Photographers Confront the Uncontrollable Nature of Documentary Practice
David M. M. Taffet's experience documenting a traveling Mexican circus across five performances highlights the unpredictable nature of documentary photography, leading to a majority of unusable shots due to technical difficulties and varying conditions. This stands in stark contrast to the more controlled setting of painting. Henri Cartier-Bresson's concept of the 'Decisive Moment' romanticizes the element of chance in photography, a sentiment also expressed by Janet Malcolm in 'Diana & Nikon.' Critic Allan Sekula characterized the street photographer as a 'romantic fiction.' Garry Winogrand's collection of nearly 300,000 unedited images demonstrates significant failure rates, with John Szarkowski observing that Winogrand's success rate plummeted to almost zero. Taffet, an acclaimed photographer based in Mérida, México, promotes a 'foraging' methodology, highlighting the necessity of bravery in the face of uncertainty.
Key facts
- Documentary photography involves high failure rates due to uncontrollable environmental factors.
- David M. M. Taffet documented a traveling Mexican circus over five shows, facing technical errors and poor conditions.
- The romantic 'Decisive Moment' concept, associated with Henri Cartier-Bresson, ignores photography's dependence on chance.
- Janet Malcolm linked Cartier-Bresson's work to Surrealism's embrace of the 'found object.'
- Garry Winogrand's archive contains nearly 300,000 unedited exposures, illustrating the volume needed for few successes.
- Jeff Wall abandoned traditional documentary for constructed 'cinematography' to gain authorial control.
- Philip-Lorca diCorcia used staged lighting in Times Square for his 'Heads' series to control chaotic settings.
- Robert Adams described photography as a moral act of enduring chaos to wrest momentary order from the world.
Entities
Artists
- David M. M. Taffet
- Henri Cartier-Bresson
- Garry Winogrand
- Jeff Wall
- Philip-Lorca diCorcia
- Robert Adams
- Allan Sekula
- Janet Malcolm
- Geoff Dyer
- John Szarkowski
- Aristotle
Institutions
- Dirección de Identidad y Cultura
- PetaPixel
Locations
- Mérida
- México
- Mexico
- Times Square
- New York
- United States