To the left is the most reproduced photograph in human history. It's an image taken by Cuban photographer Korda (1928-2001) of Argentine mass-murdering guerrilla icon Ernesto Guevara de La Serna Lynch, known to most of the world as Che and to many Cubans as "El Chacal de La Cabana."Che's photo has been reproduced in billions of T-Shirts, posters, postcards, cigar labels, vodka labels, etc. as the West's all-powerful ad machinery, driven mostly by an mystic love of all things Che by Italians and the French, has iconized this image beyond's Korda's wildest expectations (and until the very end of his life, he didn't get a penny for it, as in Castro's workers' paradise, the state, not Korda, had ownership of the image).
Would you be surprised to learn that the very first vintage photo of Che; the very first one; Korda's own personal print; the mother of all subsequent images of Che, has found a home in the DMV?
It does, living alongside 17 other vintage Korda photographs acquired directly from Korda's daughter soon after the legendary Cuban photographer died.
I understood that as a communist, he did not wish to be reimbursed for the use of the image and supported its wide dissemination, although he he did object to its use to sell products like alcohol.
ReplyDeleteBut who in the DMV acquired it? Is it a secret?
Naw... he sold countless prints from his studio for $300 each over the years... towards the end of his life he was allowed to sue a French company which planned to use the image on a vodka label - and he won. But the joke is that the most famous Cuban photog is "Archive" (Spanish word for Archive) which is what most photographers had to stamp on the verso of their photos -- although after he became famous, Korda was allowed to use his own stamp...
ReplyDeleteThis is a little fascinating for me... I recall reading somewhere about this photo being the most reproduced image of the 20th century.
ReplyDeleteThat original one really represents a bit of photographic history and belongs in a museum.
Marcos
i am just a little confused about Che being a "mass-murderer".. since when did he murder masses of innocent civilians? He fought the regular uniformed army of a Cuban dictator.. he didn't kill civilians in progroms or killing fields or for what matters Vietnamese villagers with napalm.. what is your definition of mass murderer?!
ReplyDeleteHi Andrea,
ReplyDeleteBest left to the man himself to explain... get a early 1960 or so copy of his own diaries of the Cuban Revolution (current editions have been cleaned up) and read in his own words about how he had to shoot prisoners during the Revolution because "the Cubans were too squeamish" to do it... he admits doing this 17 times. Ironic that he was murdered in the same manner.
Then there are the 1000s of Cubans executed by firing squad under orders signed by Guevara in 1959 and 1960s.
And we're not even discussing his immense racist attitude towards blacks and native Americans.
I've studied and drawn Guevara all my life... my father was in the Cuban Revolution and Che's fascinating and complex life was intertwined with his and thus mine...
Read: "Exposing the Real Che Guevara" by Humberto Fontova and discover the real Che in his own words and deeds...
Warm regards,
Lenny
Andrea...
ReplyDeleteThis might be of interest as well: http://www.broadstreetreview.com/index.php/main/article/che_by_steven_soderbergh
Best,
Lenny
Andrea: all you need is a little research to find out what a disturbing psycho Guevara was... the book lenny recommended is good but also see this:
ReplyDeletehttp://lefroy.wordpress.com/2010/03/31/ernesto-che-guevara-racist-anti-semite-homophobe-marxist-hero/
Armando