GRAffITI sERIEs (1960)

The Graffiti series are a collection of photographs taken by the photographer Brassaï during the period between 1930 and mid 1950. The photographs depict human-made carvings on walls in Paris. Here, graffiti has to be understood as ancient engravings. According to Brassaï, carving into a wall reconnects with an age-old human principle as well as with a very ancient means of apprehending the world. For over 25 years, Brassaï would hunt down mysterious or playful marks on walls, trees or even on the ground. Carving one’s name, one’s love, or a date on the wall of a building is a type of vandalism that cannot be explained by destructive impulses alone. ‘I see in it rather the survival instinct of all those who cannot erect pyramids or cathedrals to perpetuate their name’, Brassaï explains. ‘The moments are rare when one senses the pulse of life beating with such intense emotion that it calls for a stone, a wall, or the bark of some tree to be forever inscribed.’

Gyula Halász or ‘Brassaï’ is one of the most important surrealist photographers, but he was also a writer, a sculptor and a filmmaker. In 1924 he moved to Paris, where he built up his career and lived for the rest of his life. He is primarily known for his books Graffiti (1960) and Paris by Night (1933). Publisher: Flammarion (May 3, 2002)