Joan Colom i Altemir (April 1921 – 3 September 2017) was a Spanish photographer renowned for his portraits of Barcelona's underworld and working class, especially in the infamous neighbourhood of
Raval.
Colom was born in
Barcelona
Barcelona ( , , ) is a city on the coast of northeastern Spain. It is the capital and largest city of the autonomous community of Catalonia, as well as the second most populous municipality of Spain. With a population of 1.6 million within ci ...
. He was a self-taught photographer, and produced his best-known pictures while working during the week as an accountant. In 1957 he became a member of the
Agrupació Fotogràfica de Catalunya (AFC), and co-founded in 1960 the artist's group ''El Mussol'' ("The Owl"). In 1962 he was presented in Paris along with fellow photographers
Xavier Misserachs and
Oriol Maspons
Oriol () is a Catalan name, which can be found as a given name or a surname. It derives from the Latin word ''aureus'' (golden). It was originally just a surname, but started to be used as a given name in honour of Saint Joseph Oriol. It may refer ...
as part of the "New Avantgarde" movement, strongly inspired by masters such as
Brassaï
Brassaï (; pseudonym of Gyula Halász; 9 September 1899 – 8 July 1984) was a Hungarian–French photographer, sculptor, medalist, writer, and filmmaker who rose to international fame in France in the 20th century. He was one of the numerous H ...
,
Francesc Català Roca,
Henri Cartier-Bresson
Henri Cartier-Bresson (; 22 August 1908 – 3 August 2004) was a French humanist photographer considered a master of candid photography, and an early user of 35mm film. He pioneered the genre of street photography, and viewed photography as cap ...
or
Man Ray
Man Ray (born Emmanuel Radnitzky; August 27, 1890 – November 18, 1976) was an American visual artist who spent most of his career in Paris. He was a significant contributor to the Dada and Surrealism, Surrealist movements, although his t ...
. He was awarded the
National Photography Prize by Spain's
Ministry of Culture in 2002, as well as the Golden Medal for Cultural Merit by the Barcelona city council, the National Visual Arts Prize by the
Generalitat de Catalunya and the
Creu de Sant Jordi in 2006. In 2011 the
Museu Nacional d'Art de Catalunya (MNAC) was granted by the artist part of his photographic material.
References
External links
''El País'' article
{{DEFAULTSORT:Colom, Joan
1921 births
2017 deaths
Photographers from Catalonia
El Raval
People from Barcelona
Street photographers