On Fri, Jul 30, 2010 at 10:01 AM, Christine Aguila <[email protected]> wrote: > Hi Everyone: > > Well, I've seen 300 HCB photographs, and I purchased the paperback edition > of the exhibition catalogue. Wow, what an experience. If you're in the > Midwest area, I'd definitely recommend flying in or driving in to see it. > Overwhelming majority of the prints were 7ish by 11ish in size, and grouped > thematically--early work, photo essays in LIFE magazine (China & Russia), > beauty, portraits, and later work--just an amazing collection of subject > material. > > What surprised me was the low contrast in a good many of the prints, and I > don't know if that is because of age of the print or intent. The > photographs in the exhibition catalogue have stronger contrast. I had this > same surprise when I saw Dorthea Lange prints (Migrant Mother etc) at the > photo museum at Columbia College. in Chicago. > > Because of the small print size, the photographs, to my eye, didn't *pop* > off the wall as I expected, though I think that's because some of the images > loom large in my mind's eye. Soft focus and grain very noticeable through > out the collection. > > All in all we had a nice time. No pictures of note, just a document of the > entrance way. Security was tight and no pictures allowed in exhibit area. > The show runs until 10/3/2010.
I drool as I read this. Luckily I'm at a public library computer (a few minutes between calls on a slow Friday afternoon). ;-) Great report, and yes, it's amazing how our tastes and perceptions as to what makes a print good have changed over the years. I've only seen one of his in person, printed by Gassmann (or one of his minions) and it was much lower contrast than we expect by today's standards. Still, as Bob points out, lots of detail.in that one (Sur la Rue Mouffetard or "the boy with the bottles" was the particular print). Anyway, thanks for the great report, Christine! cheers, frank -- "Sharpness is a bourgeois concept." -Henri Cartier-Bresson -- PDML Pentax-Discuss Mail List [email protected] http://pdml.net/mailman/listinfo/pdml_pdml.net to UNSUBSCRIBE from the PDML, please visit the link directly above and follow the directions.
