Last December, the International Institute for Strategic Studies in London published its annual Armed Conflict Survey. The survey paints a grim picture of rising violence in many regions across the globe, documenting a total of 183 conflicts for 2023, the highest number in three decades. For perspective, there are 195 countries in the world.
In response to these escalating conflicts and the lethal threats they present, Innocean Worldwide in Berlin created a campaign to support the Robert Capa Contemporary Photography Center in Budapest, Hungary.
The initiative, titled “Capa vs War,” juxtaposes legendary war photographer Robert Capa’s historic images with contemporary warfare scenes, spookily underscoring the unsettling parallels between past and present conflicts.
The agency also made four powerful posters, each with the artful tagline, “War Has Been Contemporary for Too Long.” The word “Contemporary” refers to the modern period in art history and it’s part of the center’s name.
The graphic posters point to the universality of war while hinting at what could come our way today if we don’t commit to de-escalating conflicts and disarming militants (something the United States failed to do this week).
Kőrösi Orsolya, Capa Center Managing Director, said, “Robert Capa didn’t just portray the horrors of war, he illuminated the universal desire for peace and the strength of the human spirit in the face of adversity. His work served as a touching reminder that peace is not just the absence of war, but the presence of understanding, empathy, and hope.”
