Micha Bar-Am

Micha Bar-Am (Hebrew: מיכה בר-עם) (born 1930 Berlin, Germany) is a renowned Israeli journalistic photographer. His most prominent pictures are from when he covered the Six Day War. His pictures are not so much of direct combat, but more of wartime life.

Early life

Born in Berlin, he moved to the then British Mandate of Palestine in 1936. In Israel's War of Independence, he was part of the Palmach Unit. He worked several jobs including a locksmith and mounted guard before becoming a photographer. In 1949 he co-founded the kibbutz Malkia in Galilee, and later he became a member of Kibbutz Gesher HaZiv.^[1]

Photography career

He started taking pictures in the early fifties using borrowed cameras to photograph life on a kibbutz until he bought a Leica. In 1948 he was drafted, and after his military service he began photographing more seriously. After publishing his book Across Sinai in 1957 he worked as a photographic reporter and in the editorial staff of the Israeli Army magazine, Ba-Mahaneh from 1957 to 1967. In 1961 he was assigned to cover the Eichmann trial. In 1967 he covered the Six-Day war, during which time he met Cornell Capa. He became the photographic correspondent from Israel for the New York Times in 1968, a position he held until 1992. In 1974 he helped Cornell Capa found the International Center of Photography in New York. From 1977-92, he was also head of the department of photography at the Tel Aviv Museum of Art. He now does his own photography. He has also been a correspondent for Magnum Photos since 1968.

Of his photojournalism he writes, "I keep my internal eye open for that other, metaphorical image that transcends illustration to achieve a wholeness of its own. I strive for the elusive entity that is both evidence and evocation, public record and personal vision." He says that he has adopted Robert Capa's saying, "If your photographs aren't good enough, you weren't close enough," but has added his own caveat: "If you're too close you lose perspective. It is not easy to be fair with the facts and keep your own convictions out of the picture. It is almost impossible to be both a participant in the events and their observer, witness, interpreter. The effort bring great frustration, and equally great reward." ^[1]

Personal life

Bar-Am is married to Orna, an artist. Together they have three sons, Ahuva, a professor of classics, Barak, an artist, and Nimrod, a Doctor of Philosophy.

Awards

• 2000--Israel Prize for photography.^[2][3]
• 1993—Enrique Kavlin Prize, Israel Museum, Jerusalem, Israel
• 1985-86--Nieman Fellow, Harvard University, Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA
• 1985—IBM Fellowship, Aspen, Colorado, USA
• 1985—Golden Flamingo Award for Photographic Poster, Arles, France
• 1985--Fulbright Grant

Books

• Israel: A Photobiography, USA: Simon & Schuster, 1998
• The Last War, Israel: Keter Publishers, 1996
• Painting With Light: The Photographic Aspect in the Work of E.M. Lilian, Israel: Tel Aviv Museum of Art/Dvir Publishing, 1991
• Jewish Sites in Lebanon, USA: Moreshet Erets-Yisrael/Ariel, 1984
• The Jordan, Israel: Massada Ltd., 1981
• Portrait of Israel, USA: New York Times/American Heritage Press, 1970
• Across Sinai, Israel: Hakibbutz Hameuhad, 1957

Collections

• Israel Museum, Jerusalem, Israel
• Tel Aviv Museum of Art, Tel Aviv, Israel
• Haifa Museum, Haifa, Israel
• Diaspora Museum, Tel Aviv, Israel
• The Museum of Photography at Tel Hai, Tel Hai Kibbutz, Israel
• International Center of Photography, New York, USA
• The Museum of Modern Art, New York, USA
• Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, USA
• International Museum of Photography at George Eastman House, Rochester, USA
• Skirball Museum, Los Angeles, USA
• Minneapolis Institute of Arts, Minneapolis, USA
• Henry Buhl Collection, New York, USA
• Ludwig Museum, Cologne, Germany
• Folkwang Museum, Essen, Germany
• Bibliothèque Nationale, Paris, France
• Musée d'Art et d'Histoire du Judaïsme, Paris, France
• Collection FNAC, Paris, France
• Fundacion “La Caixa”, Barcelona, Spain
• National Maritime Museum, London, UK
• Magnum Photos: Photographic Collection, Harry Ransom Center, University of Texas at Austin, USA

References

1. ^ ^{a b} http://www.michabaram.com/index2.html
2. ^ "Israel Prize Official Site (in Hebrew) – Recipient’s C.V.". http://cms.education.gov.il/EducationCMS/Units/PrasIsrael/Tashas/MichaBarAm/. 
3. ^ "Israel Prize Official Site (in Hebrew) – Judges' Rationale for Grant to Recipient". http://cms.education.gov.il/EducationCMS/Units/PrasIsrael/Tashas/MichaBarAm/NimukeiAshoftimBarAm.htm. 

External links

• Ultimate Art Gallery Micha Bar-Am - Homepage
• Bar-Am About the Photographers
• Micha Baram homepage
• Magnum biography
• Micha Bar-Am in the Collection of The Jewish Museum (New York)

See also

• List of Israel Prize recipients

Persondata
Name	Bar-Am, Micha
Alternative names
Short description
Date of birth	1930
Place of birth
Date of death
Place of death

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