Over the course of his seven-decade career, photographer Bruce Davidson has chronicled some of the most important stories of the 20th century — from the Civil Rights Movement to the rise of teen culture — documenting the lives of those on the fringes of society uniting to fight the systems of oppression designed to keep them down. On the cusp of his 90th birthday this September, the legendary Magnum Photos member talks us through The Way Back, a new exhibition and book showcasing unpublished work created between 1957–1977.
The Way Back sees Bruce weave together the intricate threads from his singular career to craft a majestic tapestry of rebels, outsiders and activists who redefined the image of mid-century America. “I’m just a humanist and photograph the human condition as I find it. It can be serious or it can be ironic or humorous,” he tells i-D. “If I’m looking for a story at all, it’s in my relationship to the subject – the story that tells me, rather than the one I tell.”
