[Leica] The artless art

[Alastair Firkin <firkin@netconnect.com.au>]

Dear Friends,

I'm sorry I'm so slow. Its not really like me, as I often shoot off my
mouth before engaging the brain, but I fight against this tendency, just as
I fight against so many other faults. I've been intrigued by the HCB's not
a portrait photographer theme. My initial instinct was to agree, but I've
now gone off and done my research, and oh that I was that bad, or had that
portfolio of humanistic portraits of the great and humble. HCB is a GREAT
portraitist is my opinion [now]. I think that we might have to forgive him
some technical faults, as his whole aim was to capture the moment, not to
create it. Of course, not all the portraits I've now reviewed are
"outstanding", but as a body of work they are.

Here is a record of artists, writers, workers, children, friends,
statesmen, actors and intellects captured in a gentle, unobtrusive way. No
obvious props, no obvious lighting, no obvious make up, people in their
environment, the great treated in the same way as the meek, with movement,
humour, affection, distain and insight.

Think of the lost soul of Marlyn Monroe, the whirring brain of Jean Paul
Satre in conversation, the intensity of Ezra Pound's stare, the incredible
energy of Leonard Bernstein with baton, the relaxed smile of Marc Chagall
[with flowers to symbolize his use of colour], the little woman in granduer
Jeanne Toussaint, the quite explanation of Alexey Brodovitch [at home], the
spontaneous joy expressed by Richard Lindner in his studio and Nathalie
Sarraute in her bedroom, the gentlemanly voyerism of Christian Dior, the
inquisitiveness of Pierre Josse, surrounded by his paintings [I assume],
the can do attitude of Nancy Cunard, the violin like grip of Igor
Stravinsky on his cat, the concentration of John Huston, the affection
between Annetta and Alberto Giacometti [mother and son I assume], the
active mind of an old Carl Jung, the formal stiffness of General Peschkoff,
the captured humour of Avigdor Arikha in his studio, a sense of reverence
to a seated Matisse, a tired and somewhat bored Lincoln Kirstein, a
relaxing tea time with Jacques Tati, the closeness captured between Max
Ernst, and Dorothea Tanning, a loving look from the Duke of Windsor for his
wife, the sad reflective Joliot-Curie's, the overwhelming work load of
Martin Luther King, the knowing glance of Colette to a friend [HCB], the
zany world and mind of Joan Miro, and finally Gandhi giving a "lesson", the
third world preaching to the first. Oh and to round off Photoportraits, the
technical information: Camera-- Leica with 50mm lens. Boy could this guy
capture a moment.

Alastair Firkin

http://users.netconnect.com.au/~firkin/AGFhmpg.html