Artist Research Paper
Henri Cartier-Bresson
Although I had not heard of Henri Cartier-Bresson before conducting my research I now consider him one of my primary influences, as his work in photography has shaped what I see in the world of images today. Henri Cartier-Bresson was born in 1908, and grew up in a time where photography was mainly used to shoot meticulously arranged shots of family portraits and important figures. Cartier-Bresson revolutionized photography by taking shots of “the decisive moment”, known today as candid shots. Cartier-Bresson grew up in Chanteloupe, France in a middle class family. He went to art lessons in his youth, which yielded his sense of composition noted in his photographs. As a boy he owned a Brownie Box, which was a small inexpensive camera of the time that he used to take pictures of the family on holidays. It was not until the age of 22, however, that Cartier-Bresson truly fell in love with photography. After spending time in the African-Bush he caught backwater fever and returned to France to recover, it was then that he first picked up a Leica. When first shooting pictures with it in the town he exclaimed, “[I] prowled the streets all day, feeling very strung-up and ready to pounce, determined to ‘trap’ life, to preserve life in the act of living." With this Cartier-Bresson undertook a lifelong journey in which he worked to capture the essence of real life, and use the camera as an “extension of the eye”. This way of viewing the camera, I have noticed, is much the way I do. In terms of candids, motion and the social role of photography I look up to Cartier-Bresson and his work and see his influences within my own work.
In my work I have, like Cartier-Bresson, tried to capture the candid moments. Cartier-Bresson describes taking such photographs as capturing “the decisive moment”, and in other terms capturing an event at the exact moment that it happens. Cartier-Bresson was much criticized for his work. Many considered him a mere snapper of pictures, giving little thought into his artistic creations. Cartier-Bresson argued his cause with statements that revealed what work went into timing, and quick set up of a picture to be able to gain a pleasurable composition. For example, in describing “The decisive moment” Cartier-Bresson stated, “the simultaneous recognition, in a fraction of a second, of the significance of an event as well as the precise organization of forms which gives that event its proper expression.” In our time, this form of photography has become accepted and widely used in the art world. In my photographs and even video, I have also tried to capture that “decisive moment”. For example, in many of my shots of leaves blowing in the wind, I had to be able to snap or record at the exact moment a leaf was blowing in a way that I found distinctive of that leaf. To be able to capture good shots, with the desired effects, and also have a desirable composition is no easy feat. Capturing movement in particular is very difficult.
The motion that Cartier-Bresson was able to capture in his photographs is amazing. In one of his pieces, of which I cannot find any title, he has three naked children running into the ocean. Their arms are caught in crazy flung up positions, and one child is caught in mid-stride. He is landing on his right foot, with his left outstretched back flying through the air. Although now a days we have seen many look a likes of this photograph, Cartier-Bresson was the first to seriously explore this way of capturing motion in photography and he was the first to write about his work in great length and detail. In another photograph of his you see the comical site of a man in the air, who has merely stepped of a wooden structure and is now about to fall into a huge lake-like puddle. It’s as if the man did not see the puddle and kept walking. The motion of the man is exquisite, he is caught in the air, one foot forward and the other just launched off from the wood. He leans forward as if in a brisk pace, and his arms are outstretched front and back for balance. In my own work, such as the pieces used in my photomontage, I also tried to capture movement. I went about my work much the same that Cartier-Bresson did, I watched my subject, Pia, walk with an umbrella and chose shots of her that were compositionally interesting. In an effort to capture movement over time, I took several shots of Pia and aligned them together. In this way, I took movement a step up. Viewers were able to recognize in some sense the length of Pia’s walk, and not only that fact that she had been walking. In hindsight, I wish I had been able to research this artist before my project so that I could have gained ideas and technique from his work.
What Cartier-Bresson did that I really respect him for was to recognize the social role of photography so as to stimulate certain feelings among the public or express certain ideas. Cartier-Bresson is described as having looked at the world and allowing us to see it through his thought in his photographs. Many show certain ideas such as loneliness, or address political issues. “As a journalist, Henri Cattier-Bresson felt an intense need to communicate what he thought and felt about what he saw, and while his pictures often were subtle they were rarely obscure.” (Henri Cartier-Bresson). When I am photographing, I also, try to portray events how I see them and feel about them. In the Time Arts photo montage project in particular, I arranged the many photos in a particular, well thought, arrangement so as the viewer would come to a certain realization by the end of the line of pictures. I began with images of religious items, a rosary and a rosary book in particular. Then I showed images of a person holding the items and praying. I showed the same person going to the mall later that day. Then I showed flashy images of the many materials and manufactured objects at the mall. In the end I brought it back to the person praying and solidified my idea through the text “What is real” “What is real when the lights go dark and the hands no longer touch”. In this I was expressing the need for people to address this issue and decide what is real in our lives. Is it merely what exists on this earth and the things you can touch, or is it that what is real is what will exist even after you have passed on? I look to Cartier-Bresson’s powerful images that have been able to relate messages in one shot. I took a series to convey meaning. To be able to well convey a particular thought in one shot is remarkable, and Cartier-Bresson is acclaimed for this.
In conclusion, Cartier-Bresson has had major influences on my work although I was unaware. Cartier-Bresson was the founder of the candid shot with a camera, capturing motion and feeling simultaneously. I will continue to reference his work as I now recognize him and his importance in the art world and find his work truly inspirational.
