As a foreign I am always observing the city as an homogeneous place, specially outside city center where I live. Then, what makes the city alive and different? When we look for some facades or walls it is possible to see different shapes, colors, lettering and details. It can be a way to show some ideias, to draw attention or to express yourself. We are surrounded by so many buildings looking like each other, however we can find on the street various types of typography, signs and handwritten. They transmit, in a certain way, different messages and it makes the street more expressive, diverse and less monotonous.
The city speaks: shapes, typographies and expression Maíra Oliveira / 13212950 March, 2015
The concept of street have been changed by the years and urban theories. Then, streets and sidewalks are vitals of a city, it is an alive reality that pulses. It is a complex network of people, goods, materials. It is an energy in constantly movement. It is more than a space, it is where people meet each other. The street is a combination of architecture, design and people’s energy. In this work, I chose to look for the street as an expression by itself. I am trying to catch “what the street says” and people’s behavior in this scenario. In other words, I am looking for different typographies and facades and how people react to it. As a methodology I chose to photograph in different times of day to capture distinct light and moments because the scenario of people, cars and commerce changes a lot comparing in the morning and in the afternoon. Another choice was to work with black and white pictures to evidence shapes and contrasts instead colours. As well as to evidence granulation creating some identity and nostalgia because many of these facades are very antique and they have a lot of history.
Assignment 3 / Invisible Cities MaĂra Oliveira . 13212950
Photograph 1 f/13 . 1/30 s . iso 100 Photograph 2 f/13 . 1/40 s . iso 100 Photograph 3 f/13 . 1/25 s . iso 200 Photograph 4 f/13 . 1/25 s . iso 100 Photograph 5 f/13 . 1/8 s . iso 400