This Is War! Robert Capa at Work
Gerda Taro
On the Subject of War

Now at Barbican Art Gallery, London until 25 January 2009
Entrance fee applies

This Is War!
Robert Capa at work
Robert Capa (1913–1954) is one of the leading photographers of the twentieth century and defined how modern warfare was photographed.

This exhibition, which includes over 150 images, some never-before-seen photographs and newly discovered documents, illuminates Capa’s working process and features many of the photographs that have become iconic images of war.

Gerda Taro
a retrospective
The talented and groundbreaking German photographer, Gerda Taro (1910–1937) spent her brief but dramatic career photographing the Spanish Civil War alongside Robert Capa, her lover and collaborator. She was one of the first female photographers to work on the frontline and the first to be killed in action in 1937, aged just 26, whilst covering the battle for the city of Brunete.

Taro’s unflinching images of the casualties of war, distinguished by her experimentation with the dynamic camera angles of New Vision photography, are a remarkable contribution to the tradition of war photography. This is the first exhibition of her work in the UK.

On the Subject of War
artistic responses to Iraq & Afghanistan
Conditions of war have changed since the 1930s and 1940s, but the potential of war photography to shape politics, opinion and lives, remains real.
On the Subject of War presents some of the most significant works of international contemporary art made in the context of current events in Iraq and Afghanistan: Omer Fast’s The Casting, (2007); Geert van Kesteren’s Why Mister, Why?, (2004) and Baghdad Calling, (2008); Paul Chan’s Tin Drum Trilogy, (2002–05) and An-My Lê’s 29 Palms, (2006) and Events Ashore, (2005–08).