Synopsis
Tony Vaccaro is the last important chronicler of World War II and an icon of glossy fashion photography. In New York, he shows us his pictures which document 50 years of world history.The pictures of New York photographer Tony Vaccaro document 50 years of world history. He is the last surviving chronicler of World War II and the post-war period. His career began in 1944 as a soldier on Omaha Beach in Normandy. For him, D-Day meant holding an M1 assault rifle in one hand and an Argus C3 camera in the other. On his way across Europe, he shot thousands of photos and produced a unique record of conditions during World War II. He stayed in Europe until 1949 and became a chronicler of the post-war period for the US Army newspaper The Stars and Stripes. After returning to the US, Vaccaro started working as a fashion and portrait photographer. For thirty years, his photo stories filled all major glamour magazines and journals. He photographed Picasso, Jackson Pollock, Georgia O’Keeffe, Peggy Guggenheim, Grace Kelly, Sophia Loren, Maria Callas, Frank Lloyd Wright. His mission: to capture that decisive, fleeting moment. His pictures still have an undiminished impact, and today, in the age of instantaneous photo production, are icons of photojournalism. We visit him in New York, where he offers us a fascinating insight into his work.