Description
The Enchantment of Ghosts: Walker Evans & Street Photography in Havana, 1933This paper offers a re-examination of the American photographer Walker Evans’s Havana portfolio from 1933. Building upon extensive practice-led research relating to street photography as a form of psychogeographical practice, it will reflect upon the development of Evans’s early photographic methods and processes, identifying their place within the developing street vocabulary of the period, whilst also drawing upon the influence that this body of photographs continues to have upon more contemporary visual framings of the Cuban capital. To do this, the paper will first explore underpinning theoretical issues relating to the medium of photography before using Evans’s work in Havana as a point of departure for a broader discussion concerning the relationship between photography and psychogeography. This will be illustrated via an exploration of the practice of psychogeography and the act of urban wandering. In turn, this paper strives to further identify the way these different processes inform the photographer’s visual understanding of the physical presence of the city – one in which Evans attempts to imprint himself in a way that is both involving and deliberately disassociative.
| Period | 21 May 2014 → 24 May 2014 |
|---|---|
| Event type | Conference |
| Location | Chicago, United StatesShow on map |