Like many of my photography finds, I came across the work of Albert Khan on Stumble Upon. Even more intriguing than the photos themselves, produced in the early 20th century, is the story behind them.
From top: Algeria, China, Djibouti, Greece, Vietnam, India, Ireland, Sweden
French millionaire Kahn employed a group of photographers to travel the world and document both the landscapes and their inhabitants. By pioneering the new Autochrome Lumière process, each of the 72,000 images collected faithfully documented the true colours of their country of origin (notice that the grey skies of Ireland haven't changed...). Somehow sections of the photographs appear both over and under saturated, imbuing them with a surreal, slightly eerie quality.
It goes without saying that the early 20th century was a pivotal point in the history of civilisation - World War I was burgeoning, the Ottoman and Austro-Hungarian empires were collapsing, the Western world was becoming increasingly industrialised - the photographs demonstrate the unparalleled ability of the medium to freeze time and render a particular livelihood, location or cultural practice immortal (as long as the negatives aren't destroyed, that is...)
What makes the story of Albert Kahn even more enchanting is that his motivation for the project was to promote racial and religious tolerance and to encourage global peace. I'm thinking a trip to the Musée Albert-Kahn on the outskirts of Paris would be the perfect excuse to visit France again.
Further information at http://www.albertkahn.co.uk
It goes without saying that the early 20th century was a pivotal point in the history of civilisation - World War I was burgeoning, the Ottoman and Austro-Hungarian empires were collapsing, the Western world was becoming increasingly industrialised - the photographs demonstrate the unparalleled ability of the medium to freeze time and render a particular livelihood, location or cultural practice immortal (as long as the negatives aren't destroyed, that is...)
What makes the story of Albert Kahn even more enchanting is that his motivation for the project was to promote racial and religious tolerance and to encourage global peace. I'm thinking a trip to the Musée Albert-Kahn on the outskirts of Paris would be the perfect excuse to visit France again.
Further information at http://www.albertkahn.co.uk
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