Henri Cartier-Bresson: The Modern Century
by habituallychic
04 . 11 . 10
I don’t normally like to visit museums on bright and sunny days but I may make an exception for the new Henri Cartier-Bresson exhibition that opens today at the Museum of Modern Art. Over 300 hundred photographs that span his amazing career will be on view until June 28, 2010. My favorites are his old world views of Europe and his modern look at America. I’d also say that he was the pioneer of today’s popular street fashion photography. Can you imagine if Henri Cartier-Bresson had a blog?! I definitely wouldn’t wait for a rainy day to see this amazing exhibition!
“It is through living that we discover ourselves, at the same time as we discover the world around us.” — Henri Cartier-Bresson, 1952
“Think about the photo before and after, never during. The secret is to take your time. You mustn’t go too fast. The subject must forget about you. Then, however, you must be very quick.” — Henri Cartier-Bresson
“Actually, I’m not all that interested in the subject of photography. Once the picture is in the box, I’m not all that interested in what happens next. Hunters, after all, aren’t cooks.” — Henri Cartier-Bresson
“Photographers deal in things which are continually vanishing and when they have vanished there is no contrivance on earth which can make them come back again.” — Henri Cartier-Bresson
“The most difficult thing for me is a portrait. You have to try and put your camera between the skin of a person and his shirt.” — Henri Cartier-Bresson
“The creative act lasts but a brief moment, a lightning instant of give-and-take, just long enough for you to level the camera and to trap the fleeting prey in your little box.” — Henri Cartier-Bresson
“The photograph itself doesn’t interest me. I want only to capture a minute part of reality.” — Henri Cartier-Bresson
Photos by Henri Cartier-Bresson
11 Comments
Heather, I love the images and the quotes by this remarkable photographer! The exhibit must be wonderful!
Karena
Art by Karena
Fascinating quotes and photos. What impacts me the most is his focus on living in and capturing the moment. Not that easy. Thanks. Mary
What a great exhibit! The subtle nuances that he captures are wonderful… and to think that he was doing this with the more labor intense camera equipment. As wonderful as digital is… I think the older format cameras and processing techniques created greater works of art.
Looks like a fabulous exhibit. I will have to stop by!x
Wonderful images- especially the first one.
I’d go see this exhibit, rain or shine!
Thank you for the introduction, his photographs are fantastic. I can’t wait to check out the exhibition!
great images captured. thanks for sharing. the exhibit must be wonderful. a spin through slices of life, a cake.
Another great blogpost. Thanks for the heads up. This exhibit will be worth coming to NYC to see!
Sue in RI
What a truly fabulous exhibit this must be! I wish I could get there to see it. You’ll have to tell us more.
Great images, all so wonderfully elegant.
I am SO excited to go see this. He’s been one of my favorites for a long time, and it’ll be great to see so many of his prints up close.
xoxo,
Ms. Seberg