This image is a wonderful example of Cartier-Bresson's fluid style of photography. All of his photos rely on movement, synchronization, and the perfect placement of all elements for just a single moment. He does not make still-life photographs. He does not photograph trees or mountains or empty rooms. He photographs life in its most organic form.
I can't help but feel a great deal of respect for a man who can capture such precise moments on film. His ability to encompass a feeling and a coherent idea in a photograph is quite impressive.
Henri Cartier-Bresson's photography certainly is fluid and he succinctly captured so many important moment in history. His ideas (briefly mentioned in the video) that a photograph is something that can't be erased, and that a particular moment is either captured or it is not, are interesting ones. I am reminded of Ronald Barthes who wrote "Camera Lucida". In the book he asserts that photographs capture a part of a moment or a person's self, but not all of it. He spends much of the book discussing his search for a picture showing his mother's true self. This link provides a synopsis of the book, if you're interested.
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This blogpost really made me stop and think about the beauty of photography. It is true that the taste of a photo varies greatly, depending on whether the photographer set up the image for the purpose of taking a photo (i.e., in a studio, a room, or using a model...etc.), or whether the photographer happened to be at the place at that moment. But what comes out as a product of photography is a moment in a flat surface called photograph (like discussed in Shore's "The Nature of Photographs"). Knowing that Cartier-Bresson usually captured the historically critical moments in different parts of the world makes you realize how amazing and dedicated he was in his profession as a photographer.
ReplyDeleteI totally agree with Cartier's point of view that "photography is a form of drawing; a form that is irreversible by nature. " Especially in photography journalism, it's all about the moment, the moment cannot be replicated or originated by nature. It's like he's making evidence for everything that he's seen that existed to make them last forever in the photo prints.
ReplyDeleteI wonder if artists did not asumme the practice of patience when they worked, what would the final products be like? Are there forms of art where we are able to neglect patience?
ReplyDeleteThe flow of time and the way the artist navigates the flow become part of the art. In HCB's case, he kept moving and looking and sacrificed all for the journey.
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