Cartier-Bresson and Me: Part 1
Cartier-Bresson and Me: Part 1
Growing old seems to be marked by completing journeys, some lasting decades. May, 2010: I completed a journey that began in the fall of 1966 when a friend showed me a small volume of photographs by the French photographer, Henri Cartier-Bresson. The journey ended when I saw his life’s work displayed at the Museum of Modern Art in New York City in May of 2010.
It is hard to convey the effect that little book of Cartier-Bresson photographs had on me that long-ago evening. Indeed, not just for an evening but for decades to come. Some of the photographs made obvious sense, others were evocative but enigmatic, and some were downright mysterious. Why one would photograph Mahatma Gandhi’s funeral pyre was obvious, but why would one photograph a fruit vendor’s display box? Perhaps my friend sought to amplify the effect of the book when he put his Nikon F 35-mm camera in my hand and appointed me still-photographer for an evening of film making.
I set out to discover the magic behind Cartier-Bresson’s working method and to understand why any of his photographs might be a great work of art. I soon encountered several myths about the man and his work.
[Go on to Part 2.]
