Gallery: 'Hidden' from Magnum Photos / Aperture

Near Zhengzhou, China. 2004.

“The world-renowned Shaolin Monastery is known to many for its association with martial arts, specifically Shaolin Kung Fu.

The physical strength and dexterity displayed by the monks is incredible, although they exude a deep serenity.”

Linda, the llama with its trainer, Mrs. Lorraine D’Essen. New York,

USA. 1957.

“This image is an outtake from Inge’s iconic story, ‘A Llama in Times Square’ published in the December 2, 1957 issue of LIFE magazine. The story showcases the humorous yetinsightful story of stage and television animal performers living in New York City. Linda, the llama is accompanied by one of her trainers and foster parent Mrs. Lorraine D’Essen, during a ride back home from a television show at ABC studios.”

- Sana Manzoor, Inge Morath Estate

From “The Pleasure Principle.” Blackpool, England. 1982.

“It can be argued that, like the sculptor’s stone whose final shape always lies hidden until the sculptor reveals it to us, in a quantum universe the photograph has always existed, waiting for the photographer to take it and reveal its form, though the meaning still lies hidden.”

Crissy, Jesse, Linda, and Dean Damm in their car, Los Angeles.

1987.

“While I was working with the Damm family, I thought about making a strong portrait of them in their car. It was impossible to take the photograph inside the car, because there just wasn’t enough space. Also, Runtley was a ferocious pit bull, and he would most surely bite me; the car was his territory. On the last day, I asked them to stop their car near a railroad track,

and I made this picture. I took several frames, but when Crissy spontaneously reached up and gently touched Jesse’s face, I knew that was the photograph.”

Dairy Queen. 2000.

“I wanted to make the invisible communion between girls visible, foregrounding their experience as primary and irrefutable. I imagined a world in which acts of solidarity between girls would engender even more girls—they would multiply through the sheer force of togetherness and lay claim to a new territory. Their collective awakening would ignite and spread through suburbs and schoolyards, calling to clusters of girls camped on stoops and the hoods of cars, or aimlessly wandering the neighborhoods where they lived.”

Muhammad Ali. London, England. 1966.

“I’m sure there are hidden treasures in any analog archive one might never have the chance to discover. During my time as an active photo-reporter there was rarely a lot of time left between assignments to have a second or third look at the negatives that were not immediately published.

So when the theme of this Square Print project ‘Hidden’ came up, I did some more digging. I grabbed some folders of old negatives and unexpectedly found another Muhammad Ali picture that I had totally overlooked ’til today, even though I have published a lot of Ali pictures, including two books. It’s amazing to see him show so many different facets of his personality on a single film strip.”

‘Aquacade.’ Florida, USA. 1953.

“I was on assignment for LIFE [magazine] to shoot an international meet of underwater ballet swimmers. For three days I photographed the girls doing the most complicated wheels and tricks under water. Once, during a break, the winning Canadian team came to the surface to gulp for air. From the bottom of the pool I photographed them treading water.”

- Philippe Halsman, Halsman at Work, Yvonne Halsman (Harry N. Abrams, Inc., 1989)

Subway. New York City, USA. 1980.

“This photograph was taken as part of an ongoing series of color subway portraits in the early 1980s. I used to explore different subway lines, taking them to the end and then back again. One day I spotted this young man on the subway train at Coney Island, who absorbed so much bright sun he appeared to be radiant. His glowing skin tone seemed to match the chains around his neck, which James Agee would often refer to as ‘badges of being.’ The fact that his face is in shadow implies ‘hidden’ to me. Although our meeting was momentary, he gave himself to the camera and then was gone, back into the bowels of Brooklyn. Forty years later I was told that this man, who was 20 at the time, became a prominent physical trainer.”

#7851. 2008.

“I drive, I drive a lot.People ask me how I find my pictures. I tell them I drive around. I drive and drive and I mostly don’t find anything that is interesting to me. But then, something calls out. Something that looks sort of off or maybe an empty space. Sometimes it’s a sad scene. I like that kind of stuff. I remember this foggy night, wondering about the hidden world behind the frosted glass of the garage door. Did somebody just leave the light on? Or is there a whole world of activity going on in the middle of the night out in the garage under the veil of the fog? And so I keep driving and looking and taking pictures.”

Protester, Cuban Missile Crisis, Whitehall, London. 1962.

“In 1962, when the world nearly went to war again over the Cuban Missile Crisis, there were massive demonstrations in London’s Trafalgar Square and Whitehall, where this shot was taken. This one man broke from the rabble of many thousands trying to make a run for 10 Downing Street, the prime minister’s residence. Police formed a cordon to prevent him and to hold back ensuing crowds. So he made his political statement by sitting himself down in front of them. What slogan was he brandishing on that banner? Who was he? What happened to him? His statement may have made headlines, but he remains forever anonymous, caught up entirely in his own activism.”

‘Hidden,’ the Magnum Square Print Sale in Partnership with Aperture, runs through midnight EDT Friday, November 1, 2019. Signed or estate-stamped, museum-quality, 6x6” prints from over 100 artists will exceptionally be available for $100, for 5 days only, on shop.magnumphotos.com.