Les Danses A Bali by Henri Cartier-Bresson

Henri Cartier – Bresson was one of the twentieth century’s premier photographers, pioneering and leading the way in both candid and street photography. He was a master of finding the key moment for a picture. This book is a record of his visit to the island of Bali, a part of the larger Indonesian archipelago. Bali is famous for it ancient temples and for the beautiful and ritualistic dances that are performed in the temple grounds. Beautiful young women and handsome men wear elaborate costumes and act out ancient stories of the gods against a background of gamelan music. Cartier-Bresson’s photographs dramatically capture the event, and the dancers and players, including photographs of young men who are driven to ecstatic states of self mutilation with weaponry. This is in contradiction to the gentle beauty of the women dancers. Antonin Artaud was a major figure in French avant-garde literature and theatre. He was considerably influenced by Balinese theatre, and wrote the introductory essay included in this book, Le Theatre balinais ; this essay originally appeared in Issue No. 217 of Nouvelle Revue Français (circa 1931). The main text for the book, which serves as commentary to the photographs, was written by Béryl de Zoete, a famous dancer and recognized authority on Balinese dancing. Her essay was translated from English to French by Ratna Cartier-Bresson. It’s a lovely book, and Henri Cartier-Bresson’s photographs are stunningly dramatic.