img: Arsenal versus Charlton at Highbury Stadium, London, 1936, John Topham, TopFoto.co.uk, In Copyright
POWER TO THE PEOPLE – Mass-photography with major impact is the second exhibition of the series The Pleasure of Plenty, showcasing the visual opulence and richness of historical photography. The exhibition is part of EUROPEANA PHOTOGRAPHY, the thematic channel curated by Photoconsortium – the International Consortium for Photographic Heritage – in partnership with Europeana.
Quantity makes for impact: a statement perhaps most true when applied to crowds. A sea of people can arouse curiosity, exert attraction, add gravitas or heighten joy. In whatever form, style or perspective, a photo of a human mass portrays much more than a multitude of individuals: it attests to a moment bigger than life, in which not just the number of people but the magnitude of their cause has the biggest impact.
The exhibition is composed of 5 “chapters” with superb examples of how the medium of photography was used to capture crowds on film in the late 19th and early 20th centuries.
VISIT THE EXHIBITION ON photography.europeana.eu
Photos in the exhibition by Parisienne de Photographie, Ajuntament de Girona / CRDI, TopFoto, United Archives, NALIS, (all PHOTOCONSORTIUM partners), the National Library of Scotland, the National Library of Denmark, the National Library of Latvia, Hallwylska museet, Stadsarchief Leuven.
An airplane draws the attention of the inhabitants of Troyan, 2 June 1938, Pencho Dokov, Museum of crafts and applied arts, Troyan – NALIS, Public Domain
