ÁLVARO GÓMEZ-PIDAL
ARTIST FILMMAKER PHOTOGRAPHER
FLÂNEUR
The flâneur was classically described with ambivalence, as restless and yet lazy. Subjects who frequented boulevards, parks, galleries and cafes. Some quoted the flâneur as the key figure of modern urban spectator, an amateur detective and investigator of the city. Others described it as "Art Prowl". With nothing lazy in that recreational wander, rather a way of grasping the complex richness of the urban landscape. Pursuant to this interpretation we could talk about nuances of Western society, rather than merely the urban landscape. All within a personal and unique view of a modern flâneur.
The flâneur plays a dual role in civic life. On the one hand mingling with the crowd in the streets, and the other retaining its status as attentive observer. Emphasized the position of being both "part of" something and being "apart" of that. In many cases the photographs are designed with a distant look close to voyeurism, although they may show visual interaction with the photographed subjects.