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Jean Mohr (13 September 1925 in
Geneva
, neighboring_municipalities= Carouge, Chêne-Bougeries, Cologny, Lancy, Grand-Saconnex, Pregny-Chambésy, Vernier, Veyrier
, website = https://www.geneve.ch/
Geneva ( ; french: Genève ) frp, Genèva ; german: link=no, Genf ; it, Ginevr ...
,
Switzerland – 3 November 2018 in
Collonge-Bellerive
Collonge-Bellerive () is a municipality of the Canton of Geneva, Switzerland.
History
Collonge-Bellerive is first mentioned in 1153 as ''Collonges''. In 1275 Saint-Maurice is first mentioned as ''Sancto Mauricio'' and Vésenaz first in 1314 as ' ...
) was a Swiss
documentary photographer
Documentary photography usually refers to a popular form of photography used to chronicle events or environments both significant and relevant to history and historical events as well as everyday life. It is typically undertaken as professional pho ...
who had been active since 1949, primarily with some of the major
humanitarian organizations of the world, including the
United Nations High Commission for Refugees
The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) is a United Nations agency mandated to aid and protect refugees, forcibly displaced communities, and stateless people, and to assist in their voluntary repatriation, local integrat ...
, the
International Committee of the Red Cross
The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC; french: Comité international de la Croix-Rouge) is a humanitarian organization which is based in Geneva, Switzerland, and it is also a three-time Nobel Prize Laureate. State parties (signato ...
(ICRC),
(UNRWA), the
World Health Organization
The World Health Organization (WHO) is a specialized agency of the United Nations responsible for international public health. The WHO Constitution states its main objective as "the attainment by all peoples of the highest possible level of ...
, and the
International Labour Organization
The International Labour Organization (ILO) is a United Nations agency whose mandate is to advance social and economic justice by setting international labour standards. Founded in October 1919 under the League of Nations, it is the first and o ...
.
Early life
The son of German
immigrants who came to Switzerland in 1919, his father applied for Swiss
citizenship as a reaction against
Hitler
Adolf Hitler (; 20 April 188930 April 1945) was an Austrian-born German politician who was dictator of Nazi Germany, Germany from 1933 until Death of Adolf Hitler, his death in 1945. Adolf Hitler's rise to power, He rose to power as the le ...
, and the family became Swiss citizens in 1939. Mohr did not become a professional artist until he was thirty, first studying
economics
Economics () is the social science that studies the production, distribution, and consumption of goods and services.
Economics focuses on the behaviour and interactions of economic agents and how economies work. Microeconomics analyzes ...
(like fellow documentary photographer
Sebastião Salgado
Sebastião Ribeiro Salgado Júnior (born February 8, 1944) is a Brazilian social documentary photographer and photojournalist.
He has traveled in over 120 countries for his photographic projects. Most of these have appeared in numerous press pu ...
), receiving his
Master's Degree
A master's degree (from Latin ) is an academic degree awarded by universities or colleges upon completion of a course of study demonstrating mastery or a high-order overview of a specific field of study or area of professional practice. in Economics and Social Science from
Geneva University
The University of Geneva (French: ''Université de Genève'') is a public research university located in Geneva, Switzerland. It was founded in 1559 by John Calvin as a theological seminary. It remained focused on theology until the 17th centur ...
, and later studying
painting
Painting is the practice of applying paint, pigment, color or other medium to a solid surface (called the "matrix" or "support"). The medium is commonly applied to the base with a brush, but other implements, such as knives, sponges, and ai ...
at the
Académie Julian in
Paris
Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), ma ...
. In 1956 he married
Simone Turrettini, a
documentary film
A documentary film or documentary is a non-fictional motion-picture intended to "document reality, primarily for the purposes of instruction, education or maintaining a historical record". Bill Nichols has characterized the documentary in te ...
maker. They have two grown sons and five grandchildren.
