On Art and Limitation - Mark Cohen / Samantha Melamed (Thu 28 Oct 2015)

Untitled - Molokai (Sun 11 Oct 2015)

Mark Cohen on Art and Limitation:

Limitation develops a very high aesthetic in your art.

via Mark Cohen brings his aggressive brand of street photography to Philly by Samantha Melamed .

Where Inspiration can be Found - An Artist / HONY (Fri 10 Oct 2014)

Street Portraits (*) Prints - Alexandria (Sep 2013)
Where Inspiration (*) can be found:

I’m not sure. I’m an artist, and I thought it would be good to create a situation where I feel out of place and slightly fearful. I feel like you can only draw inspiration from circumstances. Inspiration isn’t really something that you can sit around and extract from your psyche.

via This spot in the park reminds me a bit of Massachusetts, so I... (*) by HONY (*).

Occasionally I have some prints made from the photos I have taken. It takes effort to get out there and to make photos. When I see them laid out like this, it surprises me that I have taken them and to see an apparent theme that seems to pervade them (which I had forgotten about). They are part of my archive (something I have never really thought about) and my life now. They make me understand (*) the influences (*) that have helped create them - a couple here (*) and here (*). Inspiration also comes from these influences, but more importantly the photos now provide the inspiration to get out out there and to see what else is waiting to be found (*). It's kind of self fulfilling in a way.

On Photography - Mark Cohen / Eric Kim Blog (Mon 17 Feb 2014)

Street Portrait - Harris Street / Haymarket (Tue 25 Feb 2014)
Untitled - Dibbs Street / Alexandria (Jan 2014)
Abstract - Pitt Street / Redfern (Fri 21 Feb 2014)
Mark Cohen (*) on Photography (*):

When you feel like you’re making pictures - the most important is to make new pictures. The pictures you already took - you already took those pictures. My main drive is to do something new - to make some new kind of picture.

via 14 Lessons Mark Cohen Has Taught Me About Street Photography (*) by Eric Kim (*).

Hand - George Street / Sydney (Tue 12 Mar 2013)

Hand - George Street / Sydney (Tue 12 Mar 2013)

On Photography - on the edge of meaningless - Mark Cohen (YouTube)

Street Portrait - Jinbocho (*) / Tokyo (Thu 20 Sep 2012)
Mark Cohen (*) On Photography (*):

It is not some kind of exact analytical science going on here.

It's right on the edge of meaningless, but it's in there and that is what makes it so fascinating.

via Mark Cohen - Street Photographer (YouTube) (*).

Definitely one of my favourite photography related quotes (*) so far - something I can empathise with and relate to, which probably says something about me and how I view the world.

Mark Cohen - Street Photography (YouTube)

Mark Cohen - Street Photography [Youtube (*)]
A bit of a preamble to this but it is worth the wait in order to see his working method on the street and the ensuing interview of which there are many great quotes On Photography (*). I have scribbled a few down here:

[..] They are snapshots and they are made in a very simple way. But the thing they see when they continue to look at the pictures, they start to see the closeness is one of the things they see. Some one is making pictures that are really close on the street and its that kind of taking the camera so close to the subject and making pictures and not in a studio way. in a flow of life on the street or field kind of way. And they see that closeness and that is the thing that gives the pictures there uniqueness and their agressive sort of character.

When you make an exhibit of this work, you walk around in a room filled with it and you see all these strange pictures. You know there is a certain excitement to it, There is a certain quality in that room about an artists mind, and an artists work that comes from the pictures and touches the viewer in some way. That's why it works. I don't know why exactly it works. A lot of physcological reasons, sexual reasons. A lot of things are going on in those pictures.

It is not some kind of exact analytical science going on here, its right on the edge of meaninglessness, but its in there and that is what makes it so fascinating.

It feels awkward for me to try to talk about my work, frequently. Once in a while I do it. I do a slide show and I describe how I take the pictures. Describe how I think they fit into things socially and formally, in the context of photography in America. Different kind of things.

You usually don't think about that kind of stuff. You dont think about that. You think about when you are taking pictures the most important thing is to get new pictures.

The pictures you already took, you already took those pictures. My main drive is to do something new. To make some new kind of picture. [..]

A copy of Grim Street (*) is on the way.