This blog features images I’ve shot in the past year that are suggestive of abstract art. The compositions are sightings from the street and from my commutes and travels. These street abstracts all contain faces, sometimes fragmented or with misaligned geometry and remind me of different genres of contemporary art such as Cubism, Surrealism and Fauvism.
The square window reveals an eye, which reminds me of the ‘reassembled’ geometry of some of Picasso’s Cubist portraits.
Next, a couple of images featuring layers of torn posters that in turn create present day urban palimpsests; revelations of previous layers but with abstract qualities:
Below, metonymy and fragmentation at the Paris Metro,
Above, distortion and for me a painterly Fauvist feel with this partially collapsed and folded billboard seen on London Underground. Below, a peeling poster in Camden that was flapping in the wind against a background of colourful graffiti provides an example of a found urban art composition:
Next, a couple of found abstracts that share a focus on the eye. Both images contain free daily newspaper covers. In the first, spotted on a platform on London Underground, the cover has been squeezed and discarded. In the second the multiplicity of the folded papers placed at a station entrance create an abstract illusion :
Some more abstract compositions featuring reflections combined with elements of geometry and nature:
Below, an architectural illusion at Camden Town:
Above, I was trying to catch the flying birds as a poetic bonus (and perhaps a nod to cinema and Hitchcock’s The Birds?) in this abstract scene which combines facial features and architectural facades.
Next two colourful reflections. In the first image, shot in Paris, I wanted to suggest the idea of a modern tree god ; I like the way the face and branches merge. There’s an additional subtle layer of fine graffiti in the centre of the image which had been etched into glass and which for me adds a painterly and urban touch. The Soho Nights photo also contains graffiti as well as reflected signage.
Finally a couple of images featuring digital billboards and juxtapositions:
Absolutely fabulous
Thank you Marianna, glad you like it