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EFFECTS OF INTERNET ON THE CONCEPT OF STREET PHOTOGRAPHER AS

FLÂNEUR:

INTERACTION BETWEEN VIRTUAL SPACES AND PHYSICAL CITYSCAPE

Chan Wai Tung

CURE 1003: Culture Studies of Space

November 14, 2014

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Originally, flâneur is a representation of bourgeoisie male

figure strolling around urban spaces; some of them often used

photography as a tool of observation and recording. The emergence

of social networking platforms and technological advancement in

digital photography have challenged the modernist’s definition of

street photographer as flâneur, it is becoming less an exclusive

category of class and sex, but a hybridization of both

professionals and common people due to the availability of photo-

taking devices. Interactive functions of the web enables sharing

of previously sole experience, in a way increased the popularity of

self-reflexive movements as snapshotting practices by wandering in

the labyrinth of the capitalist urban city of Hong Kong. The first

part of this paper will focus on modernist explanation to flâneur

and its connection to photography; the second half covers the

diversified connotations and elasticity of the concept, followed by

representable examples, including a local street photography blog

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to illustrate the interactions between virtual space and urban

landscape.

Conceptualization of flâneur as a metaphor of modernity and

consumerism began with Benjamin, it is used to explain the blurring

boundary between the separate sphere of public and private, in

reflection to the power relation of male over female. There is a

masculine stereotype of flâneur as a “mythical figure in France-

the independent, largely anonymous individual who took his task the

recording of modern life” (Goldstein 2008). Walking in

commercialized public spaces of modern cities, flâneur “articulated

across the twin ideological formations […] with its freedom for men

in the public space, and the pre-eminence of a detached observing

gaze” (Pollock 1988). Only upper-middle class men who have abundant

leisure time can legally appear as an uninvolved individual in

public sphere; cafés, pubs, streets, and shopping arcades become

their dwelling when their wives are doing household chores at home.

Flâneur consume the urban space and culture through observing the

surrounding quietly with spontaneous gazes, the city is a maze full

of unexpected treasury, ranging from dynamic movements of strangers

to less noticeable obscure objects at street corners. Their action

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of lonely, aimless wandering apparently suggested laziness and

absentmindedness; in fact they are taking the time for reflection

and retrospection by perceiving strangers and urban environments

with their special visions.

Moreover, the concept of female flâneur (or flâneuse) did not

exist in nineteenth century Europe, because “proper” women are not

allowed to appear alone publicly, those who did so are supposed to

be marginalized in society, including prostitute, widow, old lady,

lesbian, or even murder victim (Wolff 1985), thus the idea of

keeping women at home is both for women’s own safety and to

safeguard the social distinction between upper and lower classes.

Under such ideology, flâneur underlines a double privileged

authority that holds the right to objectify those at inferior

positions, who are women and economically deprived. Quite

differently, flâneur is sometimes being overused as a trendy

catchphrase for recreational travelling nowadays (李李李 2005), it

contradict the essential character that flâneur should maintain

certain individuality and psychological distance with the bustling

crowd, such misunderstanding is partly promoted by taking photos

becoming an essential experience in travelling.

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Photographers, especially who interested in cityscapes can be

considered as flâneur, in which they are “armed version of the

solitary walker[s]… who discovers the city as a landscape of

voluptuous extremes” (Sontag 1977). Although Sontag emphasized

their inclination in focusing on the sensual and luxurious aspects

of modern life, some may also focus on the living and working

conditions of the unvoiced toiling masses, which will be further

discussed in later part. The historical development of camera as an

urban entertaining toy for adult began with Kodakisation in 1888,

“Kodak made cameras and picture making ‘mundane’ and photographing

a part of an emerging ‘tourist habitus” (Urry & Larsen 2011).

Following the technological development in product design and cost

reduction, cameras are available at affordable prices with user-

friendly functions; they are no longer luxury owned by

professionals and riches. The penetration rates of portable photo-

taking devices are even rising throughout the century, where

digital cameras replaced film camera since the second half of

1990s, and smartphone are taking the place in 21th century.

Consequently, most people in modernized cities, regardless white-

collar or blue-collar could conveniently take snapshot in everyday

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life. Digital photography is “a tool to register personal

experiences in physical space as well as a currency for

communicating in digital space” (Lee 2010), while taking photos as

a record of their observation, many people also like to share their

photos online for socializing, it suggested flâneur in postmodern

city is less likely an asocial figure.

