with a text by famed Argentinean author Jorge Luis
Borges, appeared in 1968.
Heachievedmoresuccesswithhisaerialcityscapes
in Brazil such asSao Paulo(1960). Using a bird’s eye
view of the city center, which flattens the architec-
ture, and shooting for dramatic contrasts of both
light and geometric and organic forms, a breathtak-
ing panorama is presented that emphasizes the ano-
nymity of the city and the alienation of its human
residents, who are depicted as tiny silhouettes.
Idyllic places are rarely depicted in Burri’s pic-
tures. Similarly, illustrated confirmations of cliche ́s
about places and countries are also rare. Rather, in
his photographs he explores national identities
through documenting the living history while con-
necting it with the past, especially evident in such
series asTerre de GuerreandIn Search of the Holy
Land, which depict war zones, to his Argentinean
GauchosandAmerikanscher Traum: Photographien
aus der Welt der NASA und des Pentagonseries.
Burri succeeds in depicting a world wherein com-
mon human concerns are emphasized while the
unique qualities of particular places are captured.
International contracts sent Burri to Czechoslo-
vakia in 1955, France and Libya in 1957, the Mid-
dle East and Egypt during the 1956 Suez Canal
crisis and the 1967 Six-Day-War, South America
for numerous assignments, Korea and Japan in
1961, Vietnam during the Vietnam War in 1963,
and China in 1964 among many other places. These
trips resulted in photoseries and books such as
Nasser’s Egypt(1958),Fidel Castro’s Cuba(1963),
The New Petrol Kings(1974),A Day in the Life of
America(1974),Searchers for Gold, Brazil(1977),
Palestinian Fighters(1979), andA Day in the Life of
Australia—March 6, 1981(1981).
Burri most characteristically works in black and
white, although he also worked with color since
- Parallel to his work in photography, Burri
also produced films for advertisement and industry
that include The Physical Face of China(1965),
Three Villages of China(1965),The Industrial Revo-
lution(1965),Jerusalem(1967),What’s It All About?
(1967) —with this film he won the New York Inter-
national Film and Television Festival Award in
1967 —Jerusalem After the Six-Day-War (1967),
The Two Faces of China(1968),Bracia Si, Uomini
No(1970, with Peter Ammann),Xerox in Concert
(1971, with Philipp Gittelmann), Jean Tinguely
(1972), andIndian Summer(1973).
Franz-XaverSchlegelSeealso:Bischof, Werner; Cartier-Bresson, Henri;
Finsler, Hans; Life; Look; Magnum Photos; Portrai-
ture
Biography
Born in Zurich, Switzerland, April 9, 1933. Studied at the
Kunstgewerbeschule in Zurich (Zurich School for Ap-
plied Arts), 1949–1953. Basic courses from Johannes
Itten; Photography from Hans Finsler and Alfred Will-
imann. From 1953 on active as a photojournalist and
published first photo reports. Served in the military and
bought his first Leica in 1954. Set up studio with Wal-
ter Binder, 1954. In 1955, a photographer for Josef Mu ̈l-
ler-Brockmann; became an independent photographer.
Member of the photo agency Magnum, associated in- In 1956, correspondent in New York and Paris. In
1959 became a full member of Magnum and in 1964, a
founding member of Magnum Films. President of Mag-
num France, vice president of Magnum in Europe, and
opened the Magnum Gallery in 1982 together with Bruno
Barbey. Married Rosellina Bischof in 1963 and had two
children: Yasmine and Oliver. Became Art Director of the
Schweizer Illustriertein 1988. Honors: International Film
and Television Festival Award, New York, 1967; Dr.
Erich-Salomon-Preis der Deutschen Gesellschaft fu ̈r Pho-
tographie (DGPh) (Dr. Erich Salomon Award for the
German Society of Photography) in Cologne, 1988; and
was named Chevalier d’Ordre des Arts et des Lettres by
the French Minister of Culture, 1991. Rene ́ Burri has
remarried and lives in Zurich and Paris.
Individual Exhibitions
1965 China; Galerie Form, Zurich, Switzerland
1967 Selected Works; The Art Institute of Chicago, Chi-
cago, Illinois
1971 Selected Works; Galerie Rencontre, Paris, France
1972 Rene ́Burri; Raffi Photo Gallery, New York, New York
1972 Rene ́Burri; Galleria Il Diaframma, Milan, Italy
1980 Die Deutschen; Folkwang Museum, Essen, Germany
1983 Antologica; Kunsthaus, Zurich, Switzerland
1984 One World; Kunsthaus, Zurich, Switzerland, and tra-
veling
1984 Rene ́Burri; Muse ́e de l’Elyse ́e, Lausanne, Switzerland
1984 Rene ́Burri; Palais de Tokyo, Japan, Centre national
de la photographie, Paris, France
1997 Rene ́Burri; Galerie Argus Fotokunst, Berlin, Germany
1998 Die Deutschen; Photokina, Cologne, Germany, and
traveling
1998 77 Strange Situations; Villa Tobler, Zurich, Switzer-
land
2004 Rene ́Burri: Photographs; Maison Europe ́enne de la
Photographie, Paris, France, and travelingGroup Exhibitions
1960 European Photography; Museum of Modern Art, New
York, New York
1960 The World as Seen by Magnum; Takashimaya Depart-
ment Store, Tokyo, Japan, and traveling
Photography of the Twentieth Century; George East-
man House, Rochester, New York
1965 Muse ́eRe ́attu, Arles, France10 fotografos; Havana,
Cuba
1967 Photography in the Twentieth Century; National Gal-
lery of Canada, Ottawa, Canada, and traveling
1972 Behind the Great Wall of China; The Metropolitan
Museum of Art, New York, New York, and travelingBURRI, RENE ́