ACC WEBSITE HEADLINES November 2008, Vol. 1, Article 3
“Monica Framed ” by Nora Liu As you all know, I am interested in photography. It is a long-standing interest. I started in my thirties – that is when I bought my first camera. However, recently this interest flared up with such surprising intensity that I had to ask myself – why am I doing it, what is the intent, what is the purpose. It led me to reading about the philosophy of photography, interviewing people, getting answers, finding answers – there are many reasons, some selfish, some not so. However, you can approach the problem from the other direction - looking at a photograph and ask, now what is this good for, is it worth anything. Recently, looking at my files in my computer, I found a picture that I fell in love with.
The picture is not of high quality technically. It is a low resolution scan of 4x6 snapshot (albeit taken with a good camera and lens) but I find the picture pretty magical. Let’s see, what is so good about it? The composition is nice. The little fingers are adorable and the flower is well defined. Her face is not the brightest spot, as it should be, but the hands and the flower draw your eyes to it. It is the picture of a dressed up little girl, in a well-ordered and safe world with rules. However, look at the face – is it solemn, sanctimonious and obedient? No!!! Her expression says something different. And, as with all portraits, this makes all the difference. She has a little impish, smirky, rebellious, almost sarcastic smile. One little out-of-place tuft of hair supports this expression. What does this mean? What is she trying to say? I think she says that OK, I am patient, for the time being I am putting up with all your finery, order, rules and predictable life, but not for always – I am not going to build a life patiently one brick at the time, I will not be bounded by your rules, but look for all my possibilities. And why should not we all? In Rilke’s poem, Archaic Torso of Apollo, "all the pores in the marble are looking at you – saying – you must change your life”. This admonishing is one of the noble goals of art. This little picture is not as drastic or presumptious – all it says – if you want to change your life it is OK to try and do so. oooooooooooo
Henri Cartier-Bresson The Art Institute of Chicago Important photography exhibits are scarce and this is a rare jewel among them. I have seen it twice and plan to go again. I was surprised and disappointed to see very few photographs by Cartier-Bresson - because I only read the first line of the exhibit title! Delightfully, there are many pieces by many other photographers and painters, chosen from the very exciting period in art in the 1920’s and 30’s, when Paris was the cultural center of the Western world, where innovative artists, writers, musicians congregated in the Left Bank’s cafes. The ability of photography to easily produce realistic images and representations gave impetus to painters and sculptors toward revolutionary forms, like Dada and surrealism. One might expect that photography would have stuck to such realism. But no, this exhibit proves that photographers quickly joined these movements with very imaginative works. These are richly represented in the pictures with surprises on every wall. Many works of two prominent Hungarian photographers - Kertész and Brassai (erroneously labeled French) - make the exhibit really very worthwhile. Several interesting paintings of Lhote, Cartier-Bresson’s painting teacher, are displayed. Unfortunately, very little information is provided here about the rich relationships among these works, which included those of Picasso, Mondrian, Matisse and others, who admired the photographers, and of the photographers who shared their creative excitement and took their portraits. Therefore, during my first visit, I was wondering why some of the paintings were included. Just a little advance “google” of the period might be helpful. No catalog of this exhibit is available, so make sure you have pencil and notepaper when you go. The site below gives some information. Enjoy! -- Nora http://www.artic.edu/aic/exhibitions/exhibition/cartierbresson
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Arlington Camera Club