Henri Cartier-Bresson, the Modern Century is a collection of photo works that runs until January 30. Five short days from now. If you are into photography, photojournalism, the 1930’s and/or world history of that time, it’s a show worth seeing.
I’m reminded each time I go to a museum how much more amazing it is to see artists’ works in person. I’d seen plenty of Cartier-Bresson’s photos in books, but seeing the original thing is always so much more powerful.Seeing a collection even more so. The prints are not anything to write home about – some look faded and they’re not printed in some outsize way (they’re smallish by today’s standards), but there’s an aura or something about seeing the real thing on a blank wall, framed behind glass, that makes me stop and really look harder.
His framing and composition was masterful. HC-B didn’t believe in cropping so how he saw things in the viewfinder is the way these pictures are. And of course there was no adjusting things in Photoshop. Film is and was expensive. There was no screen on the back of the camera to see what was just shot. And yet, he captured so many ‘decisive moments’.
