Format Fest:- Artist Profile

Bruce Gilden

‘I'm known for taking pictures very close and the older I get, the closer I get.’

'I have no ethic'

'If you can smell the street... that's street photography'

Guilden's work has often been described as rude and intrusive. He is also known for his merciless and indiscriminate use of flash. Although Gilden is a street photographer, probably the most well know of his time, does he momentarily slip in and out of voyeurism? 

Voyeurism is the sexual interest in or practice of spying on people engaged in intimate behaviors, for instance undressing, sexual contact, or other activity usually considered private. Voyeuristic photographers take these intrusive images and present them to viewer who then becomes part of this secretive surveillance. Although Gilden isn’t taking images of a sexual nature is he still too close for comfort and taking images of this type. One can argue that he himself says he is purposefully photographing so intimately so that the viewer can feel as if they are ‘participating’ and becoming ‘part of the action’ a characteristic of voyeurism. Furthermore he is controlling the situation in that he chooses who and when to photograph and the subject has no say, appearing clueless and momentarily dazed by the flash.

Alternatively one could argue that voyeurism has a much more sinister under tone in that it appears almost ‘stalker-ish’ images taken over and over again while people are blissfully unaware. At least Gilden has some contact with the people and shares a moment with them even if it not a particularly pleasant one. He personally picks out ‘characters’; he says they are like friends although he doesn’t know them he is drawn to them for unknown reason.

I believe that Gilden does have some voyeuristic tendencies however he has the personality to make it more street photography.