HCB retrospective at NY MOMA

[visiondr]

This is a must-see show:

http://lens.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/04/08/cartier-bressons-modern-century-at-moma/

Also coming the SF MoMA in October!
You can bet I'll be there.

 

[jsrockit]

Hell yeah, can't wait to see it. I'm sure the book they put out for the show will be great to have as well.

 

[Calzone]

Thanks for the link. Here in New York advertisements for this show were posted two weeks ago. I checked last week and all the Sunday family tours were already sold out for the month of April. Buying advanced tickets ($20.00) is highly recomended.

Last year's must see show was Robert Frank's Americans at The Met. This year's show will likely be HCB at MOMA.

There is also a free W. Eugene Smith show titled "The Jazz Loft" at Lincoln Center, a very interesting show that I must revisit. I have to figure out why a celabrated LIFE photographer abandoned his family and career to become both lost and inspired.

I say, us New Yorkers are both lucky and spoiled.

PLUG: 25 April 2010 NYC Meet-Up at Lorelie's starting at 1:00. Check out the threads on this forum for further details. If you are traveling to see HCB at MOMA feel welcomed and come to the NYC Meet-Up.

Cal

 

[MISH]

I have been looking for a excuse to visit New York but everyone should also be advised that the show will also be at the Art Institute of Chicago July 24th to Oct 3rd...... can't wait

 

[Paddy C]

My wife and I are leaving for NYC next Thursday for a bit of sight seeing and gallery hopping. The dates were chosen, in part, to catch this show.

Thanks for the reminder that I should buy advance tickets.

 

[35photo]

I have been looking for a excuse to visit New York but everyone should also be advised that the show will also be at the Art Institute of Chicago July 24th to Oct 3rd...... can't wait

Sweet! First Eggleston this year at the Art Institute and HCB in the Summer, finally some good photography shows in Chicago....

 

[KenR]

Opening day.

Opening day.

I went to MOMA today for the HCB show. A bit intimidating at first as the line stretched around the corner about 10 minutes after the museum opened. We came back about an hour later and the line was a managable 25 people and 5 minutes. A bit more of a wait to pay once inside the museum.

Surprisingly, the show itself wasn't too crowded, with some completely open areas allowing me to get close to the photos.

I was a little disappointed in the overall show. Too many photos were on display, some quite ordinary. Obviously, all the iconic images he made were there as well, but some of the "vintage" prints don't seem to be doing well - rather muddy with a real lack of contrast. MOMA had a panel near the entrance to address this, as obviously they noticed it too. They ascribed it to the printing style in the 1930's, but I wonder if these were actually work prints that were underfixed and are turning brown and fading.

I'm going to try to go back and give it a second look - perhaps I'm just being too harsh.

 

[paulfish4570]

wishing i weren't so far away ...

 

[jsrockit]

I'm going to go ASAP.

 

[nightfly]

Went to a member preview of the show last Thursday before it opened (membership at MOMA is worthwhile if you go more than 3 times a year, for the price of 3 or 4 admissions you get access to previews and unlimited free access and cheap passes for friends).

I agree with the other poster that it was overly vast but I chalk it up to it being more of a complete retrospective than a focused show. On MOMA's part they did a much better job labeling it than they usually do. None of the small labels across the room from the artwork like they usually do.

I also agree that some of the vintage prints weren't holding up too well and I found I much preferred his later stuff. In fact although I usually think of HCB as a "classic" photographer with sort of a dated style, some of his later work struck me as fresh and interesting in a way I wouldn't have imagined. I particularly liked a lot of his stuff shot in America and New York in particular. Apparently he shot more in the US than anywhere besides France which surprised me. He brought an outsiders perspective to race and class in his work that Americans usually downplay. A lot of it felt more like Robert Frank than Bresson who I usually think of as an edgier and more overtly political photographer.

Also his later stuff with wider lenses felt less constrained than the classic 50mm stuff, a bit freer. I couldn't help wanting to see the colors of his work in India and the East which isn't usually something I think of.

Anyway, well worth seeing.

 

[Calzone]

A lot of it felt more like Robert Frank than Bresson...

Last Saturday I was at ICP in Madhattan and the buzz on the street was the same comparison. In the New York Times there was also a review that stated the same.

Thanks for your review and keen insight.

Cal