Moving Closer February 2021 In 1932, Henri Cartier-Bresson photographed two men in Brussels, Belgium. These two individuals were spectators, recorded in the act of looking at something. Cartier-Bresson’s famous image has been written about, in various contexts over the nearly 90 years since its production. It captures and re-presents the pleasure we take in looking. It is, of course, a magnificent example of Cartier-Bresson’s decisive movement, and I’ve often lingered on this photograph. I used to think that the most important part of my enjoyment came from the imaginative guessing game I’d play inside my head regarding what might have arrested the attention of the two men; asking what are they looking toward? What could they be looking at, what could be so amazing / interesting / exciting / captivating / distressing that has made them stop and linger? I’d think about the building work that could be going on beyond the material barrier, or the hidden circus that might be setting up, or the fight developing, or the political rally, or this or that. And I contented myself with this joy in thinking about the unseen action or activity which could grab attention. As I have been working with barrier materials for the Touching Distance project, I circled back to the image, to think about it again.
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