Career
He produced 26 books of photography, five with his literary collaborator
John Berger
John Peter Berger (; 5 November 1926 – 2 January 2017) was an English art critic, novelist, painter and poet. His novel '' G.'' won the 1972 Booker Prize, and his essay on art criticism '' Ways of Seeing'', written as an accompaniment to the ...
and one with
Edward Said
Edward Wadie Said (; , ; 1 November 1935 – 24 September 2003) was a Palestinian-American professor of literature at Columbia University, a public intellectual, and a founder of the academic field of postcolonial studies.Robert Young, ''Whit ...
. His most noteworthy recent book was a 50-year
retrospective of his work photographing
Palestinian
Palestinians ( ar, الفلسطينيون, ; he, פָלַסְטִינִים, ) or Palestinian people ( ar, الشعب الفلسطيني, label=none, ), also referred to as Palestinian Arabs ( ar, الفلسطينيين العرب, label=non ...
refugees, ''Side by Side or Face to Face'', published in collaboration with the ICRC and the
International Red Cross and Red Crescent Museum
The International Red Cross and Red Crescent Museum is a museum located in Geneva, Switzerland.
Background
The International Red Cross and Red Crescent Museum asks a central question: how does humanitarian action affect us all, here and now? In ...
, in
Geneva
, neighboring_municipalities= Carouge, Chêne-Bougeries, Cologny, Lancy, Grand-Saconnex, Pregny-Chambésy, Vernier, Veyrier
, website = https://www.geneve.ch/
Geneva ( ; french: Genève ) frp, Genèva ; german: link=no, Genf ; it, Ginevr ...
, where he lived.
He was most famous for his lifelong documentary collaboration with John Berger on six volumes. His other major life's project was the photography of Palestinian refugees over a fifty-year period, from his first ICRC assignment in 1949, through the
Six-Day War
The Six-Day War (, ; ar, النكسة, , or ) or June War, also known as the 1967 Arab–Israeli War or Third Arab–Israeli War, was fought between Israel and a coalition of Arab states (primarily Egypt, Syria, and Jordan) from 5 to 10 Ju ...
in 1967, to an assignment there for the ICRC in 2002.
He also provided some
cinematography
Cinematography (from ancient Greek κίνημα, ''kìnema'' "movement" and γράφειν, ''gràphein'' "to write") is the art of motion picture (and more recently, electronic video camera) photography.
Cinematographers use a lens to foc ...
and stills for the 1989 film, ''
Play Me Something'', written by Berger, directed by
Timothy Neat, and starring Berger,
Hamish Henderson
Hamish Scott Henderson (11 November 1919 – 9 March 2002) was a Scottish poet, songwriter, communist, intellectual and soldier.
He was a catalyst for the folk revival in Scotland. He was also an accomplished folk song collector and dis ...
, and
Tilda Swinton
Katherine Matilda Swinton (born 5 November 1960) is a British actress. Known for her roles in independent films and blockbusters, she has received various accolades, including an Academy Award and a British Academy Film Award, in addition t ...
. He has been the subject of several
BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC
Here i going to introduce about the best teacher of my life b BALAJI sir. He is the precious gift that I got befor 2yrs . How has helped and thought all the concept and made my success in the 10th board exam. ...
...
films, mostly with Berger, including ''A Photographer Among Men''(1975), ''Pig Earth'' (1979) and ''Another Way of Telling'' (1988), both concerning books by Berger, and ''Traveling with Jean Mohr''. His photos were also used in the stage setting of the 1987
opera
Opera is a form of theatre in which music is a fundamental component and dramatic roles are taken by singers. Such a "work" (the literal translation of the Italian word "opera") is typically a collaboration between a composer and a libr ...
production ''Gastarbeiter'' (''Guest Workers'') by
Vinko Globokar
Vinko Globokar (born 7 July 1934) is a French-Slovenian avant-garde composer and trombonist.
Globokar's music uses unconventional and extended techniques, places great emphasis on spontaneity and creativity, and often relies on improvisation. Hi ...
