Research paper concepts and methodology

Photography

(It's a Way of Life) (Rag-pickers) (Children at Play)

Henri Cartier-Bresson: Urban Photographic Legend

"the photograph itself doesn't interest me. I want only to capture a minute part of reality"

(Henri Cartier-Bresson).

Henri Cartier-Bresson was reportedly born to a family of means in Chantaloup, France in 1908 (Assouline 2005; Bernstein 2004). According to historians, he originally studied the art of painting and became interested in photography much later after a year's hunting trip he participated in during 1931. That next year, Cartier-Bresson's first surviving work of photography was published and later exhibited in Madrid and New York. Cartier -- Bresson is said to have been very interested in traveling, and as evidenced by the aforementioned quote, wanted to be 'there'. At the age of 19, Cartier-Bresson entered the Lhote Academy, a private arte school under the tutelage of Cubist painter and sculptor Andre Lhote. The instructor reportedly had a goal of incorporating the reality of the Cubist approach with classical art forms linking traditional French works of art. Here Cartier-Bresson received rigorous theoretical training that reportedly served to influence his latter photographic work.

Cartier-Bresson began to associate and socialize with Surrealists in the 1920's which was the beginning of a paradigm shift in the way art was seen, created and appreciated. The Surrealists' photographic approach, as reported by Galassi, was an approach from the streets: displaying a voracious appetite for the "usual and unusual" (Galassi 2010;Turner 2010). This is the political and artistic culture Cartier-Bresson matured in rather quickly. Cartier-Bresson is said to have been significantly influenced by an artistic work of photojournalist Martin Munkacsi, with depicted three naked African boys in silhouette. The grace, spontaneity and rawness of that photograph reportedly propelled the young artist deeper into photography (Galassi 2010). He is said to have continued in his travels, taking photographs for the next four years until he returned to France in 1936. During this time Cartier-Bresson became involved in film-making and is noted for making a documentary on the Spanish Civil War, occurring at the time.

Cartier-Bresson's reputation continued to significantly grow as a photographer during the 1940's and was only said to have been interrupted during the period between 1940 and 1943 when he was a prisoner of war in a German camp. Cartier-Bresson is said to have escaped from imprisonment and returned to his work in photography, establishing the Magnum Photographic Agency in 1947, which he cofounded with other pre-eminent photographers George Rodger, David Seymour, and Robert Capa (Galassi 2010). The photographer's fame, recognition and notoriety became more prolific, achieving international status and recognition for his coverage of the funeral services of world renowned leader Ghandi in 1948, as well as the latter stages of the Chinese Civil War in 1949. Moreover, he captured the last surviving Imperial eunuchs in Beijing while the city was under siege to communists.

During the 1950's, Cartier-Bresson continue to travel around the world and document the environments and the people who inhabited those environments. His first major book "Images a la Sauvette, (The Decisive Moment)" was later published in 1952 and was then followed by several additional volumes that concentrated on various people of the world. In his book, "The Decisive Moment," Cartier-Bresson documented and provided an account of his practice (Hall & Ulanov 1972). The photographer stressed the importance of being in the middle of the action, scene, or environment as well as being fully involved in the events that surrounded him. Henri Cartier-Bresson reportedly believed that is was the events occurring around him and others that created the rhythm of an image and the photographer was responsible to work harmoniously with that particular rhythm in order to capture the moment when the form fit the subject matter (Assouline 2005).

Cartier-Bresson is said to have primarily used a light weight Leica camera which he reportedly believed was assistive in helping him be part and parcel to the action and would therefore not separate him from the scene as he attempted to capture that decisive moment in time (Galassi 2010). This particular camera was small and lightweight, which helped him to blend into the crowd rather than being seen as someone taking a picture; thereby disrupting the natural flow of the activities around him. The photographer is also said to have been one of the earliest adopters of the 35 millimeter format and described as the master of candid photography. "Through the act of living, the discovery of oneself is made concurrently with the discovery of the world around us, which can mold us, by which can also be affected by us" (Cartier-Bresson 1952).

Cartier-Bresson reportedly retired from photography in the early 70's and took no pictures of record after 1975. Henri Cartier-Bresson died on 2 August 2004 at the age of 95. During his lifetime he spent 30 plus years as a photojournalist for LIFE magazine. Although a photographer, he is said to have not to enjoy being the subject of photos. Cartier-Bresson was considered by many to be the world's greatest documentary photographer, and his photographs have become some of the most familiar photographic images of the 20th century (Riper 2002; Montier 1996). But what made him a great photographer?

