Created as a learning resource that places the power of learning into the hands of the learner. To suggest where you can go, what you can read, who you can discover and what you can question to further your own knowledge, experience and enjoyment of photography. It will be inspiring, informative and enjoyable! You can find out here: www.patreon.com/aphotographiclifepodcast You can also access and subscribe to these podcasts at SoundCloud https://soundcloud.com/unofphoto on iTunes https://itunes.apple.com/gb/podcast/a-photographic-life/id1380344701 on Player FM https://player.fm/series/a-photographic-life and Podbean www.podbean.com/podcast-detail/i6uqx-6d9ad/A-Photographic-Life-Podcast Grant Scott is the founder/curator of United Nations of Photography, a Senior Lecturer and Subject Co-ordinator: Photography at Oxford Brookes University, Oxford, a working photographer, and the author of Professional Photography: The New Global Landscape Explained (Focal Press 2014) and The Essential Student Guide to Professional Photography (Focal Press 2015). His book New Ways of Seeing: The Democratic Language of Photography was published by Bloomsbury Academic in 2019. His documentary film, Do Not Bend: The Photographic Life of Bill Jay can now be seen at www.youtube.com/watch?v=wd47549knOU&t=3915s. © Grant Scott 2020