Before my stay in Paris, I had never heard of the concept
of, or even the word, the flâneur. In the beginning, it seemed to be such an
obvious observation. Of course walking, observing, and experiencing the city
was a way of developing an understanding of yourself and the things around you.
Throughout our stay in Paris the word was constantly brought up, it seemed
everywhere we went and everything we did there was a reference to the flâneur
whether it was related to academics or our little inside jokes. It seemed like
the word was always looming over us, reminding us we were on an academic trip
to experience and more importantly learn about Paris and the arts and culture
within it.
However, as haunting as the word could be, it came to be one
of my greatest takeaways from both the philosophy class and the trip as a
whole. There is something to be said about Baudelaire and Benjamin’s
examination of the flâneur. It was a concept simple enough for people like me,
that don’t always understand the complexity of all things philosophy related,
to understand and really embrace. Soon after being exposed to this word, I
found myself relating to the concept more and more. Experiencing a city, or
anything for that matter, takes just that: experiencing it. Anyone can philosophize
and build their experience by walking through and interacting with the things
around them. Every day we were asking questions, learning new things, and
adapting to the world around us. We were the ultimate flâneurs whether we
wanted to admit it or not. Ultimately our experiences shaped who we are, and
left an impact on how we think about the world, those around us, and maybe most
profoundly, ourselves. Though I would like to think everyone is constantly
partaking in some form of being a flâneur, our time in Paris was focused on
embracing the concept of immersing yourself in a city and seeing where it takes
you. As cheesy as it sounds, living out those three months of being a flâneur
is something I will always cherish, and I hope to continually strive to be a flâneur
in every setting I am placed.
I also learned a lot from this word flâneur, so much so that I decided to write my paper on the flâneurs of photography. I focused on two french photographers, Henri Cartier-Bresson and Eugène Atget, because the work they produced is a true visual representation of what being a flâneur looks like. Cartier-Bresson focused on portraying people as well as everyday life while Atget captured the architecture that shaped Paris before all the changes were made by modernization. Both photographers have a different style and focus on different subjects to capture; however their method is the same. They both are flâneurs; they aim to capture the fleeting moments of life though the lens of their camera. They live and work very similarly to the flâneur described by Baudelaire. For Baudelaire, the perfect flâneur must live among the ebb and flow of movement; one must be a part of the crowd yet at the same time be a watchful spectator.
ReplyDeleteHenri Cartier-Bresson, a world traveler, had no true home for quite some time; he was in fact a flâneur. He experienced many events firsthand with his camera at the ready to capture moments that would be quintessential to the term modernity. He coined the term the “decisive moment” which in short meant to illustrate the transitory moments in life; pictures that are in the moment and are like none you have ever seen before. During my research I discovered a YouTube video on Cartier-Bresson that describes this concept and really gives you an idea of his artistic process and style. Here is the link if you’re interesting in seeing the video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hyhMqDfmG9o.
Cartier-Bresson says in this video that: “The camera is a weapon. You can’t prove anything but at the same time it is a weapon. It’s not a propaganda mean photography not at all but it’s a way of shouting how you feel. The camera can be a machine gun. It can be a psychoanalytical couch. It can be a warm kiss. It can be a sketch book. I enjoy shooting a picture being present its a way of saying yes, yes, yes. And photography is like that: yes, yes, yes. Its very instant, its a presence, its a moment.” He was present when taking his pictures, just like the flâneurs described by Benjamin and Baudelaire who walked through the arcades and streets of Paris, and much like us who were temporary inhabitants and observers of this city.