I think I can guess how Brassai must have felt. Even today the area around Montmarte (spelled right?) is full of mystery after dark. Late at night when the streets are empty and fog covers the treetops the effect is unforgetable. Click to enlarge.
Holy Cow! The text is slanted! I'm leaking consonants! Anyway, the quote above is the reason I put up this piece about Brassai. Before reading it, it never occurred to me that a part of town that's particularly appealing or mysterious should be left standing even if the architecture is just so-so. A street or a square or a neighborhood that attracts people, that exerts an indefinable magnetism or charisma over generations, should be preserved even if no one can figure out what the attraction consists of.
A famous thriller writer called this "felicitous architecture." He pointed out that some churches seem especially "holy." Others seem especially suited for weddings. He talked about a cheerful room in Williamsburg where three future presidents proposed to their wives. On the other hand he talked about places where murders routinely happen. Maybe he's right. Remember Van Gogh's picture of the ugly red pool room? He called it a room you could die in. Maybe architecture and spaces have the power to subtley influence human behavior.
The trench-coated figure above is Henry Miller who would frequently drop by unannounced to see if Brassai wanted to explore the night-time streets with him.
Another terrific quote! You wouldn't want to do without the melting clocks and flaming horses of full-blown surrealism but you could argue that the greatest pictures of all are the more subtle ones which show the weirdness underlying everyday reality.
9 comments:
Thanks Eddie! I think there is real wisdom in Brassai's comments on demolishing these old neighborhoods. It isn't just that they make better pictures than the bleak empty spaces that replace them. The planners are notorious for demolishing all the wonderful details in a city and in life that pop up just because they are not planned, and can't be.
You should see Pacoima just before sunup! Beautiful!
See ya
Steve
Vive la mini-malls in the smog!
Love your blog sir, I read it every damn day.
Thank you, Eddie!
I wonder if the surreal exists within me, it definitely does inside you, Eddie!
I have always liked when normal objects are portrayed in a way we never thought to look at them. I like how he said he looked at the normal objects. The normal, every day taken for granted objects can be very shocking from the right perspective. Thanks for continuing my ebumacation.
WOW! This is the greatest photographer i've never heard of. I love the surreal-ness y of everyday life. Most of the time it's too easy to overlook how strange EVERYTHING is.
I love your posts, Uncle Eddie! I always learn something from them.
I really like those photos. There's a mystery to them, but there's something about the images that make me want to be there.
"A street or a square or a neighborhood that attracts people, that exerts an indefinable magnetism or charisma over generations, should be preserved even if no one can figure out what the attraction consists of."
I agree. I can't believe they tore down something as rare and unique as Kowloon. I always fear modernizing ruining great, timeless pieces of land. Even in my own hometown with Wrigley Field. There's no feeling quite like it in the game of baseball. It needs renovation but should be highly preserved.
Also, I love that last quote about reality simply being made more surreal by way of seeing.
Jennifer: Thanks! Did you notice that I took your advice when I put up the artist's model post? I didn't put the nude photos first.
Brian: Wow! I forgot about Kowloon! You're right, they should have kept it standing!
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