Striking while the irons hot is not always great in the long run. Did paris Fail or did i Fail Paris?
Judge for yourself!
Paris Photo 2010 at this moment in time feels like The Clash Signing to Capitol Records. Did they or did they not sell out. Am i more wiser to the whole corporate side of the photo extraordinary. Thing at the back of my mind was Brighton Biennial was better. I noticed a few things the main one being the amount of adverts in the book you get on the door. I just seemed to be embracing the dollar rather than the dergenotype.
The first thing to catch my eye was the work of Mitch Epstien the image taken from his American Power series. The image was a large aluminium A-0 print. It showed some kind of NYPD look out/guard. Who’s blue uniform stuck you first in the images darkness. He was looking out through his binoculars this creates the first sense of unease in the image. Your eyes then pull to the large sweeping stairs behind the officer. Giving you a sense of scale of what the man is in power of. Last of all you are pulled to the pump-action shot-gun on the table. This the smallest item in the image is the shock factor. Showing how Epstien try’s to document the people in the land of the free who hold the power. I Found a wonderful set of images by Eve Susman.
She had taken the standard from the car window shoot that has been familiar over the years. I thought Sussmen had just taken advantage of the the tinted windows in the car until we seen one of the image was polarized at the top with the over exposed at the bottom. A good solid set of images pushing a standard topic of shooting through a window.
Luis Strettners work in New York just had something differnt to the work you see of Bruce Davidson Mary Ellen Mark etc…
I guess when the above image was taken it may not have had the social impact that we Know associate with the World Trade Centre so i guess i can only talk about how i viewed the image. I just found the bird linking the two buildings so powerful.The thought of flight taken the the total juxtaposition we visualize today. Th gray of the images add to the distant memories people see unfold. Raymond Depardon work of almost isolation of houses in amongst a clutter of streets pulling through the individuality and craftsmanship of french architecture. I think Depardon for me a massive type of the hat of what im trying to achieve with my Maps: empty Spaces project
jessica backhaus beautiful im age of a wet empty tennis court
is simplistic and beautiful in many ways. the images although taken on wet miserable day still has a relaxing reflective feel to it. The clever use of the green enhances the lack of foliage on the tree. This possibly reduces some of the negativity the image may have is it was showing the sky in it as well.
Tom Hunter‘s work he is structured around the classical paintings of the past. He works his own modern-day interpretation by recreating the painting in a modern ay setting. I’m not sure where i stand with this process but if nothing else its clever and his use of retitling his image defiantly ads and give it credibility.
It was really nice to see Richard Billinghams image of himself, young child and father. Who was documented in the book rays laugh where billingham documents the troubles yet strong love of his father and mother in the difficult life conditions of their Birmingham tower block accommodation.
For me this image brings closure of what happened after the book(as shown Above). The book almost leaves you with a lump in your throat at the deprivation. Some again may see this as exploitation, taken advantage of a inn cohesive alcoholic. When putting the images into context I guess people find this as way to coupe with how they have been brought up in the world.
Mike brodies work of cross processed images was a full set of images showing a group of punks in America. Just so powerful in an undesirable state of anarchism. The Nihilismtic feel that goes with the full body of work transcribes itself to almost a feel of the Mad Max films.
I was disappointed with my under par performance or maybe I’m just getting more refined in my old age. I would say my favorite body of work was exquisite was the exhibition of Andre Kertesz life works
I always try to push and push to find everything out there but i would say most photographers have very little expression on how a capture scene subject or situation. I think from my collection of images below Kertesz has successfully infiltrated the mass random canvas of my mind…
Kurtesz was quoted as saying
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“Everything is a subject. Every subject has a rhythm. To feel it is the raison d’être. The photograph is a fixed moment of such a raison d’être, which lives on in itself.“
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raison d’être meaning reason for existence was written in the exhibition. I think this is a very powerful statement i find it hard to break it down but to me it just makes sense in the way that i capture things. I don’t know why I do it I just do. Hopefully that doesn’t sound like a cop-out from breaking it down. Kertsez work seem like image of fine art they are so tight in there composition.
So im yet to decide if Paris 2010 will stand as an iconic moment in photographic journey. I was really disapointed to miss out on the Gaza W
Exhibition thats was in the french museum of modern art. I feel this would have given the trip a nice full stop in my mind. Every i have gone in the past ive ended on a peach of an exhibition the first year it was Lee Miller then Last year it was Robert Frank Diane Arbus and Henri Carier Bresson. I just didn’t feel any excitement which gallery’s often create for me.
Anyway im off to an evening with Excellent British Landscape Photographer John Davis in Liverpool @ the open Eye Gallery
Related articles
- waiting hall (elenichristopoulou.wordpress.com)
- Brassai retrospective at Moscow’s Multimedia Art Museum (aoboca.wordpress.com)
- Andor Kertész (samooch88.wordpress.com)
- André Kertész: Truth and Distortion (lightreadingsmag.wordpress.com)
- Andre Kertesz and Manuel Alvarez Bravo, Arles 1979, by Jean Dieuzaide (davidsimonton.wordpress.com)
ALAN WHITFIELD 
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