Research Point - Modernist Practice

Henri Cartier-Bresson (1908 - 2004)


These images are a selection of work by Cartier-Bresson that I would say typically defines his creative output. There is a variety to the work, taken during episodes of political turmoil, or scenes of everyday street life in better times. The work is masterful. Cartier-Bresson has an eye for detail and composition that is very strong.


Some of the more quirky scenes, such as the couple covered by an umbrella on the beach, feel dated to me. But that is not Cartier-Bresson's fault - he can hardly be criticised for the numbers of imitators that followed in his wake.


This image is one that I've been aware of for a very long time - even before I began my studies with the OCA. I don't know the exact details to this scene except that it involves a collaborator being accused of crimes before a committee shortly after World War Two. Whatever the woman has done the sheer glee of her accuser at her fate is gut wrenching to look at. This image is in such sharp contrast to the ones like the umbrella couple above and the one below of a family picnicking by a river.


This image, for me, falls into the category of immediately satisfying in that its composition resembles an impressionist paining. it pleases the eye. I used to like work like this a lot before I began my studies. Now my immediate admiration quickly dissolves into so what? What is happening here. What is the image trying to say? And does what it say matter?





The next image feels like it could have been taken on a street yesterday, judging by its apparent lack of formal qualities. But the scattered people do randomly come together in a 'decisive moment' that makes the image work.come. I prefer this more modern kind of work to the 'french romantic' style that has been done to death and can be seen as Cartier-Bresson framed prints on the walls of many homes.


Waiting for a cyclist, anything to pass by, is a technique that I used to employ in my own attempts at street photography. Finding a good composition and then waiting for someone to come along and 'occupy the space' is a very useful technique. As can be seen here can prove to be very effective when done well.


I've not seen this one before. It is interesting that Cartier-Bresson chose to make this image of an obviously gay couple, rather than pretend that they don't exist as seems to be to often the case at times.




I came upon this quote from Cartier-Bresson in a biography that made me smile.


'He hated flying – 'a silly way of travelling, most unintelligent if not unsafe’ – and maintained that planes would create 'generations of little cretins, especially in our line of work.’ Henri Cartier-Breson. The Telegraph (2010).

My view on the concept of the 'decisive moment' is that the maker of the image, observes a visual scene that, at that particular moment, makes sense to themselves. The scene unfolding before the photographer is comprised of different elements that on their own may not be worth attention. It is the photographer's eye that pulls the different elements together. The final image will express an emotion or message in a visual language that the viewer may or may not find stimulating. I feel that these 'decisive moments' are happening all the time around us. It is only by freezing the scene that we notice them.  

references:

The Telegraph. 'Expert Witness: Henri Cartier-Bresson' (Article by, Christopher Turner). (2010). [Online] Available at: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/photography/7572563/Expert-Witness-Henri-Cartier-Bresson.html [Accessed 16th July 2014]