Book presentation "Journey for Peace"

Introduction by Dr. Peter Pfrunder | Director of the Swiss Foundation of Photography
Winterthur | Switzerland | April 5, 2005

"Manuel Bauer has always embodied something similar to the conscience of photojournalism in a time when superficiality, detachment, and unscrupulousness in the treatment of photographs in the media puts the credibility of the entire profession in question.
Whenever our paths crossed an unspoken question hung in the air: “Does it even make sense anymore to travel the world with a camera in the effort of arousing, changing or simply serving the public?”
With 'Journey for Peace', a captivating and touching, intimate and respectful, serene and sorrowful portrait of His Holiness the 14th Dalai Lama, which through its sincerity becomes an aesthetically and morally impressive book, Manuel Bauer delivers a clear answer. When we succeed in redefining photo reportage the way Manuel Bauer has succeeded in doing so, leading it away from the fast-paced, result-oriented reporting and directing it toward a very personal way of dealing with a theme over the course of many years, then photo reportage – perhaps under the name “longterm reporting” – further fulfills an important task. Decisive is thus not only a series of formally successful images; decisive is above all the stance of the photographer expressed in each of his pictures."