Amateur Photographer – 09 August 2019

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Legends

of photography

B

ruceDavidson

is oneofthekey

figurestostudy

if youhaveeven

a mildinterestindocumentary

photography.Davidson

understandsthatphotography

existstoinformandeducate

• tobringtogetherdisparate
  communitiesandrevealthe
  commonground.It’sthisthat
  makeshisbook,East100th
  Street, inwhichhespent
  twoyearsduringthe1960s
  documenting a single block in

Bruce

Davidson

EastHarlem,oneofthemost

vitalexamplesoftheempathic

powerofphotography.

Davidsonfoundhispassion

forphotographyattheageof

tenwhenhismotherbuilthim

a darkroominthebasementof

theirChicagohome.Laterhe

receiveda Kodakrangefinder

beforeworkingasa stockboy

ata camerashop.If wasafter

thisthathemeta localnews

photographerwhotaughthim

thetechnicalsideoftheart.He

took more images, honing his

bondedbythecircumstanceof

theirlocale.Wemeetblack,

whiteandHispanicresidents,

manyofthemlivingonthe

vergeofpoverty,butallofwhom

areimmediatelyrecognisable

andrelatable.Prideanddignity

shinethrough.Ateveryturn,

Davidsonkeepsusengaged,and

oncehehasusengaged,heis

abletorevealthepeople within.

Reachingout

Thisimageis a perfectexample.

Thearrangementofthe

elementsis masterful.Butit all

existstoguideustothereal

pointofinterest– theboyon

thedrums.Heis lostin

dedicatedconcentration.Heis

aliveinhisactions,invested

withabsoluteagency.Thatidea

ofagencyrunsthroughoutthe

book.Everyonefeaturedin

Davidson’simagesfeelsutterly

alive.It’slikeyouknowthem,

thatyoucanreachoutand

shaketheirhand.That’sa big

complimentfora documentary

project.It’swhyDavidson’s

is one of the best there is.

Davidson’sworkisoneofthemost

articulateexamplesofdocumentary

photography, saysOliver Atwell

skillsandrevellinginthe

influenceofphotographers

suchasHenriCartier-Bresson

andWEugeneSmith.While

studying,hecombinedhis

educationinphotographywith

philosophyandpainting.In

thebriefyearsthatfollowedhe

sawhisworkpublishedinLife

magazineandEsquire, worked

asa militaryphotographerand

becameclosefriendswith

Cartier-Bresson.In 1958 he

becameanassociatemember

oftheMagnumAgencyand,

a yearlater,a full-timemember.

In 1970 Davidsonpublished

East100thStreet, a bookthat

hasbecomea vitalvolumein

thehistoryofdocumentary

photography.Thebook,while

sittingunderthebannerof

documentaryphotography,

containsa plethoraofgenres

tocreatea holisticportraitofa

community.Confininghimself

tojustoneblockofHarlem,we

seeDavidsoninvestigateevery

facetoftheenvironmentand

thepeoplewhoinhabitit.We

find a multicultural community

BRUCE DAVIDSON/MAGNUM PHOTOS

ERNST HA AS/GETT Y IMAGES

A boykeepstimein

Davidson’sseminal

Harlemphotojournal

East 100th Street