This image shows us how the street forces people to be in a close environment, but the angle of the camera suggests that these passengers are about eyes not ears and so will remain not talking to one another even though they are touching. Another meaning behind this image could be the contrast between classes and job titles with the woman on the left seemingly in a more important job role while the man on the right not so much however the street as brought them together in this close proximity which would have otherwise never had occurred.
This image rebels against the barrier between the road and the pavement, sometimes the pavement is seen as too safe and so the photographer wants to break away from being safe. It contrasts to the normal view of busy city life as the masses are usually seen but instead we have a woman walking against the tide elegantly and freely. In the background of the image you are able to see different stages of history with carriages and cars as well as showing different speeds of life from car to walking speed.
Here we see a busy street but not on an average day instead we have a street that is home to a protest, but again shows a different angle with the emotions of the young children being considered, which is very much overlooked during protests. You see the sadness on the boy’s face perhaps overwhelmed and it is unlikely he understands the situation he is living in.
This Bruce Gilden image shows the other side of the street where it is not a place of display and shopping but instead ridden with crime. This style is very direct and intimate. The image also shows 3 very different emotions and expressions to the situation, the main focus being the scared as well as the angry and followed by the happy in the background. This shows how the streets are lined with all very different people both within groups of people and between.
The street is a place where all walks of life can share their culture and fashion, while people don’t generally communicate with others in the street everyone certainly look and judge the people that work past. It is a stage for contemporary life to be shown and a theatre for street music and other performers wishing to show their talents. It is also a place for public display within shop windows, signs, newspapers etc. but in a sharp contrast it can be place of danger and destruction as it often houses crime, fights and protests. The street removes you from your home and car and allows you to explore the outside world however you can still be hidden with high rise office blocks or just houses they still isolate you from our natural world.
Photographer research- Wolfgang Tillmans
Tillmans is a turner prize award winning German photographer born 1968 in Remscheid. In the 90’s he came to study in Bournemouth at the arts university and after that lived and worked in London. Tillmans was initially known for his casual snapshot-like portraits of friends and other youths nearby and became known as the documentarian of his generation especially in regard to the LGBTQ community. His portraits, still life’s, aerial shots, landscapes etc. were created for aesthetic and political interests, especially related to homosexuality. Tillmans himself says “I take pictures, in order to see the world.” In relation to the street Tillmans pictured on the train in a series called circle line, he showed how close people are forced to be when walking the streets and travelling but still we don’t communicate we just look with our eyes not ears. The circle line series also poses the question of where does the street end as the train is also a mode of transport similar to cars and buses which are used on streets, so does a train still the street? And does the street stop as soon as you step inside a series of walls?
AmyWhiteUCA 