Pedestrian, Painted Wall. © Copyright 2019 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.
A pedestrain walks past designs painted on a brick wall, Manhattan
Photographing street art almost always raised an ethical question or two for me. At one end of the spectrum, when photographing what might be regarded as graphic vandalism I wonder if I’m contributing to defacement by potentially sharing it. Sometimes I forego the shot and on one or two occasions I have intentionally altered “tags” in post so that they are no longer recognizable. (Most often I leave them as they are.) At the other ends of this spectrum lies what I refer to as “street art” — work that stands on its own merits as a completed concept. At times it seems a bit strange to be making photographs of someone else’s art, yet these pieces figure in a few of my favorite photographs, just as my “je sui bleu” photograph from Paris.
This bright and colorful display, contrasting with the rather gritty Manhattan surroundings, fit into the second category. It is visually interesting on its own, but just photographing someone else’s visually interesting creation seems like a less than creative act. So here, as in some other photographs of mine, I treat it as part background and part subject. It becomes, in my view, part of a visual geometry in the scene and also one element of a set of contrasting components. It also becomes the stage for passing pedestrians, such as the fellow in this image. (I have one other photograph of this scene, but with a small group of passers-by. That one may also eventually see the light of day.)
G Dan Mitchell is a California photographer and visual opportunist. His book, “California’s Fall Color: A Photographer’s Guide to Autumn in the Sierra” is available from Heyday Books and Amazon.
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