A Research Trip to London - Day I

I decided that before the big push at the end of the third year, perhaps some creative inspiration was in order. So, at the end of November 2012 I packed my bags and headed off to London to see what all the fuss was about. Luckily I was able to doss on my cousin's floor in Clapham, which kept costs to a minimum.

First thing I did was head for Oxford Circus and then a short stroll to The Photographers' Gallery.



Once inside this impressive building I headed for the Tom Wood exhibition on the second floor. Wood's work reminded me a lot of what Martin Parr does, photos of (sub?) working-class people in their natural habitat, that could easily be seen as somewhat exploitative. I think that Wood's stuff is more interesting than Parr's, and he has been doing it a lot longer too. Some of his shots I found especially funny, powerful or moving:



Three Wise Women



Not Miss New Brighton

Afterwards, I went upstairs and paid two quid to see the exhibit entitled "Shoot! Existential Photography". Most of the exhibition was taken up by photos of famous people at shooting galleries back when they were popular at fairgrounds. I like this one of Simone de Beauvoir and Jean-Paul Sartre:



There were a few other interesting pieces, involving cameras that were set up to capture the very moment they were struck by a bullet. But the really emotive piece for me was a room of sixty or so prints of the same Dutch woman, Ria van Dijk, taken one-a-year over the course of her life. These shooting galleries at fairgrounds in Europe used to have a camera built in - the prize for hitting the target was a photo of yourself having just fired the winning shot. Ria van Dijk started collecting these photos at the age of 16; she is now 92 and still doing it! The only gaps are from during the war years. I found it very powerful seeing this woman age as I walked around the room. In some she has hardly changed whereas in others she looks quite different. Did she have a bad year? And how much of a toll did the war take on her? Is it discernible in her features? I love stuff that makes me think about life and death.



I left The Photographers' Gallery and grabbed a bite at a great Buddhist eatery in Soho before heading for the Cartier-Bresson exhibition at Somerset House. "Cartier-Bresson: A Question of Colour" in fact only featured 10 of the great man's works (all black & white), alongside 75 full-colour works from photographers who "measured up to Cartier-Bresson’s essential requirement that content and form were in perfect balance."

I was really blown away by some of the work I saw; not just the quality of the photography but also the scale of the images and the exotic processes and materials onto which they were printed (aluminium sheet?). Here are a few of the ones that really impressed me:



Karl Baden had a series of mundane images all shot from his car window. The body of the car frames the shots consistently and the over-saturated colours give them all an otherworldly feel.



I love this shot by Saul Leiter. None of his photos simply capture a scene or an event, they are more expressive in themselves and I definitely consider this to be photography as art. Beautiful.



Carolyn Drake's work is I suppose documentary, although they are always really crisp and colourful in a way that makes them appear hyper-real.



This shot that Boris Savelev took in Moscow has a real "decisive moment" thing going on. I don't know why this composition works so well, it just does. If only I could take shots like this...



This is a very surreal image by Melanie Einzig. It was of course a very surreal event but the way the UPS guy seems oblivious is just really powerful. Is he oblivious or is he a consummate professional? "UPS delivers. No matter what."



I really love the street photography of Joel Meyerowitz. There's something about the colour and lighting in this shot that makes it look like it could have been from Mad Men. I actually think it is far more recent than that, but I will look into it further.



Another of Meyerowitz's shots. I am not sure whether this is staged or in fact another example of "decisive moment" photography. I hope it is the latter but why is that important to me?



This is the work of Trente Park. Again, it's a rather surreal image in which a man is puking in the street. It looks almost like a religious experience at first glance. I love the over-saturated colours which really add to the piece.



This photo by Fred Herzog makes me nostalgic for a time and place that I have never been to. And I am sure life was not exactly peachy for the people in the shot either, particularly the black folks.



Another great shot by Herzog that really invites you in and makes you want to know the stories of the people in the scene. Has the guy cut himself shaving? Did he also injure his hand in the process? The old woman's expression is fantastic. Love this shot.



This shot by Harry Gruyaert looks like a painting. The colours and composition really blew me away. You really need to see it full-size in a gallery to appreciate it fully.



This is a beautiful portrait of Gene Kelly by Ernst Haas. And I don't just like it because Kelly is one of my all-time heroes, although I am sure that plays a part.



I am not sure if this surreal shot by Alex Webb is a piece of collage or a single shot. Looks to me like someone surfing down a river!

Wow, this is becoming a huge blog post and I am only just at the end of the first day of my three-day trip. I think I will pick this up again tomorrow...