Henri Cartier-Bresson: The Mind's Eye [Hardcover]

Henri Cartier-Bresson (Photographer)

Book Description

Publication Date: June 15, 2005

Henri Cartier-Bresson's indelible writings on photography and photographers have been published sporadically over the past forty-five years. His essays--several of which have never before been translated into English--are collected here for the first time. The Mind's Eye features Cartier-Bresson's famous text on "the decisive moment" as well as his observations on Moscow, Cuba, and China during turbulent times. These essays ring with the same immediacy and visual intensity that characterize his photography

Editorial Reviews

From Library Journal

Supremely accomplished and influential French photographer Cartier-Bresson guided the evolution of the photographic medium while creating an enormous body of work. His photographs of people, famous and obscure, always contain a strong psychological component deriving from formally perfect compositions and a temporal ambivalence that characterizes only the most powerful static images. This slight book contains short essays by Cartier-Bresson along with some less interesting aesthetic epigrams and tributes to fellow artists. This is the first published collection of his writings, though large chunks are taken from books he published in the 1950s and 1960s. And while there's not a great deal of his writings to be collected, what's here is pithy and laconic without being sententious. His artistic philosophy is well captured by his landmark 1952 essay "The Decisive Moment," contained here, probably the most poetically instructive evocation of the field photographer's art yet written. This is a useful and important title from one of the defining sets of eyes in the cumulative visual record of the 20th century. Recommended for academic and large public libraries.DDouglas F. Smith, Oakland P.L., CA
Copyright 2000 Reed Business Information, Inc.

About the Author

Henri Cartier-Bresson studied painting and literature until 1930, when he began his work in photography. His other books include The Decisive Moment and The Drawings of Henri Cartier-Bresson. He lives in Paris.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 112 pages
• Publisher: Aperture; 1st edition (June 15, 2005)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0893818755
• ISBN-13: 978-0893818753
• Product Dimensions: 8.6 x 5.8 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 11.2 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (11 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #147,196 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #55 in Books > Arts & Photography > Photography > Criticism & Essays

More About the Author

Henri Cartier-Bresson (August 22, 1908 - August 3, 2004) is perhaps the greatest photographer of the twentieth century. In a career spanning over sixty years, he has used his camera as an impassive and neutral third eye to capture the vagaries of human behaviour and to produce some of the most memorable and compelling photographs ever published.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

51 of 53 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars First compilation of his writings by Henri Cartier-Bresson, January 13, 2000

By A Customer

This review is from: Henri Cartier-Bresson: The Mind's Eye (Hardcover)

This is the nicest book I've ever read on photography. Bresson explains his art in a very comprehensive way and invites us to think about the photography. He also reminds us one thing that we are usually keen to forget about it: The photograph is nothing without it's content; The content must be the reflection of our life.. It was a real pleasure for me to read this great master's well filtered thoughts (over 90 years!)on photography. For those who think photograph really does matters

48 of 55 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars You won't find what you want here, May 15, 2000

By 

Adrian Tyler - See all my reviews

This review is from: Henri Cartier-Bresson: The Mind's Eye (Hardcover)

This book is certainly looks interesting for anybody wanting to learn a bit more about the art and thinking of Cartier-Bresson, and indeed it is beautifully designed and produced. Unfortunatly the the little scraps of information that it contains seem as if they have been published just beacause they have indeed come from the great masters mouth. I mean its all kind of throw away stuff obviously never intended to be published with perhaps a couple of interesting paragraphs -but you probably knew those ones anyway-. So if you really want to study his work get "the artless art" if you want to learn from his experience, look at his pictures, you won't get much from this one.

12 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars An Apologia For Intuition, February 15, 2008

By 

Russell S. Lewis "Russ Lewis" (Manitou Springs, Colorado United States) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Henri Cartier-Bresson: The Mind's Eye (Hardcover)

Yes, this is a small book, and, possibly too much of it is taken up in verbal bouquets tossed to old friends, tourist information about side-trips to various countries, and practical advice to would-be photojournalists.

But those asides aren't the guts of this wonderful book. The important message from this man, who without question was the most influential photographer of the twentieth century, is that if you want to make good photographs you need to look, and you need to internalize a kind of respect for subject, context and geometry that allows you to SEE when you look, without resorting to arbitrary crutches like the "rule of thirds."

Probably the most important words in the book are these: "To take photographs means to recognize -- simultaneously and within a fraction of a second -- both the fact itself and the rigorous organization of visually perceived forms that give it meaning."

That's what the book is really about. Anyone who hopes to become a competent photographer needs to internalize that message.