Bad Habits

Photo-documentation is an integral part of the subculture that’s been organized around graffiti and street art, dating back to the beginning of the 1960s. The '84 book – which people referred to as the 'Bible of graffiti' – titled ‘Subway Art’ full of street photography, and the work of photographer and art theorist Martha Cooper undoubtedly laid the foundation for the preservation of graffiti, along with their creators thus inherently capturing the 'o.g. vibe' of these early days.

This is why street photography is particularly important: by capturing certain zeitgeists and phases in the history of humanity, it also preserves the essence of some national/cultural phenomena or artistic movements even, in their original and most relatable, life-like form.

Street photography - if you do it well - requires extreme sensitivity; it is no small task to capture the special in the ordinary and the beauty arising from the simplicity of mere fleeting moments. In addition to the domestic terrain, some neighbouring countries (such as Slovenia, Croatia, Italy or Austria) and the Benelux states are also being shown through the analogue lens: creating an interesting contrast with our contemporary 'Hungarian reality' in parallel with (the indeed) developing Western Europe.

In contrast to pictures taken within studio conditions, there are many unpredictable factors in street photography: lights and shadows, movements, unknown characters, and unpredictable situations. The photographer composes the images from these elements of fate (if you will), with a mixture of talent and some luck: essentially resulting in the frozen version of the otherwise elusive moment.

These split seconds are furthermore special due to their analogue nature, since even the taking of such kind of pictures bears the previously mentioned unpredictable factors! We never really know how the moment was captured until developing. Here comes the resemblance which in both cases prevails in the moment of creation: transience (in regard of the finished artworks) and the "now or never" feeling which can be considered as cornerstones of graffiti and street art.

Insomnia Photo

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