Street & Studio: An Urban History of Photography

Street & Studio: An Urban History of Photography
22 May - 31 August
Tate Modern

The Street & Studio: An Urban History of Photography exhibition at Tate Modern provides a rare opportunity to explore both lesser known and well known photographers who have produced powerful and evocative images. The show introduced me to artists such as Louis Vert, Charles Negrie, Henry Riviere and Paul Strand. At the same time we are given the chance to reflect upon the work of artists who have become household names; such as Walker Evans, Robert Franks and William Klien. I mentioned these artists because their images still have the capacity to pack a punch.

The exhibition explores the history of photographic portraiture taken in cities around the world. It examines how advances in technology i.e. the hand held camera, made it possible for photographers to capture “life” on the street. Henri Cartier Bresson once defined photography as the simultaneous recognition in a fraction of a second of the significance of events as well as of a precise organisation of forms, which give that event its proper expression. When you look at these images you begin to understand Bresson’s definition.

For example Paul Strand’s Wall Street is a black and white image. In the foreground are dark images of figures, who wander along the street. The background is dominated by a large monumental building that makes the individuals appear very small. Although simple, the attention to detail in the use of black and whites, shades of grey, the fall of light and geometric arrangement gives the image a powerful and dramatic dimension. It captures a fleeting moment it appears to be highly constructed.

Robert Frank’s book the Americans is to photography what Jack Kerouac’s book On The Road is to literature. The photograph From The Bus, New York belongs to Frank’s bus series. Frank got on a bus and photographed individuals from the bus. Walker Evans documented ordinary American life and revolutionised the way photographs were presented. Diane Arbus photographed people primarily in New York and its environs. In photographing ordinary people Frank, Evans and Arbus explored the relationship between appearance and identity; the purity of their images compels the viewer to look at their own world in a new way –it is a celebration of things as they are.

The show also examines how photographers blurred the boundaries of street and studio images. Studio artists brought the street into the studio with use of clever backdrops – the photograph City Lights by Erwin Blumenfeld is a good example of this. Blumenfeld brings Manhattan into the studio. However, introducing informality by way of the subjects’ pose and dress could also suggest the “ordinariness” of the street. Doisneau’s approach to taking photographs was similar to that of a studio artist – the image Les Amoureux du Vert-Galant, by Doisneau could easily be mistaken for a carefully composed studio shot – the pose of the figures are rigid and formal; there is no feeling of spontaneity. All these photographers tangled with facts and in many of the images, the subjects collaborated in the photographic making process.

There are more contemporary and colours images which are interesting but. Martin Parr’s Autoportraits series – on countless travels Parr had his picture taken in portrait studios and photo booths, improvised studios and by street photographers in amusement sights and tourist spots – echoes the pioneering spirit of Frank’s work. The result is powerful and moving.

This is a very enlightening exhibition but for me, one where the old photos are the best photos.

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