Jorg Colberg at Conscientious just compared current day street photographers to historical reenactors- an analogy I find both quite amusing, and definitely not without merit. But then, ol' Jorg was never street photography's biggest champion... to say the very least.
It is curious to see the legions of modern day practitioners out and about, unwaveringly dedicated to an art form that has, in fact, long depreciated- since, like... 1976 when Eggleston and The New Color ('81) burst unto the scene and sent old school B&W street into the second hand photo bin. Now, there are countless street: practitioners, ambassadors, mentors, influencers, competitions, vlogs and workshops all devoted to its practice and affirmation. And yet, "the art world" (ie- museums, galleries, top name publishers) continues to treat it as yesterday's paper- Impressionism anyone? Interestingly, in 2025 the photographic art kingdom hasn't moved afar of the large format color photographs that became de rigueur as of the mid eighties- but that's another story, for sure!
Why the almost fanatical devotion to the practice, why the resurgent popularity? Many of these acolytes are insistent on even using the very same image making tools and technology! Although color film (as opposed to B&W) is now the prominent medium of the hardcore, B&W and digital are still very much in orbit. But has anything truly novel been thrown into the mix as far as aesthetics, or is it merely beating the proverbial dead horse? Mr. Colberg clearly thinks the latter, and I'd pretty much have to agree. He presents the work of Fumitsugu Takedo in Ambience Decay as something positive and innovative in the genre, highlighting the prominent inclusion of close up hand and cell phone imagery as well as the extreme crops that are peppered throughout the work.
Can't say I'm sold much, and if we're gonna mention the preeminence of hand and cell phone imagery in innovative street photography, then it is somewhat disingenuous to have that conversation without mention of Jeff Marmelstein's "#nyc." If any street work qualifies as a truly innovative departure (aesthetically and perhaps even... morally?)- certainly that would be it (whether to your taste or not)! Perhaps Mr. Colberg did mention it some five years back, or perhaps he's simply unaware of it, but to not reference it here seems a disservice...
Perhaps street photography is doomed to be a perpetual reenactor exercise (or as I tend to think of it- endless cover bands for classic rock), or perhaps some current practitioner will open a new door. To be honest, I find the latter akin to one's progeny finding the cure for cancer; but street photography also very much falls under the category of documentary- itself a very legit and worthy avenue of pursuit. We will always need to document everyday life as best we can, as it changes with every passing year and decade- art be praised, art be damned.
Visual flotsam and jetsam. Ephemera. Form over substance. Etc.
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