Apart from the popularity of camera, the phenomenon of flâneur

as a social practice is facilitated by the freedom and hybridity on

the Internet. It comes to the rise of “Internet flâneur” (aka cyber

flâneur), they alternately “strolling between virtual and reality”

(李李李 2006) to maintain a peculiar state of “connected aloneness”

with the outside world. Flâneur may take the dual role as a

solitary urban photographer and an active publisher on the

internet, which may also virtually interact with the crowd. The

popularity of social media platforms played an important role in

promoting the practice of street photography. First of all, the

anonymous function encourage more casual sharing and commenting, it

is up to individuals to decide rather to disclose their real

identity or rearticulate an imagined one. Likewise, the

distinctions of sex and class are fuzzy, as users could withhold or

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provide misleading personal information. Therefore, the content of

sharing becomes more important than the authentic identities of the

sharers. Under the trend of participatory culture, Internet users

are willing to share their travelling experience and looking

forward to fellow users’ replies (李李李 2014). The characteristic

changes of flâneur are realized in frequent photo sharing and

interaction with audience, ranging from amateur individuals to

professional photographer bloggers with variety of intentions.

The mass amateurization of photography is linked with the

photo blog websites and mobile applications under the influence of

globlaization, collaborative and accumulative social activities are

integrated into flâneur’s activities. For example, Flickr is a

social site providing photo hosting service, there is a group named

“flâneur” (Flickr) where member from all over the world may

contribute their street photos in diversified styles, owing to the

unofficial and inclusive nature of the site, the membership are

free to all Flickr users sharing similar interest of strolling and

photography. On another mobile sharing site, Instagram, users may

apply digital filters to images to achieve special effects in a

square frame like Polaroid; this nostalgic stylistic function is a

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possible handy tool for amateurs. The editing functions also

highlighted the “unreliability of photographic image […] as

distinct from an authentic reproduction” (Seale 2005); these photos

are construction with dazzling spectacle. Another famous feature

of Instagram is its hashtags (#) function: by typing # on the

caption, other users can find the photos by searching related

keywords. In all these sites, photo posts are automatically

arranged in chronological orders, similar to Benjamin’s idea of

flâneur’s fragmented memory of the city. Dynamics of the Internet

is transforming the street photography is overthrowing some aspect

of the traditional image flâneur as an entity partial involved in

the crowd, their involvement in the society is largely limited to

the virtual world but not physical places, as they need an “armor

of distant” to discover and capture the aesthetic essence of random

objects in urban environments.

Still, several qualities of Walter Benjamin’s descriptions to

flâneur are preserved in modern days, though the situation is

complicated by the contradictory relationship between camera and

reality. They are in favor of nostalgic elements in the city, in

reaction to the competitive and ever-changing nature urban space,

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they are “forever looking to the past” (Seale 2005). It doesn’t

mean that they pay little attention to objects of modernity,

whereas their pictures usually presented contrastive impressions

amid the fading old replacing by the invading new, such as the

demolition of historical buildings in urban redevelopment, or

street art in abandoned industrial areas. As written in “The Image

World”, “cameras implement an aesthetic view of reality […] about

importance, interest, beauty” , at the same time serve the

“instrumental view of reality by gathering information that enables

us to make a more accurate and much quicker response” (Sontag

1977). As in social photography, photographers situate between the

two apparently incompatible attitudes, they open the five senses in

capturing atmospheres of memorable scenes and conjuring visual

stimulations of city landmarks, while themes of their photos

inevitable reflect social issues of cities, like the current

Umbrella Revolution in Hong Kong (Figure 1). Either intentionally

or unconsciously, their act of recording and sharing invite

viewers’ attention to the happening, perhaps as unofficial and

informal versions of news photography.

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Figure 1, Colours at Causeway Bay, November 3, 2014.

Photograph courtesy of Eddie Tay

In postcolonial Hong Kong, street photographers are preservers

of the disappearing scenery under cultural assimilation brought by

returning sovereignty and globalization. In particular, a local

born and raised freelance flâneuse photographer, Tse Hiu Yu has

profound interest in acting against the overwhelming force of urban

renewal through photography. For instance, in her personal blog

titled “Invisible City”, there is a monotone of clock in the

Sunbeam Theater (figure 2)- a symbol of the local history of

entertainment business since 1950s, and now a central site for

Cantonese Opera performance, this familiar site of collective

memory is presented philosophically by blending of the

photographer’s contemplation, it mirrors the postcolonial notion

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that: “To photograph disappearance is not defamiliarize, only that

a sense of the unfamiliar grows out of forms that remain stubbornly

familiar” (Abbas 1997). Of her background of growing up in public

housing estate, as stated in her personal profile, she probably

shared similar antipathy towards gentrification with fellow

grassroot residents and shopkeepers. Among her several visual

projects, the “Yue Man Square Living Journal” is largely inspired

by Benjamin’s philosophy of “street as domestic interior” (Tze

2008), the crowd become a veil showing the familiar room of

cityscape in phantasmagoria ways.