. His work with
theatre
Theatre or theater is a collaborative form of performing art that uses live performers, usually actors or actresses, to present the experience of a real or imagined event before a live audience in a specific place, often a stage. The perform ...
companies included a production called ''Check Up'' by
Edward Bond and directed by
Carlo Brandt Carlo is a given name. It is an Italian form of Charles. It can refer to:
*Carlo (name)
*Monte Carlo
*Carlingford, New South Wales, a suburb in north-west Sydney, New South Wales, Australia
*A satirical song written by Dafydd Iwan about Prince Char ...
. He also collaborated with and photographed L'
Orchestre de la Suisse Romande
The Orchestre de la Suisse Romande (OSR) is a Swiss symphony orchestra, based in Geneva at the Victoria Hall. In addition to symphony concerts, the OSR performs as the opera orchestra in productions at the Grand Théâtre de Genève.
History
Er ...
for ten years, publishing books on two of its
conductors.
Awards
Among his major awards were a 1978 prize from
Köln naming him the photographer most involved the cause of
human rights
Human rights are moral principles or normsJames Nickel, with assistance from Thomas Pogge, M.B.E. Smith, and Leif Wenar, 13 December 2013, Stanford Encyclopedia of PhilosophyHuman Rights Retrieved 14 August 2014 for certain standards of hu ...
, a 1984, Contemporary Photography Prize in
Lausanne
, neighboring_municipalities= Bottens, Bretigny-sur-Morrens, Chavannes-près-Renens, Cheseaux-sur-Lausanne, Crissier, Cugy, Écublens, Épalinges, Évian-les-Bains (FR-74), Froideville, Jouxtens-Mézery, Le Mont-sur-Lausanne, Lugrin (FR ...
for his exhibition "C’était demain" ('It was tomorrow'), and a 1988
City of Geneva Prize for the Plastic Arts, the first time a photographer had been named. In 1964 he was also designated one of the fifty major Swiss artists of the time.
His work may be found in the collection of the
Metropolitan Museum of Art
The Metropolitan Museum of Art of New York City, colloquially "the Met", is the largest art museum in the Americas. Its permanent collection contains over two million works, divided among 17 curatorial departments. The main building at 1000 ...
among other
museum
A museum ( ; plural museums or, rarely, musea) is a building or institution that cares for and displays a collection of artifacts and other objects of artistic, cultural, historical, or scientific importance. Many public museums make thes ...
s. His photographic archives are kept at the
Musée de l'Élysée
Musée de l'Élysée is a museum in Lausanne, Switzerland, entirely devoted to photography. It is a government-supported institution founded in 1985 by Charles-Henri Favrod. It was housed in an 18th-century mansion until October 2020. in
Lausanne
, neighboring_municipalities= Bottens, Bretigny-sur-Morrens, Chavannes-près-Renens, Cheseaux-sur-Lausanne, Crissier, Cugy, Écublens, Épalinges, Évian-les-Bains (FR-74), Froideville, Jouxtens-Mézery, Le Mont-sur-Lausanne, Lugrin (FR ...
, Switzerland.
Published works
*''
Ernest Ansermet
Ernest Alexandre Ansermet (; 11 November 1883 – 20 February 1969)"Ansermet, Ernest" in ''The New Encyclopædia Britannica''. Chicago: Encyclopædia Britannica Inc., 15th edn., 1992, Vol. 1, p. 435. was a Swiss conductor.
Biography
Ansermet ...
'' (1961)
*''J'aime les Marionnettes'' (1962)
*''Serial Atlas des Voyages'' (1962–68), volumes on
Yugoslavia
Yugoslavia (; sh-Latn-Cyrl, separator=" / ", Jugoslavija, Југославија ; sl, Jugoslavija ; mk, Југославија ;; rup, Iugoslavia; hu, Jugoszlávia; rue, label=Pannonian Rusyn, Югославия, translit=Juhoslavija ...
,
Finland
Finland ( fi, Suomi ; sv, Finland ), officially the Republic of Finland (; ), is a Nordic country in Northern Europe. It shares land borders with Sweden to the northwest, Norway to the north, and Russia to the east, with the Gulf of B ...
