City of Shadows – © Alexey Titarenko
New Bond Street – © Matt Stuart
Since I had the book Street Photography Now in my hands I wonder how it is possible that under the title of street photography Alexey Titarenko and Matt Stuart can coexist? I like both, but I think the only thing they share is the setting. I know it is just a book, but asking questions is not bad. In the search for an answer I structured the problem into three parts: the documentary function, the experience and the aesthetics of street photography. It is in the experience where I find more certainty, especially in the phrase by Nick Turpin “It is a simple ‘Zen’-like experience…” It is precisely here that I see clearly where street starts and ends. A “streeter” must feel the street, breathe it, live it, must be passionate about the urban environment and the “casualities” it “encounters”. Some time ago I mixed in “Intuitive Photography” Cartier‑Bresson, Zen and archery to talk about the photographic experience and how we learn to “flow” shooting. Regardless of style, or possible documentary intention, I think all of us who do street share this:
- the negation of rationalism, or conscious control, at the moment of action
- the exploitation of the subconscious
- spatial intelligence
Going out to the street with a camera to find life… and portray it. Without having to chase a conceptual idea, without the images having to form a series, without building, just discovering the image. This spirit is what defines street. If you are interested in Titarenko and a possible relationship with street you might like this The Photography of Garry Winogrand and Alexey Titarenko. Even at the risk of being tedious I have to repeat that this is a personal search, not academic.