Street photography, like jazz and all art, has a rich and dramatic history. This form of photography dates back to the early 1800s and has two primary definitions. The term can relate to candid photos taken of people without their permission to document everyday life, eccentric culture or social conditions. [Photo above of photographer Irving Greines]
Historically, such images have been taken naturally, meaning without the prompting or posing of subjects or setting scenes. As a photographer, you see people who are unusual in a setting that is striking and you point and shoot or you do so surreptitiously. But street photography can also relate to images taken with subjects fully aware of what you're doing and, in some cases, they are cooperative or are positioned or coaxed by photographers into actions or behavior for a better photograph. These are almost always less interesting.
Street photography began in France in the late 1830s, largely as a way to show off the amazing ability of the new technology. As the technology improved and photojournalism thrived along with newspapers and magazines, street photography became more popular as an art form. By the 1930s, with the arrival of the Depression, photographers in the U.S. set out to capture the hardship of everyday life and the absurdity of poverty and despair. Photographers such as Walker Evans and Helen Levitt among others helped turn street photography into a fine art. [Above, Louis Daguerre's Paris Boulevard, 1839, Daguerreotype]
In France, photographers such as Brassai, Cartier-Bresson, Doisneau, Ronis and Izis added new elements such as perspective, whimsy, mystique and backdrop, deeply influencing French cinema and film noir. Noted post-war street photographers in America include Garry Winogrand, Lee Friedlander, Robert Frank, Bruce Davidson and dozens of others who brought a youthfulness and edgy energy to the art. [Photo above of Brassaï's Streetwalker near the Place d'Italie, Paris, 1932, courtesy of the Museum of Modern Art]
Which brings us to Irving Greines, who has been an active photographer since the 1960s and has engaged in street photography since the 1990s. What's most interesting about Irving's street work on the homeless is that he's not celebrating them or using their conditions to make cliched political statements. We know that the homeless are a tragic lot. But we also know that residents in the neighborhoods they populate can't be expected to do much to change the situation. It's too large a problem that requires money and civic ingenuity. This task must fall to government, tax dollars and urban planners. [Photo above of Salicia by Irving Greines, courtesy of Irving Greines]
What we see in Irving's images are those who have run out of hope or are mentally ill and have been cast into neighborhoods to fend for themselves. Federal, state and local governments have no idea how to deal with the problem or haven't been sufficiently pressured yet. As a result, everyone else has been forced to cope with a lower quality of life. Local police no longer demand the homeless move on or arrest them for petty crimes. So they remain until inclement weather and colder temperatures force them out of sight. [Photo above of Daniel, by Irving Greines, courtesy of Irving Greines]
As the homeless have camped out in subways and overrun neighborhoods filled with families, children on their way to school and small businesses trying to stay afloat, the situation is reaching crisis levels. When cities began shuttering mental institutions in the 1980s and no longer admitted those who simply needed to take their medication, governments decided the best way to deal with the rising homeless population was to let them live in the streets. The homeless prefer it that way, they said. I suppose the street does beat being tied to a soiled bed, but it's hard to know, since many homeless are incompetent and there is no polling of their preferences, as far as I know. [Photo of Saitan’s Hands by Irving Greines, courtesy of Irving Greines]
Those who must live on the streets are a sad and tragic demographic. Staying afloat and thriving today requires a sound mind, hard work, good judgment, a robust education and a temperament that resists negative forces and impulses. How in heaven's name can the homeless ever be expected to join these ranks? The solution can't be to force those who aren't mentally ill to suffer as well. Eventually they move or they vote in people who promise fast, draconian solutions. [Photo above of Lewis, by Irving Greines, courtesy of Irving Greines]
Irving's work is remarkable for the quality of his images and empathy for the free-fall of his subjects. His work doesn't seek to shock or glamorize. He simply seizes on what exists on the street and finds art and humanity in their hopelessness. I find his work extraordinary. He uses a vivid and glossy technique that often is reserved for celebrity portraits in trendy magazines. The contrast between the polish and human wreckage is startling. Irving is a massive talent waiting to be discovered and snapped up by a literary agent and publisher, not to mention documentarians and galleries. [Photo above of Patricia by Irving Greines, courtesy of Irving Greines]
You'll find all of Irving's street images and more here. You'll find his black and white images in his "Street People" series here, his color images here and his portraits here. [Photo above of Patricia by Irving Greines, courtesy of Irving Greines]
You'll also find Irving's statement on the "Street People" series here.
Irving’s photography captures a wide range of subjects, as exemplified by the images contained in a variety of sections of his website here. He's also on Instagram: @IrvingGreines.
