Photography is the simultaneous recognition, in a fraction of a second, of the significance of an event as well as of a precise organisation of forms which give that event its proper expression.
The Decisive Moment.
Photography is often conceived of as a time-based medium. The camera, unlike our eyes, has the ability to freeze time, to take a slice of out of the ongoing flux of life, to select and frame a moment so that we can return to it and explore its details. Of course, this isn't the only way to think about photography but it's a powerful and important concept about the way photographic images work and how they alter our sense of reality.
'The Decisive Moment' was a book formulated by Henri Cartier-Bresson in 1947. His photography started in the 1930s, after being influenced by the Surrealists.
His book is split up in chronological and geographical sections. The first section is made up of photographs originating from years 1932-1947, and the photographs were taken in the West, whilst the second section contains images from 1947-1952, and were shot in the East.
His book is split up in chronological and geographical sections. The first section is made up of photographs originating from years 1932-1947, and the photographs were taken in the West, whilst the second section contains images from 1947-1952, and were shot in the East.
The reason his photographs often feel numbly impersonal now is not just that they are familiar. It’s that they’re so coolly composed, so infernally correct that there’s nothing raw about them, and you find yourself thinking: would it not be more interesting if his moments were a little less decisive?
-- Gaby Wood
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Something I find interesting about this photo book is that the name of the book differs vastly when versions published in different countries translate them. The American title of this book is 'The Decisive Moment', whilst the French title, 'Images à la Sauvette', translates to Images On The Run. I like this as I feel like it creates a completely different idea to the book - like it's telling the story of what someone saw after running away from something.
It is arguable that 'The Decisive Moment' is not a suitable name for this book, as there is not one singular decisive moment, there are 'hundreds, thousands of decisive moments' as said by Agnès Sire in the video, and was actually against the wishes of Cartier-Bresson. |