2 cols.

Ron Haviv, “Darfur, Sudan,” 2005, color print. Courtesy Ron Haviv/ VII/ Hasted Hunt NYC.

4/18 or 4/25 MUST

HASTED HUNT ‘HUMANKIND’ w/1 cut

ak/gs set 4/9 #735129

NEW YORK CITY — Hasted Hunt is showing “Humankind,” an exhibition featuring photographs by members of the photo agency VII. The exhibition runs through Saturday, June 7. There will be a reception with the photographers in attendance Thursday, May 15, from 6 to 8 pm, at the gallery, 529 West 20th Street, third floor.

“Humankind” is a contemporary response to the classic exhibition, “The Family of Man,” curated by Edward Steichen at the Museum of Modern Art in 1955. The show was seen internationally by tens of thousands of people, and the catalog sold millions of copies and is still in print.

 The International photo agency VII was founded September 2001, and consists of award winning photographers Marcus Bleasdale, the late Alexandra Boulat, Lauren Greenfield, Ron Haviv, Gary Knight, Antonin Kratochvil, Joachim Ladefoged, Christopher Morris, James Nachtwey, Franco Pagetti and John Stanmeyer. VII was the centerpiece of Hasted Hunt’s debut exhibition in October 2005. This will be its second show with the gallery.

“The Family Of Man” was acclaimed for its affirmative point of view, countering the legacy of despair from World War II and the Korean conflict. The exhibition toured around the world for many years; the book was arguably the most successful photography book ever printed and circulated. The “humanistic” point of view has been simultaneously celebrated and ridiculed. To most contemporary eyes, however, “The Family of Man” is an astonishing record of classic photographs.

Reportage itself seems to have changed very little. In “Humankind” the photographers of VII see a world that is different from 50 years ago, with ongoing conflicts in the Middle East and Africa, AIDS and a compromised environment; yet it seems the same. Exceptional with “Humankind” is the combination of talent, experience, persistence, imagination, compassion and vision the photographers of VII bring to it.

An expanded version of this exhibit is being planned as a part of the Summer Olympics in Beijing.

For information, 212-627-0006 or www.hastedhunt.com.