Bruce Davidson’s Documentary Photography:

A Master of Juxtaposition

 

The documentary photography by Bruce Davidson proves he is a master of making visual comparisons. Davidson’s street photography is an example of how juxtaposition between subject matter is a powerful tool to convey a direct visual message to the viewer. He shows us how color, form, texture, and line are a thread that extends from human self-expression in fashion, to interior design and architecture, and ultimately mirror nature. He sees all the beauty, ugly, light and darkness of the world and composes it so we may consider it thoroughly.  At times, Davidson’s work speaks to empathy, humor, or his inner-child, and he openly shares what he feels by speaking through his images. His talent for connecting with people gain him access across social and personal boundaries that capture powerful visual and emotional moments that the viewer gets to experience along with him. 

 

Davidson’s documentary series Subway, 1980 displays various examples of what makes him a master user of juxtaposition in photography. One of the reasons that Davidson’s work are so effective is that they are a direct result of his own journey in life which affords him an outsider’s perspective, as he explains in an interview with The New Yorker titled, “I’m an Outsider on the Inside: An Interview with Bruce Davidson.” Even though he calls New York City his home, he did not grow up there but in a suburban setting in the Midwest. He lives in this special plane where he is from the outside but sometimes gains special access to a viewpoint where not everyone is always welcome or able to cross (Wiley). Therefore, he has this ability to see the significance in certain objects or scenarios where others who grew up in an urban setting may find them visually inconsequential as they’ve encountered them continuously throughout their entire lives.  Davidson sees something spectacular in the everyday simplicity and diversity found in city life. At times, this result allows outsiders, like Davidson, to be welcome into the scene and for insiders to gain a fresh view on what they have already experienced. Either way, this photographer is a gracious host to the viewer who dispels any sense of voyeurism but instead offers a mostly welcomed and intimate intersection within the unrefined daily urban experience.

 

One remarkable photograph from Subway shows children with their souvenirs, which we can assume are from the Coney Island Amusement Park, and their faces pressed up against the glass to peer at the Ferris Wheel through the window of the train. This image speaks volumes with the kids lined up along the window and their bright toys are juxtaposed with the colorful park in the distance. The visual link between the two subjects is made clear and we see the children reflect on their day and we get the feeling they long to go back to the park. Yet, here we, the viewers, witness the experience of the children and we are part of another comparison as we reflect on the joys of being young and recall what it is to see the wonders the world has to offer through the eyes of a child. 

 

In Subway, Davidson repeatedly uses architectural elements to define separate spaces within the composition in order to make clear contrasts between subjects. One example, the photograph of the two women in bright dresses on the subway platform. Both subjects look down while reading, both are to go in opposite directions on the train, both visually similar yet isolated from each other. The wall at the center of the subway platform is the line of demarcation between the two ladies and the train tracks on either side create two boxes that mirror each other. This image is timeless as it speaks to the isolation or loneliness one can experience despite being in a populated city with people all around you. 

We have seen this urban scenario of social detachment depicted before in Calliebotte’s painting Paris Street; Rainy Day, 1877, and today it is more prevalent, even in the suburban sphere, where people interact less in -person because of the alternate attention offered by cell phones. Popular topics of discussion include how cell phones are creating more isolation among people in public however this particular image from Davidson, and even Calliebotte, suggest this choice to isolate one’s self could potentially be a the immediate result of urbanization and not necessarily cell phones alone. I am not sure of the answer but my point is that Davidson’s images give you the ability to reflect the present juxtaposed to that of that past. As I said earlier, he is a master of using juxtaposition, despite whether he intends to make a comparison or not, Davidson gives the viewer the opportunity to do so on their own and even more as the time grows between the inception of his bodies of work to the present.

 

Another example of his uses of architectural elements to juxtapose two subjects, in this case, nature and the city, with the use of the subway car window and base of buildings. Davidson is inside the fully white interior of the subway car now ridden with black graffiti and through the window is a clean blanket of fresh white snow over a patch of trees at the foreground of an imposing government housing building. The small area of nature is framed in the window yet the buildings upstage its presence and within the entire frame of the photograph itself the subway and it’s passengers outweigh the composition which further displays the visual dominance urbanization asserts over nature. The duality between the two subjects is that of decay and ephemeral quality to both nature and the city, the once white train has become dirty and marked as will the snow.

Another interesting choice Davidson makes with regard to architecture is he will mirror the architectural lines within one space to the environment outside as you can see with the image of the once standing Twin Towers and the two bars inside the car. The young man is flanked by asymmetrically by both bars. The composition and low light evokes an ominous mood and isolates the young man and his expression solidifies the depressing state of the photo. All these elements tied together create a stunning photograph despite the mood. Weirdly, this image is quite prolific and points toward tragic events to come when you look from a present post 9-11 perspective.

USA. New York City. 1980. Subway.

 

Several photos in Subway juxtapose art elements that co-exist between the human subject and their environment. For example, the image of a young girl with yellow piping on her clothing lies across the train seat. The curve line in the yellow of her clothing compliments the yellow graffiti lines on the train car wall. This is a great example of how humans make marks in space every day some permanent, some temporary, and some captured.

 Another example is straight forward with blocks of color of people’s fashion and the space, the black outfit and white beard of a man walking in conjunction with the white subway tiles lined in black with more black graffiti on the walls. Another is a man in bright orange pants next to a door in the same color. These similarities help create cohesion aesthetically however in these two photos the emotion on the people’s faces is what ultimately makes them striking photographs.

 

There are moments in this documentary series where words in signs are juxtaposed against a person candidly going about their business or posing. The words being said to create a visual irony that at times could be quite humorous. Davidson’s photograph gives the words within its new meaning due to his subject choices and composition. He has essentially rewritten the word phrases without changing the words which are quite fascinating.  [photos] At other times, he juxtaposes a picture within the photograph itself which again is ironic and but it helps keep the viewers attention and places more emphasis on the subject by means of comparison.

Bruce Davidson’s documentary photography series Subway teaches us that the elements of art and composition are tools that a photographer can use to strengthen juxtaposition which as a result strengthens their visual message. These simple strategies can be applied universally despite the subject matter and environment. However, these tools are to enhance the subject and Bruce Davidson’s choice of such and his relationship to them is what makes his work truly vivid and inspirational.

 

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Works Cited

Caillebotte, Gustave. “Paris Street; Rainy Day.” The Art Institute of Chicago, European Painting and Sculpture, www.artic.edu/artworks/20684/paris-street-rainy-day.

 

Wiley, Chris. “‘I’m an Outsider on the Inside’: An Interview with Bruce Davidson.” The New Yorker, The New Yorker, 14 June 2019, www.newyorker.com/culture/photo-booth/im-an-outsider-on-the-inside-an-interview-with-bruce-davidson.

 

*All Bruce Davidson photos are from ARS 402 Google Drive Archive