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Cartier-Bresson at MoMA

Guest WPalank

By Guest WPalank
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Guest WPalank

Guest WPalank

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I wish I was in New York:

 

Cartier-Bresson photo exhibit chronicles 20th century | Reuters

 

"Henri Cartier-Bresson: The Modern Century," which opens at The Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) on Sunday, is the first retrospective of his work since he died in 2004 at age 95.

 

The exhibit includes about 300 photographs, the majority on loan from the Henri Cartier-Bresson Foundation in Paris, and several of his documentary films. There are also lectures and discussions about his work."

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Guest WPalank

Guest WPalank

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We're seeing the preview tomorrow and I will report back. It opens to the public on Sunday.

 

Stuart,

I look forward to your report and perhaps a few "snaps".

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alun

alun

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MOMA's own website for the show is terrific -- and there's more there than immediately seems evident:

MoMA | Interactives | Exhibitions | 2010 | Henri Cartier-Bresson

 

A sneaky (probably sour grapes) part of me is wondering however whether there is anything new or different to say about HCB. He's great. He defined a century of photography. In some areas he virtually invented the language of 'lyrical' humanist photography....

 

If anyone who does buy the catalogue could report back that would be really helpful -- I have it on order, to add to all the other HCB books, and wonder whether it's a must have or not. Any remarks about the selection and print quality would be appreciated.

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Guest joewehry

Guest joewehry

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At first glance, MoMA's HCB catalog is wonderful in terms of printing quality and number of images. The first 70 or so pages contain essays and notes on his photos, with the remainder containing photos, generally one or two to a page. Although I have not seen the prints yet compared to the book, I was impressed with the range of reproduction - from high contrast images to soft snow covered mountains. My only quibble is the grouping of photos into themes, when I personally like a more time-line oriented sequence to put things into historical perspectives. To be fair, I have not yet read the essay in the front which may give additional material to put the collection into perspective. Clear a space on your coffee table or bookshelf. If you like his work, you'll want to get it.

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peter_n

peter_n

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Mine hasn't arrived yet but I had another look at the catalog this afternoon and there are contacts embedded in Peter Galassi's essay, but only two. One has about 6-8 prints and the other seems to be a complete roll. I like looking at contacts because they give you some sense of the strategy of the photog.

 

After glancing through the catalog again I got the sense that there are quite a lot of pictures in there that I haven't seen before (I have about five of his books) so now I'm really looking forward to my copy arriving.

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stuny

stuny

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The exhibit is very close to overwhelming, with hundreds of pictures on loan from myriad sources. Along a few walls of prints are vintage magazines open to HCB spreads relating to the prints hung above. They’ve organized the prints chronologically as well as by theme such as period, sometimes by geographic region, by portraits, etc. Our only criticisms of the exhibit, which is stunning, deals with the exhibit space and how MoMA has used it. Too frequently they’ve hung prints close to the various room corners on adjacent walls, leading to crowding problems even soon after the member preview’s opening yesterday morning. By the time we left the exhibit is was very crowded, making corners even worse. Second, the flow from room to room is not executed well, making one double back several times to be certain to see everything. Third, at times we would have preferred more annotation than was provided. Most prints just had cards with a somewhat lite title, date shot, date printed, which organization printed it, and source of the print. All prints were expertly rendered, and the vast majority held up well, with little fading or browning. The weakest images were very good.

 

If you go, buy tickets online to save you time and get you into the exhibit before the crowds, go during the work week, arrive about 15 minutes before opening, and once in go directly to the 6th floor exhibit. The most common way to get there is to go up a short flight of stairs towards the sculpture garden, turn to the right and go up another flight of stairs to the 2nd floor, walk around to the left and take a series of escalators up to the 5th floor. Once on the fifth floor walk ahead and to the right to the final escalator. When done you might want to have lunch at the cafe on the 5th floor. If you do, get off the escalator, and go 180 degrees to the right. The food there is quite good. Allow at least an hour to see the exhibit.

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Jager

Jager

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Thanks for posting this, William. And thanks, Stuart, for the mini-review and the tips for those of us who might wish to visit the exhibit.

 

I've ordered the book. And I think I shall take a long weekend and jump on the train and visit your fair city before the exhibit moves on west...

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alun

alun

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Thanks to those who have posted observations re. the catalogue and to those who have posted impressions of the exhibition itself. Geography prevents me seeing the show but catalogue is starting to sound essential...

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alun

alun

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Alun,

 

Thanks for sharing that. Great web site. Bresson remains my favorite street photographer of all times. I have a collection of five of his books but still don't have a copy of The Decisive Moment.

 

Wilfredo -- It is a lovely website, isn't it. But -- for me at least -- it doesn't take the crown for most gorgeous website. That -- and I have posted this before but can't resist doing so again -- must go to Robert Lebeck's, which is simply the most elegant photography website I know of. And some of the most glorious BW photojournalism. ROBERT LEBECK *** Photography

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