Zooming in on Cartier-Bresson’s legacy

By Madhusree Chatterjee, IANS

New Delhi : It is a tale of two generations and a little bird. Two Tibetan monks, one young and another old, roll with laughter as they joust and a little bird sits on the bald pate of the old seer – his wizened face wrinkled with age.


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The black and white photograph at the Stainless Gallery in the capital bears the unmistakable stamp of Henri Cartier-Bresson, the father of modern photojournalism. But it has been shot by his prot�g� and widow Martine Franck, often dubbed his modern day avatar.

Martine is the custodian of the Henri Cartier-Bresson Foundation in Paris, which was founded in 2003 to keep alive the legacy of the master.

“Henri accepted the idea of the foundation in his name a year before his death on condition that we opened it up and showed works of other photographers or artists, which is what we do. We have already had exhibits of Bill Brandt, Bruce Davidson, Fazal Sheikh and Saul Leiter among others,” Martine told IANS from Paris.

Cartier-Bresson – whose birth centenary falls this year – was one of the early adopters of the 35 mm format, the standard used by news photographers across the world. He was the father of candid photography – telling everyday stories of people and events with artistic twists in black and white.

Martine uses the same technique as her Paris-born husband, but her themes are contemporary. She is an artist at heart who believes in the emotional and artistic intensity of painted art works.

“To me photography is a more instantaneous way of depicting reality, but not necessarily more effective than painting. On the contrary, photography can be too realistic and not evocative enough. But this depends entirely on the photographer or the painter,” Martine said.

Why did Martine pick up the camera and not the paintbrush? “I think I was shy as a young woman and I realised that photography was an ideal way of telling people what is going on without having to talk.”

Martine, who has authored more than 20 books, also carries on the tradition of Magnum photographers – an exclusive club of 36 top-notch lensmen who still use the 35 mm Leica format. It was co-founded by Henri in 1947.

The tall, striking woman who loves ethnic jewellery and has an elegant book-lined apartment overlooking the Tulleries Gardens and Museum d’ Orsay in Paris, has remained faithful to her “good old Leica camera for 35 years”. Her body of work includes portraits of artists and writers, humanitarian reportage, community life and studies of monastic life.

Buddhism brought Martine to the subcontinent.

“Franck became interested in Buddhist monks after a French lama revealed that a prominent Tibetan lama had died and his reincarnation, Yangsi Kalu Rimpoche, was about to be enthroned in Darjeeling.

“Frank travelled to India to photograph the boy who like other Tibetan tulkus (novices) was assigned a tutor and brought up in a monastery, groomed to become a future leader of Tibet,” said biographer Louise Baring.

The photographer spent almost three weeks in a monastery in Karnataka documenting Buddhist rituals.

Martine, who has worked as a freelance photographer for Time-Life, The New York Times and the French Vogue, is worried about the future of photojournalism.

“I don’t know what is the future of photojournalism. It will probably be through the Internet. Newspapers and magazines rarely commission photographers to do any work for any length of time. So we have to find to find sponsors and institutions to finance our work,” she said.

The way out, feels Martine, is to work on a project “in-depth”.

Fresh from a trip to India to meet Tibetan lamas, Martine is planning a series on the blind, photographing them at the La Galerie Tachile at the Louvre in Paris.

“I will continue my work with the Tibetan tulkus and lamas who live in India. I always thank the Indian government for its hospitality and for the fact that it has welcomed the Dalai Lama,” Martine said.

Indian art – be it photography, painting, sculpture or architecture – inspires her.

“I want young photographers to broaden their vision and not be just interested in photography,” she said.

Martine’s photographs, brought to India by an organisation called Tasveer, will be on display in the national capital till Jan 25.

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