In Front of My Lens

By Kailey Holzman

André Kertész

André Kertész

(Photo taken by himself)

I chose André Kertész because of his unique sense of photography. He takes surreal and abstract photos, which are my favorite kind because you can not always tell what the object is, making it a mystery. His photos often make me wonder “what was he thinking when he took this photo?“ All of his pictures have different emotions and moods to them too, which makes them more interesting. Some of them even tell a story. The majority of his pictures are in black and white, which makes them more dramatic and unique. The lack of color also sets the mood for most of his pictures. Andre Kertesz really inspires me to go outside of my picture taking comfort zone, and experiment with a little bit of everything.   

 

Melancholic Tulip (1939)

People often try to recreate this photo because it is very famous.

 

Mondrian’s Pipe and Glasses (1926)

Taken during his time in Paris.

(Click here for more information about these two photos)

The Fork, or La Fourchette (1928)

One of his most famous photots taken during his French Period.

(http://photoutsa.blogspot.com/2010/08/susan-ranjel-submits-andre-kertesz.html)

Chairs of Paris, 1927/1980

This was one of his more unique photos during his French Period.(http://algumafotografia.blogspot.com/2007_01_01_archive.html)

Place de la Concorde(1928)

Taken in a famous area, Place de la Concorde, in France. 

(http://artblart.com/2011/02/04/exhibition-andre-kertesz-at-jeu-de-paume-paris/)

"His black-and-white modernist photographs often capture small, lyrical, and emotionally resonant moments while also formally exploiting the play of light and shadow, pattern, and depth of space.” - The Columbia Encyclopedia, 6th ed. 2011

“[T]he moment always dictates in my work….Everybody can look, but they don’t necessarily see….I see a situation and I know that it’s right.” –André Kertész

Background Info

Andor Kertesz was born in Hungary in 1894. Later in life, he changed his name to André Kertész. He took his first picture in 1912. At first, he photographed for magazines. He had to stop this due to WWI. Kertesz was a soldier in WWI fighting at the Polish and Russian fronts, but only for a very brief time. He brought his camera along to take pictures of the soldiers not in battle, or the more “unimportant” aspects of the war. He was supposed to follow his family business as a stock broker, but chose to be an independent photographer instead.  He lived in Hungary for a time, then moved to Paris in 1925. In Paris he worked for France’s first illustrated magazine called VU. He published three books of his photographs around this time. Andre Kertesz liked to photgraph other artists, like Brassai, and objects in a surreal manner. Because he was Jewish, he immigrated to the United States to avoid the threat of WWII in 1936. Kertesz settled in New York, and then photographed  for magazines like Home and Garden, and eventually retired at 68 years old. 

He went through four periods: the Hungarian period, the French period, the American period and the International period, near the end of his life. He used a Leica for his early photos, and an SX-70 Polaroid camera for his later ones. Andre Kertesz died when he was 90 years old in 1985. He published over twenty photo-books during his lifetime. Kertész experimented with color photographs, but only produced a few of them.

For more information watch this video. It is part one, but there is also part 2, part 3, and part 4.

Awards/Accoplisments:

“known for his groundbreaking contributions to photographic composition and the photo essay” - Wikipedia

·         1974, Guggenheim Fellowship;

·         1974, Commander of the French Ordre des Arts et des Lettres;

·         1977, Mayor’s Award of Honor for Arts and Culture in New York,

·         1980 the Medal of the City of Paris, and the first Annual Award of the Association of International Photography Art Dealers in New York; and

·         1981, honorary Doctorate of Fine Arts from Bard College, and the New York Mayor’s Award of Honor for Arts and Culture that year.

·         1983, honorary Doctorate from the Royal College of Art; and title of Chevalier de la Légion d'honneur in Paris, together with an apartment for future visits to the city;

·         1984, the Maine Photographic Workshop’s first Annual Lifetime Achievement Award;

·         1984, purchase of 100 prints by the Metropolitan Museum of Art, its largest acquisition of work from a living artist;

·         1985, Californian Distinguished Career in Photography Award;

·         1985, first Annual Master of Photography Award, presented by the International Center of Photography; and

·         1985, honorary Doctorate of Fine Arts from Parson’s School of Design of the New School for Social Research.

Bibliography:

 

Melancholic Tulip Critique

This photo has a sad mood to it because of the flower drooping. Drooping flowers are flowers that are dead or dying, so that makes this photo have a depressing mood. It does not seem like anything has happened to the flower for a while, it seems like it has been slowly drooping overtime. It looks on the verge of falling out of it’s vase. The main focal point of the photo is the leaf sticking up directly in the center of it. It immediately draws the eyes, and the stem creates a leading line to the second focal point, the tulip bulb. The vase and stem bring attention to the tulip, which is the main subject of the photo even though it is near the bottom of the frame. This photograph is asymetrical, but the flower and vase balance the photo. There is a high contrast to this photo. Some areas are very dark while others are very bright. The light is coming from the right of the photo (if you are looking at it strait on). There is a shallow depth of field because the vase and flower lie the same depth. The photo is in clear focus with little noise. I think this is a great and interesting photo because it has such a strong, sad feel to it. I would not have taken this picture any different.