11 incarnations of the iconic photo of Che Guevara
On March 5, 1960, Cuban photographer Alberto Korda took the famous photograph of Ernesto Che Guevara. A few years later, this image literally conquered the whole world: it is studied in art schools as a true photographic masterpiece, replicated in millions of copies, and in the end, turned into a real trademark.
Today we decided to see where and in what form the image of Comrade Che, created by Alberto Korda, appeared and continues to exist in modern life.
(Total 11 photos)
1. Original photo: it originally had a profile of a random person, but the author later removed unnecessary elements. The photo titled "Heroic Partisan" (Guerrillero Historico) hung on the wall in Korda's apartment for several years until he gave it to an Italian publisher he knew. He published a picture immediately after the death of Che Guevara, and the story of the enormous success of this image began, which allowed many of its participants to earn good money. Ironically, Korda is perhaps the only one to whom this photo did not bring material benefits.
2. Che Guevara on Cuban money - pesos.
3. The image of Che can often be seen on buildings in Cuban cities: the wall of the Ministry of the Interior in Havana is decorated with a metal image of a revolutionary. Signature under the portrait: Hasta la victoria siempre (Spanish for "always to victory").
Right: One of the most popular motifs in Cuban graffiti.
4. The symbol of freedom is widely used on all kinds of souvenirs - for example, applied to T-shirts.
5. "Heroic partisan" according to Andy Warhol. This iconic photograph played a separate role in art and culture, becoming a source of inspiration for many creative people.
6. Irish artist Jim Fitzpatrick attached a photo of Korda to a windowpane and transferred the outline of the image to paper. From the resulting "negative" with the help of a special copier and black ink, he printed a poster on red paper and then distributed free of charge almost all copies of his work, which soon became as famous as its black and white original.
7. Protest lover Madonna used the image of Che for the design of the 2003 album “American Life”, which, due to provocative songs condemning the war and US politics, brought her a lot of problems: the singer was then accused by many of her lack of patriotism.
8. In Russia, by the way, there are also well-selling variations on the theme of the portrait of Che.
9. There is even an ice cream "Eskimo" with the face of a revolutionary.
10. And the writer Viktor Pelevin placed The Heroic Partisan on the cover of his bestseller.
11. Che Guevara is also known in India: the city of Kasargod, a billboard encourages young people to participate in a regional student conference.
Keywords: Image | Photography | Che Guevara