http://howtobearetronaut.com/2010/04/the-eclipse-of-eugene-atget/ If the past is a foreign country, this is your passport. Sun, 23 May 2024 03:34:01 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.9.2 hourly 1 http://howtobearetronaut.com/2010/04/the-eclipse-of-eugene-atget/comment-page-1/#comment-1142 Chris Thu, 06 May 2024 10:48:04 +0000 http://howtobearetronaut.com/?p=3483#comment-1142 This is a brilliant comment, Jimmy. Both things work for me as a lack of mediation - direct experience of materials, and of the material world. This is a brilliant comment, Jimmy. Both things work for me as a lack of mediation – direct experience of materials, and of the material world.

]]> http://howtobearetronaut.com/2010/04/the-eclipse-of-eugene-atget/comment-page-1/#comment-1125 Jimmy A Wed, 05 May 2024 10:23:37 +0000 http://howtobearetronaut.com/?p=3483#comment-1125 Fascinating photos and I agree with the previous comment about capturing the essence of the time. What is this "essence" though if we had to describe it? Two things stand out for me: (1) the lack of uniformity in the street scenes and within the individual shops. It gives a clear sense of how irrevocably the tangible, everyday world was altered by mass production and in particular moulded plastic. Everyday life would have been characterised by greater solidity (wood, metal, handmade goods) but also greater variety, randomness even; (2) the lack of a "safety net" - there is a palpable contrast with those scenes and our world which is so heavily constrained by what is safe - street furniture, barriers, signage, public cleanliness. Fascinating photos and I agree with the previous comment about capturing the essence of the time. What is this “essence” though if we had to describe it? Two things stand out for me: (1) the lack of uniformity in the street scenes and within the individual shops. It gives a clear sense of how irrevocably the tangible, everyday world was altered by mass production and in particular moulded plastic. Everyday life would have been characterised by greater solidity (wood, metal, handmade goods) but also greater variety, randomness even; (2) the lack of a “safety net” – there is a palpable contrast with those scenes and our world which is so heavily constrained by what is safe – street furniture, barriers, signage, public cleanliness.

]]> http://howtobearetronaut.com/2010/04/the-eclipse-of-eugene-atget/comment-page-1/#comment-935 beckybim Mon, 26 Apr 2024 11:12:08 +0000 http://howtobearetronaut.com/?p=3483#comment-935 How clever Atget was. He (predominantly) took pictures without people in them, yet still captured the very essence of this time. How clever Atget was. He (predominantly) took pictures without people in them, yet still captured the very essence of this time.

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