street photography: a bridge between documentary and art
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This article was downloaded by: [Florida Atlantic University]On: 14 November 2014, At: 02:00Publisher: RoutledgeInforma Ltd Registered in England and Wales Registered Number: 1072954 Registered office: Mortimer House,37-41 Mortimer Street, London W1T 3JH, UK
Visual Communication QuarterlyPublication details, including instructions for authors and subscription information:http://www.tandfonline.com/loi/hvcq20
Street Photography: A Bridge Between Documentaryand ArtDavid Blumenkrantz aa Cal State University , NorthridgePublished online: 29 Apr 2009.
To cite this article: David Blumenkrantz (2009) Street Photography: A Bridge Between Documentary and Art, VisualCommunication Quarterly, 16:2, 108-116, DOI: 10.1080/15551390902803846
To link to this article: http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/15551390902803846
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Visual Communication Quarterly 108 Volume 16 April–June 2009
Street Photography: A Bridge Between Documentary and Art
Portfolio
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Visual Communication Quarterly 110 Volume 16 April–June 2009
Since late 2006, I’vebeen taking photographson a six-block stretch ofBroadway St. in LosAngeles, known as theHistoric Theater District.Once a jewel of the city,this area has in recentyears become a run-down expanse of aban-doned office spacesoverlooking a vibrantretail, wholesale, andinformal-sector market-place. Jewelry, electron-ics, and clothing shopstend to the needs of amulticultural workingclass. A large concentra-tion of homeless anddisabled people, sweat-shop workers, streethustlers, and drunks mix
in among the babystrollers, bicycle cops,small newsstands, andice cream carts, givingBroadway a distinctivelyThird World flavor. It’s averitable repository ofcultural iconography,eclectically diverse yetsteeped in traditionalurban pathos. The gen-eral atmosphere is oneof economic neglect anddecline. Perceptibleimprovements are takingplace, led by a move-ment called BringingBack Broadway. Theirgoal is to return Broad-way to a position ofprominence as a culturaland economic center.Success hinges on many
factors, none more cru-cial than the theatersthemselves, some ofwhich feature the mostdramatic architectureand interior design foundin Los Angeles.
Walking the streets witha camera is an attractivesport with a long richhistory that defies easycategorization. Theintent of early practition-ers of street photogra-phy, such as Lewis Hine,Jacob Riis, and EugeneAtget was “primarilyinformational and repre-sentational.” As the 20thcentury progressed,“more … photographerstook to the streets with
concerns that were notthose of the reporter butrather those of the nov-elist and poet—a searchfor resonant contrasts,rich metaphors, andfound dramatic scenar-ios.” This shift in empha-sis led the genre to theunique position wecurrently find it—somewhere betweendocumentary and art.The Broadway Project isa blending of three clas-sic street photographythemes: the lyrical, deci-sive moment-drivenwork of artists such asHelen Levitt and HenriCartier-Bresson; the anti-compositional work ofRobert Frank and Gary
Previous pages: Street Scene; Above: ID Solution; Right: Man and Mural.
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Visual Communication Quarterly 112 Volume 16 April–June 2009
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Visual Communication Quarterly 114 Volume 16 April–June 2009
Previous pages Left: Accordion Man; Right: Evangelist.Above: Jewelry Man.
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Newsstand
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Visual Communication Quarterly 116 Volume 16 April–June 2009
Pole
Winogrand, whichsought meaning in whatSontag called the “dise-quilibrium of the in-between moment”; andthe static, environmentalportraiture and icono-graphic approach typical
of Walker Evans andBruce Davidson.
David Blumenkrantzteaches photojournalism,documentary and visualcommunication coursesat Cal State University,
Northridge. He is alsoworking on an MFA inVisual Communication: adocumentary streetphotography project onthe historic theater districton Broadway, LA. Visithis blog at daveblume57.
wordpress.com/. Allimages are © 2008.
Correspondence shouldbe addressed to DavidBlumenkrantz. E-mail:[email protected]
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