The Duchy of Jerald

Street Sausage
Saw an interview with “Photographer Matt Stuart (who) has been shooting on the street for
over twenty years. In June 2016, he was announced as a Magnum nominee”[i], on
lensculture.com[ii], a pay to play website where you can have them jury your images into a
competition for 60 bucks or so. He said he cringed when called an artist, he was a photographer.
Ya no. He sounded similar to a narcissist as described by Dr. Tara J. Palmatier, PsyD[iii], who
never received any art training, a one trick pony; making him a predator who hunted, his street
subjects were his voyeur victims.
Photographers are artists of course. They improvise. During production and post, whether they
realize it or not. Re-contextualizing is the primary tool but it is only one form of improv. Line,
shape, form, tone, texture, pattern, colour and composition, are the basic visual tools available
for all visual production and the possibilities are endless. "(An artist) makes liberal use of artistic
license to significantly embellish or change the circumstances of real-life incidents by any means
possible" - Rosalind E. Krauss.[iv]
What is the difference between a figure study and porn? The intent. Porn is done for titillation,
primarily. The same with our street photographer, he gets his voyeuristic titillation needs
satisfied. He has hunted and lain in wait patiently for his prey. An artist, doing street photo has a
very different intent, typically its documentation for future generations but that is only part of it,
they are making art because their intent is to manipulate the formal elements of art in such a way
as to be aesthetically pleasing.
That’s when the discussion around the piece gets interesting. The predator street photographer
does the same shot over and over. Yawn.
“Photograph the world as it is. Nothing’s more interesting than reality.” Mary Ellen Mark [v]
If the person who made that statement didn’t realize that they are manipulating ‘reality’ with
the settings of their camera, choice of lens etc. then they are an idiot. A street photograph is an
image taken out of context by simply putting it into a frame then sticking it on the wall for
display and discourse purposes. Surely the photographers know their use of formal visual
elements make or break the piece.
I find this website authors to be producing a product about photo that’s an incredibly dumbed
down, and surprisingly ignorant of even the basic elements of the images they are mongering.