Tag Archives: Walker Evans

homework #5 Walker Evans

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I think Evan Clandestine approach to photography was very clever yet sneaky. He had not only an eye for art in photography, he also had an eye to be a spy. He got up close and personal pictures of people that were fully unaware that they were getting their pictures taken. I will also say that he was brave to take such risk and very skilled to not get caught. He was creative to have thought a picture that was off guard would become a success.He also  teamed with Helen Levitt who is known for taking daily routine pictures and making perfect art. Other than his skill in taking great pictures in the subway, he also has a lot of great pictures of people that did not have such a great life. He shed light on the lifestyles of families that did not have an easy life. I think one of the most common expression of todays’s riders that are similar to the riders’ expression during depression is that everyone sat or stood on the subway phased out and minding their own business. They looked unbothered and some looked tired or seem like they had a lot to carry on for the day. Not much has changed, everyone has the same attitude today on the subway. On their way to  and from their journey or on their way home, everyone is just ready to get off to the next stop. People use either a newspaper, book,gadgets and tablets, or music to keep them occupied as they wait. I am sure if Walker Evan attempts his same approach today there will be no difference in the way the riders’ look.

HW 5: Subway Portraits

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It’s amazing and unique how Walker Evans came up with an idea of hiding the camera under his coat to capture people in the subway lost in their own thoughts and moods. It’s interesting to think about different people’s everyday routines, where they all go, what they do and who they are. Evans made a good decision keeping everyday commuters unaware of him taking photographs because when we all see a camera we naturally pose hiding our true face expressions and this would ruin the whole point of his style of photography. Walker Evans managed to capture the passengers on the NYC subway minding their own business in these unguarded moments, displaying a range of human emotions. He has created unposed portraits.
I’m my opinion, not much has changed from the time Evans took these photographs. Nowadays, the majority travels in the subway train with the same face expression which usually makes others feel like they don’t want to be bothered. We all use the subway rushing to get to our destinations, at the same time unwittingly people-watching.

Hw 5

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Using a hidden camera,Walker Evans snapped unsuspecting passengers traveling around the city.We can see what kind of people were travelling in those days. How they were dressed up. Now I am thinking about how many people are coming in and out of the subway station every hour.They’ll be the ones sleeping, listening to music, reading a book.
kids, families, musicians etc.
Pretty much everyone from every walk of life can be found using the underground stations for transportation. I think It is amazing. That’s why I love Evans pictures. In his pictures he shows people I believe that subway is such a perfect place to capture real human emotion.That is the reason why Evan’s document people in the subway. People and their, daily life.I think that is it a great way to tell the story about people. Subway stations are really a world of their own. Underground, dark, gritty, sometimes filled with masses of different people and sometimes deserted, they’re a photographer’s dream for capturing a unique angle of urban life.When people do not know that somebody photograph them they don’t act . They don’t did not act because they don’t know that they were photographed.It makes pictures so natural.

Evans pictures also reminds me about  photographer Reinier Gerritsen. He did the same similar thing.This photographer spent 13 weeks over 3 years scouring the subway system of New York City for riders reading books.” Every time Gerritsen saw one, he would snap a picture and make a note of the book that was being read. We can see how things changed”. Nowadays everyone can take a hidden picture. Smartphone becomes more advanced, and apps make sharing of images and video easier than ever

 

Ahmet D. Homework #5

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Walker Evans created a very uncommon style that photograph people the way they are without a pose or anything else. I believe these photographs are the best ones. It is really hard not to smile when you see a camera. People always look different when they pose to the camera. Walker Evans did the hardest part and photographed people how they look, who and what they are. Walker Evans’s photographs are not stage, and that’s what I like about it. This makes his collection very unique. I still see the same expression on people faces, and their daily lives then and now. Everyone is minding their own business. Some are going to work, some are going to school or coming back from work. Everyone is busy with something! Now, I wonder why did he wait such a long time to publish these photographs?

Homework #5: Walker Evans’ Subway Portraits

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Walker Evans’ photographed people on the New York City subways between 1938-1941. He only published these photographs 25 years later in his book, Many Are Called, which was re-issued in 2004. Read a review about the new edition in the New York Times or listen to a radio interview of the book’s re-release and a related exhibition at the Metropolitan Museum of Art. Then look at some of Evans photographs on the Getty website. What do you think of Evans’ clandestine approach to photography? Do you see similarities between the riders’ expressions during the Depression Era to today’s riders?

Walker Evans, Subway Couple

Walker Evans, Subway Couple

New York Times Book review

NPR interview with Met curator Jeff Rosenheim (audio)

Getty Collection of Walker Evans Subway Portraits

Please post your responses by Monday, November 16th.