“I don’t invent anything. I imagine everything…Most of the time, I was inspired by my everyday life. I believe it is the most sincere and humble depiction of reality, of the most trivial, that leads to the fantastic.” –Brassaï
The first time I saw Brassaï’s photos was in V&A, series of Graffiti. At that time I did not really pay attention on who’s the photographer of these artworks, I just knew I like the photos. While I saw Brassaï’s exhibition in Foam, a photography gallery in Amsterdam, I suddenly noticed I was already a fan of Brassaï. After exploring lots of his work, I totally became a big fan of him.
His work “Paris de Nuit” played a great example of night photography. The long exposures of night photography was totally not the trend in 1920’s and 1930’s. The European photography at that time celebrated mobility and speed. But his images showed sharp and stable.
Brassaï was observation on street and even in social occasion. He took a lot of photos of people engaging in entertainment at night. These photos presented the reality of different social class and the desire of humanity.
Brassaï’s work inspired me of exploring the shadow. The shadow would not only show under sunlight, also happen in night time. Even the dark side of the city, it still shows the reality. I really enjoy his night photography cause at that time he insisted his own way to record what he saw. That brought me stunning and respect. Further I will spend time on analysing his work to make my practice developing.
Reference
Brassai “No Ordinary Eyes” (Thames & Hudson , London, 2000)
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