Contextual Studies - The Street

'The street' can be used as a definition for a lot of things but mainly I feel it's an urban subculture used to define a certain style, this can be music, urban language, art, style etc. I am particularly interested in street art such as graffiti as it's a way for people to express themselves through art that other people can see too.

Street (noun): a public road in a city, town, or village, typically with houses and buildings on one or both sides. (Google definition)

Street: The opposite of bourgeois. 'Street' implies hustle. Every man a potential enemy, every woman a potential hoe. Money is king. The cold reality of day to day life and achieving. Someone who is 'street' is ready to defend themselves at all times and jump on any opportunity to level up. The paradox is that anyone who gets comfortable loses all street cred. There is not one hip hop star today who has street cred, because they have all gone soft. (Urban Dictionary top definition)

Amy Winehouse, Street Art, London.

This piece is situated in Stucley Place in North West London and it shows an Amy Winehouse memorial piece which can be identified through the hair and eyeliner that was Amy's signature look. The piece also has various words covering the face which could be her lyrics or something the artist has chosen.

James Maher, New York, Street Photography

This is a simple shot using a toy police man, a gap in some wire railings and a good view. James Maher has been really simplistic with this piece but with it all together it makes the perfect shot and, to me, this piece says that the police/the law is in charge and the use of the black and white effect gives the picture that extra emotion. Street photography like this really sparks my interest as we are given the world on our doorsteps and it's our canvas, our perfect shot and we can create so much with what we are freely given.

How do we define 'The Street'?

The street can be defined by whatever we are influenced by such as music and art. The street can be defined by location such as street art, street style and street language. From the work I have seen and analysed I can see the street can have many definitions but it changed depending on the person and their view. For example, a photographer could see 'the street' as a whole town where they can freely adventure to take pictures but someone else such as a gang member could see the street as a subculture in which they are a part of. 'The street' could be just a literal meaning as in a road that runs in between two rows of houses as the Google definition suggests but to the individual with a particular view the street could be seen as something bigger or different entirely referring back to gang members. I have looked at this topic with a broad and open mind to try and fully understand how we could define 'the street' but ultimately I believe that no matter how many definitions I write or how many different artists I look at, 'the street' is still different to every individual and their views.

Henri Cartier-Bresson 1908 - 2004

"The photograph itself doesn't interest me. I want only to capture a minute part of reality".

Henri Cartier-Bresson was a French photographer who pioneered the genre of street photography. His work is something which really piques my interest because of the way he photographed people so naturally and really captured life itself. This is something I am extremely interested in because capturing a moment is so important and I am so in love with pictures that are natural and not staged, pictures where you can form the story in your head.

London Fashion Week 2016; Street Style

This shot shows basic street style in London. A simple landscape picture of a model in a very simple outfit but it's probably been seen by so many people and influenced people's outfit decisions. The things we see, whatever they are can be a huge influence on us or not at all.

Street Art, Paris

I looked at street art in Paris because I wanted to see if there were any differences or similarities based on a change of location and I have found there isn't many changes at all, in fact there's more similarities than anything. The street art in London and the street art in Paris look so similar with the colours chosen and the shapes the only differences are the location and the artist

Henri's shots have an eeriness, a strange spooky feeling about them and I think this is because of the tone of black and white that has been used. I also think it's because a lot of his shots are action shots so you get the blurriness of the action that leaves behind this spooky look.

Has the definition of 'The Street' changed in my perspective after research?

My idea of a definition for 'The Street' remains the same. 'The Street' has a different definition for each individual, Henri Cartier-Bresson saw the street as an opportunity, a chance to capture a moment and he took it. 'The Street' doesn't have one set definition and it never will have. To some the street means nothing, just a road that runs between two rows of houses but to others the street is something so much bigger. A chance? An opportunity? A culture? To me, the street means a chance to find or create something brilliant. The world is our canvas, it's all there for us to explore and work from, the street in its literal sense acts as a path to that.

Henri Cartier-Bresson , Man cycling down the street , France, 1932.

This photo is a great example of what I mentioned earlier about action shots looking a bit spooky and this does it! Even though the title of this photo is 'Man cycling down the street' it doesn't mean there isn't any one else in the street we just can't see them. This is a shot that I feel was taken by chance and managing to create an amazing image and this is what's great about the street, you never know what you're going to get.

Henri Cartier-Bresson / The World of Henri Cartier Bresson.

This shot shows exactly why doing street photography is worthwhile. There are so many emotions in this photo, so many facial expressions, you can tell this photo hasn't been staged. The black and white effect of the film adds emotion to the photo. This photo differs from the previous photo because there's more emotion here and a lot more going on but the action shot style remains the same.