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Henri Cartier-Bresson in "ZAMEK"

In April the "pf" Gallery of Photography in the "Zamek" Cultural Centre in Poznań is to hold the "Paris" exhibition by Henri Cartier-Bresson, one of the greatest classics in the history of photography. His works have never been presented in our country before.

Henri Cartier-Bresson was born in France in 1908. In his early years he was initially interested in painting and documentary films. The year 1932 marked a breakthrough in his life; at the age of 24, Henri Cartier-Bresson bought himself a small 35mm camera Leica, with which he never parted ever since. The inconspicuous camera allowed him to approach the scenes he wanted to photograph without being noticed. It became, as he used to say, "an extension of his eye". His photographs depicted everyday life. He wanted to shoot the scenes which appeared trivial or even boring in a truthful manner. What he sought in photography were universal values irrespective of the fact whether he was working in Europe, India, China, Japan, Indonesia, Mexico, Canada, the USSR or Cuba. He did not attach much importance to his technique. His works were devoid of any interference with the picture. The only thing that counted was intuition which led to the formulation of a famous theory of "a decisive moment". It assumed that there exists one and only moment in which the composition and expression of the frame are appropriate and the photographer has to be able to capture this very moment. Under the influence of this theory many contemporary press reporters started to work in a more "mobile" way using more efficient 35mm cameras.

"Everything in the world had its own decisive moment".

In 1947 Henri Cartier-Bresson, Robert Capa and David Seymour founded a photographic agency MAGNUM, which soon became the most renowned agency in the world attracting the best press reporters. The agency established a specific ethical code of press reporters and Henri Cartier-Bresson constituted an unquestionable authority in this field. Eventually, he left the agency in 1966 and after the year 1972 he ceased to take any photographs whatsoever.

Henri Cartier-Bresson's photographs have been exhibited in the best museums and galleries and his works have been published in many albums. Till this day he has had many followers.

The exhibition will be open to the public from 7th to 30th April 2000, 12.00-20.00, in the Grand Hall of the "Zamek" Cultural Centre.

Ireneusz Zjeżdżałka