[Leica] Re: Cartier Bresson and the 6 exposures.

["Hans Pahlen" <hans@komvux.skola.mark.se>]

I never thought this thread would become this serious, but Art, here goes:

You state that a photography is a works of art, and we are not to be
concerned with how it was created or what it represents, as long as it is a
good picture (eventually made by an artist).
Do you mean that HCB could have set up a Paris street in a studio, hire
jumping men (sorry) and produce his pictures? Well, with todays technology
he might even use Photoshop to add something extra, like Bill Clinton waving
in the corner.

I did not mean to be rude, but for me, a photographer like HCB is someone
that shoots real things in the real world, the way he saw it happen. And we
all admire HCB because of his ability to produce his very special pictures
without manipulating with this reality. This very thing makes them
photographic works of art.
/Hans

>    Painters paint posed subjects or even imaginary scenes all the
>     time, and we do not depreciate them for doing so.
>     time, and we do not depreciate them for doing so.  Of course no one
>     wants a news photo to be contrived.  But Cartier-Bresson's photographs
>     are something other than photojournalism (even if photojournalism had
>     been the happenstance of their creation!): they are works of art.  And
>     as such, they are self-sufficient, and we need not be concerned with
>     how they were created or with what the artist may or may not choose to
>     call himself, because nothing in their means of creation and nothing
>     about the artist himself can ever affect their inherent and enduring
>     value as works of art.
>
>     Art Peterson