"Steiglitz, Steichen, Strand" Exhibition at the Metropolitan Museum of Art

Alfred Steiglitz, The Terminal, 1893

The exhibition, "Steiglitz, Steichen, Strand", on view at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York through April 10, 2011, presents the work of three pioneers of Modern photography at the turn of the 20th Century. While not a comprehensive survey of the innovations of these artists, the show does succeed in capturing the spirit and significance of their respective accomplishments. Alfred Steiglitz (1864-1946) was the charismatic elder statesman of the group, a photographer and art dealer who championed the acceptance of photography as an art form and introduced many emerging European painters to the United States through his galleries. Edward Steichen (1879-1973) was an early disciple of Steiglitz and a master craftsman who experimented with many methods to achieve his artistic vision, including early color processes. Both at first worked in the Pictorialist style, which attempted to gain legitimacy by obscuring photography's detail and sharpness through imitating the conventions of painting, softening the image with focus and printing techniques. Steiglitz, in part influenced by the European art he was showing, eventually grew tired of this fashion and sought a new and fresh approach. Enter the youngest member of this triumvirate, Paul Strand (1890-1976). On advice from Steiglitz, Strand went forward and created a body of work which exploited photography's hard edges and sharp focus into a new, purely photographic and modern statement. Strand was also a socially conscious artist (he had studied with Lewis Hine at the Ethical Culture School), and he included more human content in his work. Steiglitz embraced this new style, showing Strand's work at his "291" Gallery and publishing it in the lush Camera Work journal. These collaborations and cross influences heralded the inception of Modern photography. For me, it is Strand who emerges from this exhibition as the foremost visionary. In the hindsight of a century passed, his pictures remain as timeless and relevant as any great work of art.

Edward Steichen, Rodin-The Thinker, 1902

Paul Strand, Blind, 1916

• "Steiglitz, Steichen, Strand" is on view at the Metropolitan Museum of Art through April 10, 2011. The Met is located at 1000 Fifth Ave. at 82nd St. in NYC. Info (212) 535-7710 or visit www.metmuseum.org.
• The beautifully printed exhibition catalog, Steiglitz, Steichen, Strand (Metropolitan Museum of Art and Yale University Press, publishers), with an informative essay by curator Malcolm Daniel, is available from the Museum or at amazon.com.

Henri Cartier-Bresson @MoMA

If you are in New York, do not pass GO, visit "Henri Cartier-Bresson: The Modern Century" at the Museum of Modern Art on view now through June 28. This extensive retrospective contains over 300 prints from the career of one of the true masters of the medium. The exhibition, curated by Peter Galassi, occupies the 6th floor galleries and is categorized into 13 themes. There are many of the familiar "greatest hits" as well as rarely seen surprises which put his body of work into new perspective. While I'm particularly fond of HCB's early work for its immediacy and artistic freedom, I saw the later pictures in a different context. Many of the better known "photojournalistic" pictures which were sometimes fettered by the constraints of creating imagery more accessible to the public are complimented by photographs which are grittier and edgier. I felt some, especially the photos taken in the United States and the USSR, were prescient of the work of the younger photographer Robert Frank in their probing and haunting qualities. Mr. Galassi's essay in the accompanying catalogue offers further insight into the milieu behind this astonishing work. I was able to attend the panel discussion "The Legacy of Henri Cartier-Bresson" moderated by Mr. Galassi with Magnum photographer Gilles Peress and art historian Jean-Francois Chevier. While the evening was somewhat unstructured and meandering, the lively discussion provided fascinating anecdotes about Cartier-Bresson's life and work.

• The exhibition catalogue, Henri Cartier-Bresson: The Modern Century with an essay by Peter Galassi is available from amazon.com
• Recommended reading on Cartier-Bresson's life: Henri Cartier-Bresson: The Biography (2005) by Pierre Assouline also at amazon.com
• Also recommended is the documentary film Henri Cartier-Bresson: The Impassioned Eye (2003), directed by Heinz Bütler featuring interviews with HCB, Josef Koudelka, Elliot Erwitt, Isabelle Huppert, Robert Delpire and others, available on DVD at amazon.com, from Netfilx, etc.

Why "Perception and Description"?

I thought my first foray into blogdom should explain its title.  It is derived from a quote by Garry Winogrand on the art of photography: "This process is Perception (seeing) and Description (operating the camera to make a record) of the seeing." As a young photography student, I met Garry on two occasions in the early 1980's, once briefly and again for a more extensive conversation. With his razor sharp insight, he created this deceptively simple axiom which sums up what we should strive for in our photographs. In 1982 Garry's interview with Bill Moyers aired on PBS; I suggest you take a look: