What Matters is to look
Henri Cartier-Bresson, Behind the Gare Saint-Lazare, Paris, 1932
This image by Henri Carier-Bresson is described as ‘one of the most iconic photographs of the twentieth century’. Personally I’ve never seen it before.
As part of my research into Henri Cartier-Bresson, I watched ‘L’amour tout court’ on Vimeo at https://vimeo.com/106009378 (accessed 10/01/2018).
The film is an interview with HC-B made by Raphael O’Byrne entitled ‘Just Plain Love’
It is in French but has English subtitles
HC-B starts by saying that most people don’t look properly at their subject, they just press the shutter buttons
He intermates that his parents were strict and prudish, whilst he frequented bordellos
Left-wing catholics
HCB went to Africa
He is a bit of crusader for people less fortunate than himself.
He been in jail and then to the commandos, he feels like an escaped prisoner
HCB and Klavdij Sluban hold a regular photography workshop with the inmates in the Fleury-Mergois. Sluban is now also going to a prison in Georgia. At first the inmates seem very cautious and suspicious, but are soon running around taking photos, mostly of themselves. He says that the inmates either refer to themselves as before incarceration or after, but not during. By giving them a camera, we see their view of the prison, rather than the photographers.
HCB reviewing his famous leaping man image, said it was just luck, but that you need to leave yourself open, you can’t just want it to happen, because it won’t
He has framed his images, using geometry, divine proportion. Which he instinctively knows where it is. It’s about capturing the physical rhythm of a situation.
Form should come first, light is the icing on the cake. Interview with writing, says that HCB was always looking, will see things others don’t see. He sees the form or geometry of an image and the people within it provide the interest.
HCB you either have it you don’t.
Arkivah – people need to love to look, you can’t look at something you don’t love
Art is not a visual think, is a sensual think, if you don’t taste it you won’t see it.
just plain love a film by Raphael O’Bryan
the gaze should pierce
wanting won’t work
physidcal rhythm
light is like purfune to me.
giocometti?
to look means to love – painter
suite nl3 en re mineur sarabande, bach
suite no3 en ut majeur, parelude, bach
suite no 1 en sol majeur, courante, bach
suite no 9 courante, haendel eric heidsieck