Alberto Korda

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Korda looking at a 3 Cuban Peso banknote, which also bears his famous snapshot.
Korda looking at a 3 Cuban Peso banknote, which also bears his famous snapshot.

Alberto Díaz Gutiérrez, better known as Alberto Korda or simply Korda (September 14, 1928 in Havana, Cuba – May 25, 2001 in Paris, France) was a Cuban photographer, famous for his photo "Guerrillero Heroico" of Marxist revolutionary Che Guevara.

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[edit] Biography

Korda was the son of a railway worker, and took many jobs before beginning as a photographer's assistant. "My main aim was to meet women", he once confessed. He did succeed in his aim. His second wife, Natalia (Norka) Menendez, was a famous Cuban fashion model.

He was a photographer for the Cuban newspaper Revolución in 1960 when he produced on March 5, 1960 the iconic image of Che Guevara that became a worldwide symbol of revolution and rebellion. He never received any royalties for the image, because Castro did not recognize the Berne convention. Although in 2000 he sued Smirnoff over the use of the image in advertisement. Commenting on the illicit use of his photograph, the artist said, "As a supporter of the ideals for which Che Guevara died, I am not averse to its reproduction by those who wish to propagate his memory and the cause of social justice throughout the world, but I am categorically against the exploitation of Che's image for the promotion of products such as alcohol, or for any purpose that denigrates the reputation of Che". His out-of-court settlement of US $50,000 was donated to the Cuban healthcare system. He said, "If Che were still alive, he would have done the same." However, he told a BBC World Service reporter that he did approve of the the 1999 Che Jesus adaptation of the image used by the Churches Advertising Network to promote church attendance in the UK.

The truth is that Korda gave the picture for free to Giangiacomo Feltrinelli, an Italian publisher who already made his jackpot with the publication of The Doctor Zhivago. Feltrinelli had the copyright for some time and the picture made him rich[1].

After the revolution, Korda became Fidel Castro's personal photographer for 10 years. From 1968 to 1978 he concentrated on underwater photography until a Japanese exhibition in 1978 stimulated international interest in his work. He appeared briefly in the pre-title sequence of Wim Wenders' film Buena Vista Social Club in 1999, although he was uncredited. In 2005, four years after his death, Alberto Korda starred as the protagonist in a full feature documentary entitled, Kordavision, directed by Hector Cruz Sandoval.

Korda suffered a fatal heart attack in Paris in 2001 while presenting an exhibition of his work. He is buried in the Colon Cemetery, Havana.

[edit] Exhibitions

“ Forget the camera, forget the lens, forget all of that. With any four-dollar camera, you can capture the best picture. ”
 
— Alberto Korda's advice to aspiring photographers [1]

Solo exhibitions of his works have been held in Helsinki, Finland, 1962; the Gallería H. Diafragma Canon, Milan, Italy, 1985; Galería Servando Cabrera, Havana, 1986; Roy Boyd Gallery, Chicago, 2000.

Group exhibitions of his works include: in 1962, Museo Nacional de Bellas Artes, Havana; 1967, Expo’67, Pabellón Cubano, Montreal; 1980, Consejo Mexicano de Fotografía, Mexico City; 1980, Centro de Arte Internacional, Havana; 1983, Westbeth Gallery, New York; 1999, Centro de Desarrollo de las Artes Visuales, Havana; 2002, Museum of Art, Ft. Lauderdale, Florida.

[edit] Awards

He was awarded the Cuban "Palma de Plata" in 1959; named Best Photoreporter of the year, Revolución Journal, Havana, 1960 - 1963; awarded the 5th International Award of Submarine Photografie "Maurizio Sana”, Italy; awarded National Culture Distinction, Ministry of Culture, Cuba; 1994.

[edit] Collections

His works are in the collections of Casa de las Américas, Havana, Cuba; Center for Cuban Studies, New York, NY; Centro Studi e Archivio della Comunicazione, Parma University, Parma, Italy; Fototeca de Cuba, Havana, Cuba; Galleria IF, Milan, Italy; Galleria Il Diafragma Kodak, Milan, Italy; Maison de la Culture de la Seine Saint Dennis, Paris, France; Museo Nacional de Bellas Artes, Havana, Cuba.

[edit] References

  1. ^ Seeing with the heart by V. Sridhar, Frontline Volume 19 - Issue 25, December 7 2002.

[edit] External links

Cuba Portal