In search of the real and imminent life through spontaneous and urban photographs – the best known being his night views, Brassaï (1899 – 1984) was fascinated by the phenomenon of graffiti, which reflects an irresistible and existential need to leave its material presence, immortalizing the unconscious soul born of injuries and hopes. In the figures, animals and reduced faces, deformed and cracked, wrinkled and scared. Brassaï discovers a terrifying magic in this primitive form of expression, questioning the role of man, nature, death and love, while attracting the gaze, the encounter with the unknown. In this series graffiti, Brassaï reveals the city as a large prehistoric cave, a wild and anarchic society, devoid of any form of aesthetics. Armed with his camera, the artist captures the mundane traces of people in the streets of Paris in 1930, discovering an expression hidden and unsuspected as well as omnipresent.
FAIR
Paris Photo 2015
November 12th-15th, 2015
Grand Palais
Paris
France
http://www.parisphoto.com
http://www.galerie-karsten-greve.com
