Cartier-Bresson show at West Vancouver, BC museum - June 8 - August 28, 2010

[MattKing]

Master of the Instant

Cartier-Bresson Photographs from the National Gallery of Canada

Organized by the National Gallery of Canada

June 8 - August 28, 2010
Opening Reception: June 8, 7:00pm-9:00pm

Here is a link:

http://westvancouvermuseum.ca/exhibitions/upcoming_exhibitions/master_of_the_instant_cartier_bresson_photographs_from_the_national_gallery_of_canada

 

[MattKing]

I went to this exhibit last Friday.

I've never seen actual Cartier-Bresson prints before, so there was a fair amount of anticipation.

There were 27 prints - all of which were labelled "printed before 1947". They are part of the National Gallery of Canada's collection, most of which were acquired by the National Gallery in the 1960s.

It is a small gallery, and it certainly wasn't crowded. Admission is by "donation", but a donation of $5.00 is "suggested".

Almost all of the prints were on 8x10 or smaller paper. Many of the most iconic of Cartier-Bresson's images were represented.

The mounting, framing and presentation of the prints was excellent, and the light levels and other arrangements allowed you to examine the prints closely, or step back and view them from afar.

They were clearly "vintage" prints, and in fact a couple of them showed some signs of damage (corner creases).

I was struck by how warm the prints were, and how subtle the contrast was. They were very different from the reproductions I've seen in books and on the internet.

I enjoyed myself a lot, and would recommend a visit.

The link to the exhibit has been updated:

http://westvancouvermuseum.ca/exhibitions/current_exhibition/master_of_the_instant_cartier_bresson_photographs_from_the_national_gallery_of_canada

EDIT: believe it or not, someone has posted a couple of photographs of the exhibit on flikr:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/jmv/4695339582/in/photostream/

 

[Colin Corneau]

Lucky man, I'd love to see this one.