The Tampa Museum of Art presents The Man, the Image & the World. Henri Cartier-Bresson, A Retrospective an exhibition on view October 6, 2012 – January 13, 2013.
Henri Cartier-Bresson (1908–2004) was one of the leading photographers of the 20th century. His work not only exerted a major influence on photography but also helped his profession achieve a new status. The Tampa Museum of Art is pleased be the only U.S. venue for this extraordinary exhibition.
From his first works of the 1930s that stand out for their composition, the theatrical nature of the images and the selection of details, Cartier-Bresson succeeded in recording important moments with his camera. His 1952 book, Images a la Sauvette (The Decisive Moment), introduced his ideas about creating images that combined story, action and emotion. Entire stories are often condensed into a single image, the so-called “decisive moment.” The photographer once said that photography was “putting one’s head, one’s heart and one’s eye on the same axis.”
Travel was a key element in Cartier-Bresson’s life and his work. Following trips to Mexico, the artist was sent on large-scale global reporting assignments to the United States, the Soviet Union, China, India, Bali and Indonesia. His work provided early and probing views behind the Iron Curtain and into the highly hidden cultures in Southeast Asia and the Indian Sub-continent.
His work is not only a benchmark for photojournalism in the 20th century but also for the ethics of photography. Along with friends such as Robert Capa, Cartier-Bresson founded Magnum Pictures in 1947. Operating in Paris and New York City, this organization of photojournalists successfully changed the manner in which photojournalists were treated and recognized by printed sources.
The Man, the Image & the World. Henri Cartier-Bresson, A Retrospective includes over 330 photographs, films and important publications. This exhibition is held in conjunction with the Foundation Henri Cartier-Bresson and Magnum Photos/Paris. Cartier-Bresson chose the works for this exhibition before his death in 2004. The exhibition has recently been on view in Zurich, Brisbane, and Seoul. – www.tampamuseum.org