“Sudden Impact reveals the emergence of photography as a key component of modern visual communication. The magazines displayed in the exhibition helped to create a vast, news-hungry audience that wanted not just to read about the events and celebrities of the day but to see them as well. Printed on inexpensive paper in press runs that often reached the millions, the individual copies of Vu, the Berliner Illustrirte Zeitung, and Picture Post were never meant to last. Seldom preserved, most have disappeared from memory. Yet for anyone seeking to understand the extraordinary impact of photography on our visual culture, they provide an essential point of reference. As Sudden Impact demonstrates, they have lost none of their power to shock, surprise, and delight.” — International Center of Photography

Kölnische Illustrierte Zeitung, Mar. 9, 1929, cover. Courtesy International Center of Photography

Berliner Illustrirte Zeitung, July 21, 1929, cover photograph by Martin Munkasci. Courtesy International Center of Photography

Vu, Feb. 18, 1931, cover photograph by Martin Munkacsi. Courtesy of International Center of Photography

Vu, Apr. 1, 1931, cover photograph by James Abbe. Courtesy International Center of Photography

Vu, July 20, 1932, cover. Courtesy of International Center of Photography

Estampa, Feb. 13, 1937, cover photograph by Mayo. Courtesy International Center of Photography

Images courtesy International Center of Photography