Pictures found on Google http://images.google.com/images?svnum=10&hl=en&lr=&client=safari&rls=en&q=Cartier+Bresson+portrait&btnG=Search
Although I had not heard of Henri Cartier-Bresson before conducting my research I now consider him one of my primary influences, as his work in photography has shaped what I see in the world of images today. Henri Cartier-Bresson was born in 1908, and grew up in a time where photography was mainly used to shoot meticulously arranged shots of family portraits and important figures. Cartier-Bresson revolutionized photography by taking shots of “the decisive moment”, known today as candid shots. Cartier-Bresson grew up in Chanteloupe, France in a middle class family. He went to art lessons in his youth, which yielded his sense of composition noted in his photographs. As a boy he owned a Brownie Box, which was a small inexpensive camera of the time that he used to take pictures of the family on holidays. It was not until the age of 22, however, that Cartier-Bresson truly fell in love with photography. After spending time in the African-Bush he caught backwater fever and returned to France to recover, it was then that he first picked up a Leica. When first shooting pictures with it in the town he exclaimed, “[I] prowled the streets all day, feeling very strung-up and ready to pounce, determined to ‘trap’ life, to preserve life in the act of living." With this Cartier-Bresson undertook a lifelong journey in which he worked to capture the essence of real life, and use the camera as an “extension of the eye”. This way of viewing the camera, I have noticed, is much the way I do. In terms of candids, motion and the social role of photography I look up to Cartier-Bresson and his work and see his influences within my own work.
In my work I have, like Cartier-Bresson, tried to capture the candid moments. Cartier-Bresson describes taking such photographs as capturing “the decisive moment”, and in other terms capturing an event at the exact moment that it happens. Cartier-Bresson was much criticized for his work. Many considered him a mere snapper of pictures, giving little thought into his artistic creations. Cartier-Bresson argued his cause with statements that revealed what work went into timing, and quick set up of a picture to be able to gain a pleasurable composition. For example, in describing “The decisive moment” Cartier-Bresson stated, “the simultaneous recognition, in a fraction of a second, of the significance of an event as well as the precise organization of forms which gives that event its proper expression.” In our time, this form of photography has become accepted and widely used in the art world. In my photographs and even video, I have also tried to capture that “decisive moment”. For example, in many of my shots of leaves blowing in the wind, I had to be able to snap or record at the exact moment a leaf was blowing in a way that I found distinctive of that leaf. To be able to capture good shots, with the desired effects, and also have a desirable composition is no easy feat. Capturing movement in particular is very difficult.
The motion that Cartier-Bresson was able to capture in his photographs is amazing. In one of his pieces, of which I cannot find any title, he has three naked children running into the ocean. Their arms are caught in crazy flung up positions, and one child is caught in mid-stride. He is landing on his right foot, with his left outstretched back flying through the air. Although now a days we have seen many look a likes of this photograph, Cartier-Bresson was the first to seriously explore this way of capturing motion in photography and he was the first to write about his work in great length and detail. In another photograph of his you see the comical site of a man in the air, who has merely stepped of a wooden structure and is now about to fall into a huge lake-like puddle. It’s as if the man did not see the puddle and kept walking. The motion of the man is exquisite, he is caught in the air, one foot forward and the other just launched off from the wood. He leans forward as if in a brisk pace, and his arms are outstretched front and back for balance. In my own work, such as the pieces used in my photomontage, I also tried to capture movement. I went about my work much the same that Cartier-Bresson did, I watched my subject, Pia, walk with an umbrella and chose shots of her that were compositionally interesting. In an effort to capture movement over time, I took several shots of Pia and aligned them together. In this way, I took movement a step up. Viewers were able to recognize in some sense the length of Pia’s walk, and not only that fact that she had been walking. In hindsight, I wish I had been able to research this artist before my project so that I could have gained ideas and technique from his work.
What Cartier-Bresson did that I really respect him for was to recognize the social role of photography so as to stimulate certain feelings among the public or express certain ideas. Cartier-Bresson is described as having looked at the world and allowing us to see it through his thought in his photographs. Many show certain ideas such as loneliness, or address political issues. “As a journalist, Henri Cattier-Bresson felt an intense need to communicate what he thought and felt about what he saw, and while his pictures often were subtle they were rarely obscure.” (Henri Cartier-Bresson). When I am photographing, I also, try to portray events how I see them and feel about them. In the Time Arts photo montage project in particular, I arranged the many photos in a particular, well thought, arrangement so as the viewer would come to a certain realization by the end of the line of pictures. I began with images of religious items, a rosary and a rosary book in particular. Then I showed images of a person holding the items and praying. I showed the same person going to the mall later that day. Then I showed flashy images of the many materials and manufactured objects at the mall. In the end I brought it back to the person praying and solidified my idea through the text “What is real” “What is real when the lights go dark and the hands no longer touch”. In this I was expressing the need for people to address this issue and decide what is real in our lives. Is it merely what exists on this earth and the things you can touch, or is it that what is real is what will exist even after you have passed on? I look to Cartier-Bresson’s powerful images that have been able to relate messages in one shot. I took a series to convey meaning. To be able to well convey a particular thought in one shot is remarkable, and Cartier-Bresson is acclaimed for this.
In conclusion, Cartier-Bresson has had major influences on my work although I was unaware. Cartier-Bresson was the founder of the candid shot with a camera, capturing motion and feeling simultaneously. I will continue to reference his work as I now recognize him and his importance in the art world and find his work truly inspirational.
Pictures found on Google http://images.google.com/images?svnum=10&hl=en&lr=&client=safari&rls=en&q=Cartier+Bresson+portrait&btnG=Search
posted by Elena at 9:31 PM
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