When I went to the MoMA, I didn’t like (by personal preference) many of the artworks that were being exhibited. In one piece, a classical artwork had a penis graffitied all over it. The murals on the walls made no coherent image and gave me no coherent feeling. The MoMA made me yearn for a classical, rule-abiding piece of artwork. There’s a form of rigidity and structure that I had wanted to see perfected.
Then, I saw this picture. Henri Cartier Bresson made this silver print in 1952. And I feel like this picture was a breath of fresh air in the middle of some of the more chaotic photographs and artworks. I have learned a lot about photography. I took two classes in high school. I learned about the rule of thirds and about focusing on the eyes with portraits, and of the creative us of foreground and background. And this picture creates, what I feel, is a sound fulfillment of all those aesthetic rules. The man is obviously the subject. And he stands on the lower right of the photograph, so our eyes are drawn directly to him. He is fully in focus, he is the foreground. What made this photo spectacular though is how the background complements the photo, unlike the backgrounds of the other photos I saw. The ships had something to say about the man. They said that he was a wind-hardened sailor, or fisherman, and we see a more total portrait of the subject.
The picture reminds me of how important the background can be to our everyday lives. I know that I’m usually focused on the thing I’m doing at the moment, and not too aware of the background. But if I took a step back to see myself in the context of my surroundings, I’m pretty sure I would have understood the situations more. If I take a step back now, I’d see that I’m at home writing in front of a computer my eportfolio posts, probably because I feel weary of the city from gallery hopping all weekend. And here are some other examples. If I took a step back when I was reading that book, I’d discover that I’d be in Barnes and Noble, to escape the noises of Manhattan. If I took a step back from when I was listening to that sermon, I’d find that I’d be in church on a Sunday when everyone else is busy working.
Sometimes, our backgrounds are saying things to our foregrounds even when don’t realize it, as the man might not even be aware that Cartier Bresson had juxtaposed ships into the portrait.
Artist: Henri Cartier Bresson
Title: Port of Hamburg, Germany
Date of Work: 1952
Materials/Medium: Silver Print
Duration: Indefinite
Genre: Photography
Venue: MoMA
Friends? Christopher Robles, Rodelyn Orange
