Some institutions have ways and means to find very lovely titles to their exhibitions. The Cartier-Bresson Foundation is no exception to the rule: for the retrospective devoted to American writer and photographer Wright Morris (1910-1998), it lovingly chose “L’essence du visible” [the essence of visible] drawing inspiration in one of his statements (the man said he wanted to “grasp the essence of visible”).
His novels are remarkable by their careful and living descriptions of the live in the Midwest. The man travelled there a lot… And found in the landscapes and the customs of the American Midwest an always renewed inspirations. “I am not a regional writer, but the characteristics of this region have conditioned what I see, what I look for, and what I find in the world to write about”.
The same does for his photographs, yet unlike his novels, they always are characterless. Snow-covered landscapes, wooden houses, cars… Wright Morris documents the Midwest very precisely, but his pictures always seem like inhabited by a mystery, an enigma. It’s undoubtedly because of his compositions, paring down subjects.
A lovely work to discover.
Picture: Wright Morris, Farmhouse in Winter near Lincoln, Nebraska, 1941 © Estate of Wright Morris
Dates and Opening Time
From June 18, 2019 to September 29, 2019
Location
Henri Cartier-Bresson Foundation
79 Rue des Archives
75003 Paris 3
Access
Metro lines 3 and 11 "Art et Métiers" station, line 3 "Temple" station, metro line 8 "Filles du Calvaire" station.
Prices
tarif réduit: €5
tarif plein: €9
Recommended age
For all
Official website
www.henricartierbresson.org