Figure 2, Sunbeam 2, December 16, 2008. Photography courtesy

of Tse Hiu Yu

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In cosmopolitan societies, the movements of flâneur are no

longer bonded to their home cities or urbanized areas, photos

across geographical boundaries are traces of their living and

travelling experience. Taking an active street photography blogger

Eddie Tay as example, he lives with multiple identities,

predominately as a Singaporean English literature professor and

poet in Hong Kong. In his autobiographical journal article “Street

Meditation”, he describes himself as “a father, a consumer of

camera products, a hobbyist with artistic pretensions, a husband

entrusted with an errand.” (Tay 2012). In his site named “Hong Kong

Lucida: A Thinking Street Photography Blog”, he frequently posts

entries of places he has travelled, mainly in Hong Kong, Singapore

and Mainland China, occasionally in Western cities. The concept

of “nomad flâneur” (Kramer & Short 2011) comes into place with the

convenience of communication and transportation, besides, the

nature is increasingly invaded by man-made culture. Figure 3 shows

a colorful contrast of a dumped supermarket cart in the woods along

suburban hiking trail; it provokes the environmental friendly idea

of human mistreating the nature as a rubbish dump.

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Figure 3, Anecdote of the Jar, June 3, 2014. Photograph

courtesy of Eddie Tay

Meanwhile, the combination of other media suggested more

possibilities in narration. Given that images take a dominant role

the Internet with their advantages of presenting information in a

precise and eye-catching manner, as visual can cater readers’ short

attention span better than text. However, the remaining parts

surrounding the photos are textually mediated. In Tay’s blog, the

accompanying sentence type short writings are poetic reflections,

stories behind the images, or his situations while taking a

particular picture. The selection of photos reveals his routes of

wandering, and the descriptions sometimes lay bare his family life,

such as he took his wife’s suggestion to go shopping in Shenzhen

during weekend, and visited the zoo with his son. These examples

indicate the discrepancies between traditional and current meaning

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of flâneurs: some photographers do not strictly perform as secret

spectators to enjoy lonely strolling; instead they are willing to

include others, like family members in their travel, and illustrate

their enjoyments in performing online sharing with public. In

addition, the default setting of blog allows virtual comments and

replies between photographers and audiences world widely.

It is common for social photographers to manipulate the notion

of flâneurs as cultural capital with present day’s redefinition,

specifically in art sale and exhibition enabled by cyberspace. Back

to Tay’s example, his street photo prints are available on Saatchi

Art- a global online art gallery, in such, the character of

flâneurs is converted into an urban symbol for consumption. Apart

from the business sector, non-profit making cultural events also

utilize this term. On the topic of photographers as flâneurs, there

is a temporary exhibition organized by in the Hong Kong Heritage

Museum during the period of 2010 to 2011: “City Flâneur: Social

Documentary Photography”. The curatorial statement stated that:

“Like flâneurs (city wanderers) in other genres, they focus their

cameras on social vistas … through the images they capture, reflect

upon the causes of change in the community and its environs” (HKHM

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2010). Flâneurs is being employed as a collective recognition of

these photographers distinguishable by their effort in recording

and representing the city’s transformation over time, they are in a

way passing on the heritage of Benjamin as urban strollers with

surreal mixture of social reality and imaginations.

In conclusion, the modernism idea of flâneurs as photographers

is reapplied under the influence of Internet, they transformed from

an asocial urban spectators into friendly bloggers who still remain

passive in the physical environment while actively sharing their

observation online. In a postcolonial age, majority of street

photographers in Hong Kong attempt to capture the disappearing

objects in the fast-changing cityscape, and occasionally reflect

certain political realities of the territory. With the assistance

of social media and blogs, flâneurs are encouraged to share their

visions publicly in these virtual spaces. The penetrating force of

globalization is blurring the boundary between cities, and the non-

stopping invasion of urbanization also reinforced the idea of man-

made nature. The very identity of these photographers is determined

by the content and style of their photos, as the Internet is

breaking through the wall of sex and class.

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