Photographer Under Review

Many would argue that Cartier-Bresson was an intellectual and this was a significant contributory factor to the manner in which he took photographs. Instead of devoting all of his time to the development of his art, when he was in his 20s Cartier-Bresson spent time with thinkers, other intellectuals, writers and artists, preferring to engage in scholarly discourse regarding politics rather than photography. He had an incredible innate sense of composition, suggested to have been gained through his training as an artist under Andre Lhote and through his study of works of art in museums. Cartier-Bresson's acute psychological insight offered the photographer greater insight than many photographers of his time, as well as those that have come after. He has been considered one of the premiere photographers by many who have emulated his work and attempt to follow in his footsteps.

Much has been written regarding Cartier-Bresson's photographic stylings. The fact that the artist composed his photographs in a view finder instead of a dark room was different than how many photographers processed their photos. His work was reportedly not cropped or manipulated in anyway, and often included the unexposed clear negative surrounding the image resulting in a black bordering around the positive image (Turner 2010). Cartier-Bresson did the majority of his work in black and white; only haven occasionally taken colored pictures which was in and of itself a testament to his lack of acquiescing to what may have been more widely accepted or a move to the more contemporary and modern way of photographing.

Cartier-Bresson's work was widely received. There has not been much open criticism of his work as he stood as an icon for many photographers and artists in general to use as a base of influence; not just by the breadth of work he has created but his overall philosophy regarding the work. In the above photographs, the essence of "being there" and capturing a moment are readily evident. Cartier-Bresson was the master of capturing the moment. In his work, "It's a way of life" it is easy to see it as a simple photograph of a man and a woman. Cartier-Bresson photographed people of color during a time when race was a predominantly forceful and negative factor. Others would not see beauty in the faces of a black man and woman; two people of different complexions but their faces revealing the same pain behind their eyes. The photograph is representative not just of the Beauty of a male female relationship but as a highlight to race and gender issues that have so prevailed the times. The juxtaposition of the dark complexion of the man and his higher physical positioning and the lighter complexioned female and her lower positioning could be a way of speaking to the dominant nature of man and the more submissive position of women. More than that, however, for the Black man, although he may not have been seen as such by the outside world and society in general, in his home and amongst his own, he was regarded as a man in a position of authority; with the all attributes that the position and title hold. The photograph is stark but layered at the same time. It is a timeless composition of reality on many levels, then and now.

"Rag Pickers" is another one of Cartier-Bresson's photographs that in my view is iconic. The stark nature of the photograph is breathtaking; however, it is a picture of men who under other circumstances may have and probably were frequently overlooked. Others may fail to see the beauty in the picture; however, Cartier-Bresson captured the essence of these mens' lives with a single shot. This was a photograph that if chose, could have more than likely revealed a great deal of colors from the stacked fabrics and even from the clothes the men in the photograph were wearing. Nevertheless, Cartier-Bresson chose to stay true to his format and take the picture in black and white which helps in the translation of what is seen and not seen, in this writer's opinion. The rag pickers are standing in a sea of fabric, most likely discarded by manufacturer's shipping from an impoverished to an industrialized country. The very people who make the fabrics from the natural resources of their native lands, cannot afford to own them outright. As such, it is necessary for the men to clothes themselves and most likely their families with the remnants that are left over.

The last photograph that I chose as a part of my review of the work of Henri Cartier-Bresson was unnamed, and therefore I refer to it as "Children at Play." There were a plethora of photographs to select from as the photographer worked extensively for more than 7 decades. However, this photograph stood out to me because of what it represented for the times in which it was taken as well as the visual and personal impact it had on me upon seeing it. The photograph, for me, represents the innocence of children at play without thought of their surroundings and the circumstances of the times. The children are both smiling and happy in their own right. They are playing with each other despite the fact that they represent different races, ethnicities, possibly socioeconomic classes, and futures. Whatever time frame this picture was captured in is not quite discernable; however, the representation supersedes the era in which the activity took place. Once again, Cartier-Bresson was able to capture the very essence of the moment without impeding the activities that were taking place at the time. He was there, but from the photograph the subjects do not appear to have been positively or negatively impacted by his presence.