STRANDed

Since I had some guests in town this weekend, I was doing some slightly more "touristy" things with my time. Although I consider this store a real local treasure of New York, people from far and wide have heard its praises, so it often ends up in guidebooks and "must-see" lists for visitors.

The Strand bookstore has millions and millions of books (literally 18 miles!). The second floor is home to so many art books that I could spend weeks of my life drooling over the amazing photos, monographs, catalogues, writings, and texts... ahhh, Strand - I can't wait to go back this weekend!

The Americans

Last post I wrote about Cartier-Bresson's seminal work The Decisive Moment. This week I wanted to feature another photography book. Robert Frank's The Americans was the result of his 1955 U.S. road trip funded by a Guggenheim grant. Although he was friends with the likes of famous figures like Allen Ginsberg and Jack Kerouac, Frank's work showcases a beautifully gritty, heartbreakingly unfair America.

The Decisive Moment

As an artist or an art enthusiast, I'm sure you will agree with me that sometimes the best art texts don't involve anything other than visual language. I have always held deep respect and reverence for the work of Henri Cartier-Bresson. The French photographer was born in 1908 and gained international recognition when he covered the funeral of Ghandi.

In 1952, his book entitled Images à la sauvette (The Decisive Moment was the title of the English edition) was published. Drawing from a text by Cardinal de Retz, Cartier-Bresson wrote, "There is nothing in this world that does not have a decisive moment". This idea of such a "decisive moment" would become synonymous with Cartier-Bresson and his work.

"Photography is not like painting," Cartier-Bresson told the Washington Post in 1957. "There is a creative fraction of a second when you are taking a picture. Your eye must see a composition or an expression that life itself offers you, and you must know with intuition when to click the camera. That is the moment the photographer is creative," he said. "Oop! The Moment! Once you miss it, it is gone forever."