Street photography

Having looked at the work of some of the well-known names in street photography, I tried to find some contemporary photographers, however, a search for ‘20108 street photography’ returned just under 3.9 billion results! After a bit more searching I found several sites that showcased the work of current street photographers including http://www.streetlondon.co.uk , 121clicks.com and womeninstreet.com . Looking at these sites I found several photographers whose work I liked, the first of these being Stephen Leslie. Leslie is a British photogrpaher who works mainly in colour and his work is very reminiscent of Martin Parr. Eleonore Simon is a … Continue reading Street photography

Street photography

Do some research into contemporary street photography. Helen Levitt, Joel Meyerowitz, Paul Graham, Joel Sternfeld and Martin Parr are some good names to start with, but you may be able to find further examples for yourself. What difference does colour make to a genre that traditionally was predominantly black and white? Can you spot the shift away from the influence of surrealism (as in Cartier-Bresson’s work)? How is irony used to comment on British-ness or American values? Before looking at the work of the photographers mentioned in teh question I thought I would try and find a definition of the … Continue reading Street photography

In, around, and afterthoughts (on documentary photography) (1981) Martha Rosler

Martha Rosler is an American artist working in several mediums and also writes about art and culture. Her essay starts by describing the Bowery area in New York which she describes as ‘archetypal skid row’ and asks why it is so magnetic to documentarians? She then goes on to describe documentary photography as ‘…the social conscience of the liberal sensibility presented in visual imagery…’ Rosler goes on to analyse work of some of the great names of 20th Century American photography and posits that rather than changing society, documentary photography has been used to maintain a system of inequality which … Continue reading In, around, and afterthoughts (on documentary photography) (1981) Martha Rosler