On the Banks of the Marne, 1938 by Cartier-Bresson.
This is Annie Leibovitz's favorite photograph and she owns the original. I had read an article about her in Newsweek. I made a note about what she liked herself as a photographer. When the photo came up on my screen I could feel the artist in me stir. One of my old high school art students came by the church today. He asked if I had been making any art. I said, "No. And I don't know why I don't."
What labels do I wear naturally? Christian. Pastor. Artist. Father. Son. Brother. A labels that is becoming more natural as the days pass: Husband. I'm a 55 year old Man but I'm sure that my mental age is closer to 40.
Words that cause a warm feeling to come over me: Art. Painting. Mystical. Mystery. Lord. Faithfulness.
What do I see in the photograph? Today I see friends stopping to fellowship along the banks of the river of living this life we have been given. What's around the river's bend? Don't know. But it never hurts to stop and laugh and love each other. I figure we will get around the bend soon enough.
I took a class in black and white pic,s.it was very fun.only I didn,t care for the little black room where we had to unroll the film.I did alot of pic,s.did copy stand work and inlarged alot of old pic,s for friends and family,they loved it.and so did I.the pic reminds me of my family and I.we pack a lunch and go for a ride and stop along the way to eat where its pretty always by the water.God bless and Merry Christmas.
ReplyDeleteI am not talented to create art, not the visual kind, anyway, but increasingly I find a C.S. Lewis type "joy" in art. I find myself going to museums here in DC and soaking it in. The new National Portrait Gallery is marvelous. I was surprized to find that I feel more peace, and sense of expansive possibilities, in the East Wing (modern) of the National Gallery of Art than in the West. Well, except for those lovely impressionists. As much as they have been overdone on calendars and dorm room walls, they are still breathtaking in person.
ReplyDeleteThe photo on this post? I have mixed feelings. First, it reminds me of the way French people savor life. It's like they know how to taste each drop of time as it presents itself. On the other hand, the position these folks are sitting in looks incredibly awkward for a picnic to me. I found this kind of thing happened to me frequently when living in France. That the group would propose something that would seem completely awkward and improbable to me, but would obviously seem normal to them. It was good to have my paradigm stretched, but sometimes just annoying.
I'm Jealous.....
ReplyDeleteI am Charlie Brown who only sees ducks, bunnies and puppies.....
mb
i loved the darkroom. a long time ago brook and i would hang over the trays of chemicals and watch the images come to be. the red light, fingers wet and the paper slowly revealing life. the darkroom was part of the joy.
ReplyDeleteI zee the fuunnny French peeples, drinking ze wine and eating the cheese and I says to myself,
ReplyDeleteWhy was I not there weeth theem??
I just love that Lincohn hat! Gotta have one.
Are you gonna post or what?
ReplyDeleteHello Jim,
ReplyDeleteI have a letter for you, but I can't find an email address for you. You can write to me at cjames@montreat.edu so I can send it to you.
Cathy James