,
Sweden,
Norway
Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic country in Northern Europe, the mainland territory of which comprises the western and northernmost portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula. The remote Arctic island of Jan Mayen and the ...
,
Denmark
)
, song = ( en, "King Christian stood by the lofty mast")
, song_type = National and royal anthem
, image_map = EU-Denmark.svg
, map_caption =
, subdivision_type = Sovereign state
, subdivision_name = Kingdom of Denmark
, establish ...
,
Ireland
Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel (Grea ...
,
New York, the Middle West, and contributions to the volumes on
Czechoslovakia
, rue, Чеськословеньско, , yi, טשעכאסלאוואקיי,
, common_name = Czechoslovakia
, life_span = 1918–19391945–1992
, p1 = Austria-Hungary
, image_p1 ...
,
Sicily
(man) it, Siciliana (woman)
, population_note =
, population_blank1_title =
, population_blank1 =
, demographics_type1 = Ethnicity
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, and
Moscow
Moscow ( , US chiefly ; rus, links=no, Москва, r=Moskva, p=mɐskˈva, a=Москва.ogg) is the capital and largest city of Russia. The city stands on the Moskva River in Central Russia, with a population estimated at 13.0 millio ...
*''A Fortunate Man: The Story of a Country Doctor'' (with
John Berger
John Peter Berger (; 5 November 1926 – 2 January 2017) was an English art critic, novelist, painter and poet. His novel '' G.'' won the 1972 Booker Prize, and his essay on art criticism '' Ways of Seeing'', written as an accompaniment to the ...
, 1967)
*''Art and Revolution'' (with John Berger, 1969)
*''La Suisse insolite'' (with
Louis Gaulis, 1971)
*''
A Seventh Man'' (with John Berger, 1975)
*''Another Way of Telling'' (with John Berger, 1981)
*''After the Last Sky: Palestinian Lives'' (with
Edward W. Said
Edward Wadie Said (; , ; 1 November 1935 – 24 September 2003) was a Palestinian-American professor of literature at Columbia University, a public intellectual, and a founder of the academic field of postcolonial studies.Robert Young, ''White ...
, 1986)
*''Un peu de texte ou pas du tout'' (1988)
*''Le grand livre du Salève'' (1988)
*''Les métiers de la rue'' (with
Jil Silberstein, 1990)
*''
Armin Jordan
Armin Jordan (9 April 1932 – 20 September 2006) was a Swiss conductor known for his interpretations of French music, Mozart and Wagner.
Armin Jordan was born in Lucerne, Switzerland. "Mr. Jordan was a large man, with a slab of a face and a ...
, Portrait d’un Chef'' (with
Jean-Jacques Roth, 1997)
*''Re-naissance, villa Edelstein'' (1998)
*''At the Edge of the World'' (with John Berger, 1999)
*''Derrière le miroir'' (with
Bernard Crettaz,
Jean-Philippe Rapp, John Berger and
Katya Berger
Katya Bebb Cobham (Berger) (born 1966) (sometimes credited as Katia Berger or Katja Berger) is a film actress.
Biography
Katya Berger was born on 13 December 1966 in London, England. She is the daughter of Hugh Russell Bebb and the Croatian sin ...
, 2000)
*''Side by Side or Face to Face'' (2003)
*''Manifeste pour une paix juste et durable au Moyen-Orient''
*''John by Jean: Fifty Years of Friendship.'' Occasional Press (2016).
*''100 photographs by Jean Mohr for the freedom of the press'' (Reporters without borders November 2010. With an Introduction by John Berger).
CD-ROM
*''Jean Mohr, A photographer’s journey'' (1200 photos)
References
External links
Personal websiteIniva bio"Side by Side or Face to Face" site
{{DEFAULTSORT:Mohr, Jean
1925 births
2018 deaths
Photographers from Geneva
Swiss humanitarians
Swiss officials of the United Nations
United Nations mass media
Documentary photographers