Lorant was inspired by Berliner Illustrierte Zeitung, yet he also understood
that it had failed to use photographs as effective narrative components.
Over the course of a few years, he guided MIPinto a realm of
unique photographic endeavor. Partly through intuition, partly through basic
inquisitiveness, he discerned exactly what was wanted of a picture journal
and directed photographers to follow his vision. Lorant convinced Erich
Salomon to contribute to MIPand also sought out new talents who, as he
said, “not only took beautiful pictures but who had similar curiosity and
journalistic savvy.” An elite corps was assembled, including Felix H. Man,
Georg and Tim Gidal, Umbo, Kurt Hubschmann, and Alfred Eisenstaedt
(who was later hired by Henry Luce to shoot for Lifemagazine).
Lorant said that he encouraged photographers “to travel and
shoot as many pictures as possible” so that he could mold an essay.
Editorial space was no object; a good feature story would run for as many
pages as warranted. Lorant, who was an admitted autocrat, designed the
layouts himself. Although the basic layout conventions already existed,
Lorant introduced certain design tropes, including what might be criticized
today as excessive use of geometric borders, overlapping photographs, and
silhouettes. But despite a tendency to fiddle, he acknowledged that his
most successful layouts were those where he left pictures alone. He believed
that when astutely edited and dramatically cropped, one striking picture
reinforced the next and so furthered the narrative. He was partial to
photographs that emphasized pure human expression. And one of his
most famous assignments was sending Felix H. Man to spend a day with
Mussolini in Rome. The photos—an exclusive—were extraordinary
exposés of a day in the life of the duce in the course of his mundane acts
of power. Lorant’s layout focused on two key, though contrasting, features:
Mussolini’s rarely seen, relaxed body in the context of his charged imperial
surroundings.
Although MIPwas not devotedly partisan, total objectivity in a
Weimar Germany fraught with dissonant ideologies and political violence
was difficult.MIP’s picture exposés often focused on the darker side of
Nazi rallies and leaders. It wasn’t surprising, therefore, that Lorant was
summarily imprisoned when Adolf Hitler assumed power in 1933. Had it
not been for the persistence of his wife, a well-known German actress at
the time, in obtaining his release (and the fact that he was still a Hungarian
citizen), Lorant’s future would have been bleak. After being released, he
emigrated to England, wrote a bestselling book entitled I Was Hitler’s
Prisoner, and launched two new picture magazines: the Weekly Illustrated in
1934 and Picture Postin 1938. Between these two publishing milestones,
Lorant also founded Lilliput, a humor magazine to rival the venerable
tuis.
(Tuis.)
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