Went to Leeds as artistic assessor for the big street photography festival there.
Amazing displays of work all over town. Street photography defined as public moments, all populated by the bizarre, oddness, placings, actions, juxtapositions of people, or indeed the photographer, in finding new angles. There is alot of talk in photography about the mass proliferation of images, and the loss of value in visual language since we are all surrounded by and immersed in this. Although the digital era is certainly changing the debate, now that most have digital cameras and phones, I came away feeling quite differently - that it wasn't a loss at all. On the contrary, there seems to be a whole generation of people emerging who are educated and sophisticated in their photography and understanding of the language of images and photography in particular, snaps or not.
The Cartier Bresson idea of photography, The Decisive Moment, still remains. It is the photographer's eye, the choosing, which is developed - the technology is merely a means to an end in this respect. Magnum photographers, documentary, artistic, amateur, student, were all represented here. In each of the hundreds of photographs on show was a viewpoint, a narrative we can all read, a humour about humanity which was equally demonstrated in youth projects. If the mass proliferation of imagery means a mass proliferation of viewpoint, understanding and compassion, then that is surely an evolution for humanity. "Photography is the only language that can be understood anywhere in the world, encapsulating space and time." (reference to follow when I can locate it).
And yet this style of photography is not one I use myself. There are many types of art I enjoy and admire, and would even cite as influential to myself, my thinking and my practice. Yet I am not moved to make such work. Someone else has already captured it for me. There is work for each of us to do that no one else can do. I tend to be very drawn to details, and unpopulated images.
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